Service Area
Water Softening in Lake Davis / Delaney Park, Orlando
The Lake Davis and Delaney Park neighborhoods are among Orlando’s oldest continuously-occupied residential districts. In short, a water softening Lake Davis install is often the highest-ROI plumbing upgrade an older home can make. Bungalows and Tudor revivals from the 1930s, mid-century ranches from the 1950s, with a handful of earlier 1920s homes — on tree-lined streets around Lake Davis, Lake Copeland, and Lake Lancaster.
Furthermore, this page covers water softening specifically — what it does, why Lake Davis homes benefit more than newer construction, what it costs installed, and when you should add a reverse osmosis system on top.
We’re an Orlando-based installer, we serve all of 32806, and we’ve worked in pre-1950 Delaney Park homes often enough to know how to thread new plumbing through tight 90-year-old crawlspaces carefully.
Why older Orlando homes suffer more from hard water
The water coming out of the Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC) tap in Delaney Park isn’t meaningfully different from the water in a newer suburb like Lake Nona — roughly 7 to 9 gpg hardness, TDS around 300 ppm, ozone primary disinfection + chlorine residual (OUC switched to ozone under Water Project 2000 and uses chlorine residual at roughly 1 ppm). However, what IS different is the plumbing it flows through:
- Pre-1960 galvanized pipes. Many Delaney Park bungalows still have the original galvanized supply lines. Specifically, these pipes corrode from the inside out, and hard water accelerates the process. Moreover, the scale narrows the pipe diameter and reduces flow — that weak shower pressure is often hard water plus aging pipes, not a problem with the city main.
- Original brass and copper fixtures. Lake Davis homes often have original brass sillcocks, copper risers, and period-correct brass faucets. These are valuable and replaceable only at 3x modern prices. In addition, hard water accelerates the pitting that ruins them.
- Older water heaters. A scale-coated heating element loses measurable efficiency. As a result, in a 60-year-old house with original supply-line runs, the efficiency hit compounds over time.
Consequently, a whole-house water softener stops the calcium and magnesium at the water meter, before it touches any of this. In fact, it’s the single highest-ROI improvement you can make to an older Orlando home’s plumbing.
What’s in your Lake Davis water?
Typical OUC water chemistry across the system that serves Delaney Park and Lake Davis:
- Hardness: 7 to 9 grains per gallon (moderately hard to hard)
- TDS: 280 to 340 ppm
- pH: 7.6 to 8.0
- Disinfection: ozone treatment at the plant, chlorine residual (~1 ppm) in the distribution system. Importantly, OUC does not use chloramine.
- Lead: Non-detect at the tap in OUC sampling — but older Delaney Park homes with pre-1988 service lines can pick up trace lead between the main and your faucet
- PFAS: OUC participates in EPA’s UCMR 5 monitoring and publishes results in its annual Water Quality Report. Whether the current levels are below or above EPA’s 2024 MCL, softening alone does not remove PFAS — a whole-house RO polish stage is what rejects them (at 95%+ efficiency).
In short, the water is safe to drink by EPA standards, but it’s hard enough to cause visible scale, damage appliances, and reduce the life of the very fixtures that make older Delaney Park homes valuable.
Water softening Lake Davis vs reverse osmosis — what does each do?
These often get conflated. However, they do different jobs.
| Water softener | Reverse osmosis | |
|---|---|---|
| Removes | Hardness minerals (calcium, magnesium) | Chlorine residual, TDS, lead, PFAS, trace contaminants |
| Where | Whole house | Whole house (with alkaline RO) or just one faucet (under-sink) |
| Protects | Pipes, fixtures, appliances | Drinking water and cooking water quality |
| Price installed | $1,200 | $2,950 (whole-house alkaline) |
For most Lake Davis homes, a softener alone is the right first step — it’s the one that protects your 90-year-old pipes and original fixtures. Additionally, an RO system adds drinking water quality on top. If you can afford the $4,150 combo, it’s the complete solution. Alternatively, if you’re doing this in phases, soften first, upgrade later.
Water softening Lake Davis pricing — plain numbers, no quote games
| System | Price installed |
|---|---|
| Whole-house water softener | $1,200 |
| Whole-house alkaline RO | $2,950 |
| Softener + RO combo (complete solution) | $4,150 |
| Under-sink RO (kitchen only) | $495 – $895 |
For an older Delaney Park bungalow, a softener at $1,200 is typically the entry point. Specifically, most of our Lake Davis installs start there and upgrade to the full combo within 2 to 3 years once the homeowner sees the difference. Annual maintenance plan: $195/year (optional — includes resin check and pre-filter swap). Written quote within 2 business days of your call.
Our 4-step install process
- Free water test and plumbing inspection. We check hardness, TDS, pH, and run a quick look at your supply lines. Importantly, historic homes sometimes have surprises (galvanized runs, capped stubs from old appliance hookups) — we find these before install, not during.
- Written quote. One number, itemized.
- Install in 3 to 5 hours. For most Delaney Park homes, the softener mounts in the garage or a utility closet. We tie into the main supply after the meter. However, if your home doesn’t have a traditional utility space (some Lake Copeland bungalows don’t), we’ll propose a creative mounting spot and show you the routing.
- 30-day follow-up. We re-test and confirm the numbers are where they should be.
Service area
We install in all of 32806 — Lake Davis, Delaney Park, Lake Copeland, Lake Lancaster, SoDo, and Thornton Park’s southern edge. In addition, we serve adjacent Conway, Belle Isle, and downtown Orlando — plus Dr. Phillips, Windermere, Baldwin Park, and Oviedo for well-water systems.
FAQ — water softening Lake Davis questions
How hard is OUC water in Lake Davis and Delaney Park?
Typical OUC system data runs 7 to 9 grains per gallon of hardness across the zones that serve Lake Davis and Delaney Park. That’s moderately hard to hard — enough to leave visible scale on faucets, reduce appliance life, and build up in your water heater.
My house is from 1935. Can you still install a softener?
Yes. We’ve worked on homes built as early as the 1920s. Specifically, older homes sometimes require creative mounting (smaller closet spaces, different access points) and occasionally a short run of new copper to tie into the main. However, the installation itself works the same as in a modern home.
Should I replace my old galvanized pipes first?
It depends. If your pipes are visibly corroded, leaking, or showing reduced flow, you’re better off replacing them before installing a softener — the softener will extend the life of good plumbing, not revive failed plumbing. Moreover, we’ll flag anything we see during the pre-install inspection. However, if your pipes still have life in them, the softener actually slows further corrosion by eliminating the hardness that accelerates it.
What’s the difference between water softening and water filtration?
A softener removes hardness minerals (calcium and magnesium) via ion exchange — it makes water feel “soft” and stops scale. In contrast, a filter removes particulates, chlorine residual, or specific contaminants — it changes water quality for drinking. Furthermore, a reverse osmosis system is a filter that removes nearly everything, including TDS. In fact, most homes benefit from both: softener for the plumbing, filter/RO for the drinking water.
How long does a softener install take in a Lake Davis home?
3 to 5 hours for most installs. A bit longer if your home doesn’t have a traditional utility closet and we need to get creative with the mount location. Additionally, older homes with unusual supply-line configurations may take the full 5 to 6 hours.
Do I need HOA approval for a softener in Delaney Park?
Most of Lake Davis and Delaney Park pre-dates the HOA era — they’re older neighborhoods that pre-date formal HOA governance. For properties in the Lake Copeland area with any deed restrictions, the softener mounts inside the garage or utility closet with no exterior visible change, so approval isn’t typically required. Additionally, we’ll review your specific covenants during the free consultation.
Protect your Delaney Park home’s plumbing
Call (407) 602-8249 for a free water test and plumbing inspection. If a softener is the right first step, we’ll tell you. However, if your plumbing needs attention first, we’ll tell you that too.