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Iron and manganese
Rust stains, orange water, metallic taste.
Dissolved metals ride up from the aquifer and oxidize in your fixtures. We remove them with oxidation and dedicated filtration media, sized to your actual iron count.
Well water you can finally trust.
Iron stains, rotten egg smell, scale, and grit do not come with the territory. We test your well for free, then build the exact treatment system your water needs. Family owned since 1989.
Since 1989
WQA Certified
Texas Class 3 Licensed
24/7 Repairs
35+years on Hill Country wells
14major brands installed and repaired
24/7emergency repair, a person answers
Class 3licensed, WQA certified technicians
The symptom check
What is your well telling you?
Tap everything you have noticed at home. We will tell you what it usually means, and carry your answers into your free analysis request.
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That is iron and manganese oxidizing on your fixtures. An oxidation and filtration system removes both before they reach the house.
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Hydrogen sulfide gas, very common in limestone wells. Aeration or oxidizing media takes the smell out at the source.
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Calcium and magnesium hardness, the signature of Hill Country limestone. A properly sized softener ends the scale and saves your appliances.
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Sand and sediment pulled up from the well itself. Multi-stage sediment filtration clears it and protects everything downstream.
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Usually dissolved iron, or acidic water slowly eating your copper plumbing. Testing tells us which, and pH correction stops the damage.
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Rain events can carry surface water into a well. A UV purification stage makes the water safe without adding any chemicals.
0 signs checked. Your free analysis will confirm exactly what is in your water, at no cost.
Get My Free AnalysisThe difference
Same well. Different water.
Drag the line. The left glass is what a Hill Country well can pull up. The right glass is the same water after a system built for it.
From the wellhead
From your tap
No two wells test the same. That is why we never quote a system before we test the water it has to treat.
What we remove, and how
Every problem your well can throw at you.
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Sulfur odor
Rotten egg smell at the tap.
Hydrogen sulfide gas is dissolved in the water itself, so candles and cleaning never fix it. Aeration and oxidizing media strip the gas before it enters your plumbing.
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Hardness and scale
Crusted faucets, spotted glass, appliances dying young.
Hill Country water is drawn through limestone, so it arrives loaded with calcium and magnesium. A correctly sized softener ends scale and cuts soap use in half.
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Sediment
Cloudy water, grit in aerators, clogged valves.
Sand and fines from the well bore wear out everything they touch. Multi-stage sediment filtration polishes the water and protects the rest of the system.
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Bacteria
Positive coliform test, changes after rain.
A private well has no city treatment plant behind it. UV purification neutralizes bacteria, viruses, and protozoa continuously, with no chemicals added to your water.
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pH problems
Blue-green stains, pinhole leaks in copper.
Acidic water quietly dissolves plumbing from the inside. Neutralizing systems bring the pH back to balance and stop the corrosion for good.
How it works
From first test to forever support.
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Step 1
We test your water at your kitchen table
A licensed technician runs the analysis at your home: hardness, iron, pH, total dissolved solids, and sulfur. You watch the results appear and hear what they mean in plain English.
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Step 2
We design around your results
No packages off a shelf. The system is drawn up from your water chemistry, your well's output, and how your household actually uses water. You approve a firm quote before anything happens.
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Step 3
Licensed techs install it right
WQA certified installers holding Class 3 licenses with the Texas Water Commission do the work to code, test every stage, and leave you with water you can taste the difference in.
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Step 4
We stay with you for the life of the system
Maintenance, media changes, salt schedules, and 24/7 emergency repair on every major brand. When you call, the same family answers that answered in 1989.
Since 1989
The same family, answering the same number, for 35 years.
Gaines Soft Water started treating San Antonio well water in 1989, back when most of the Hill Country was ranchland. We have tested thousands of wells between here and Fredericksburg since, and the patterns are burned in: which valleys run high iron, which ridges smell of sulfur, where the limestone bites hardest.
That local memory is why we do not guess, and why we will not sell you a system before we have seen your water. Test first, design second, install once.
The Gaines Family
San Antonio, Texas
We install and repair every major brand on your slab:
RainsoftCulliganRayneDMSAlamoLindsaySearsAqua MasterG.E.BrunerHagueStarWater BossMontgomery Wards
From the wells we serve
Neighbors first, customers second.
Our tubs looked rusted after two years in this house. Gaines tested the well, set up an iron filter with a softener behind it, and the stains never came back. They still check the system every year.
New construction on a fresh well, and the water smelled like eggs from the first day. They designed the whole treatment setup before we even moved in. The water is perfect now.
Our softener quit on a Saturday with a house full of guests. A real person answered the phone and a tech was out the same evening. That is why you hire a family company.
Where we work
If your well is in the Hill Country, you are in our area.
From our home base in San Antonio we run service routes through the whole Texas Hill Country, seven days a week.
- San Antonio
- Boerne
- Bulverde
- New Braunfels
- Spring Branch
- Helotes
- Fredericksburg
- Kerrville
- Dripping Springs
- Wimberley
- Blanco
- Marble Falls
West of Austin? Call us. If we can reach your well, we will treat it.
San Antonio
Boerne
Bulverde
New Braunfels
Fredericksburg
Kerrville
Wimberley
Straight answers
Questions well owners actually ask.
What does the free well water analysis include?
A licensed technician comes to your home and tests your water on the spot for hardness, iron, pH, total dissolved solids, and sulfur odor. If we suspect bacteria, we recommend a certified lab test. You get the results explained in plain English and a written recommendation. There is no cost and no obligation.
How much does a well water treatment system cost?
It depends entirely on what is in your water. A single-issue fix like a softener costs far less than a multi-stage system treating iron, sulfur, and bacteria together. That is exactly why we test first: you get a firm quote based on your actual water chemistry, and we never sell equipment your water does not need.
Why does my well water smell like rotten eggs?
That smell is hydrogen sulfide gas, which is common in Hill Country wells drilled through limestone. It is usually harmless at low levels but unpleasant, and it can corrode plumbing over time. An aeration or oxidizing media system removes the gas at the source so the smell is gone at every tap.
Can you repair my existing water softener or filter?
Yes. We install and repair every major brand, including Rainsoft, Culligan, Rayne, DMS, Alamo, Lindsay, Sears, Aqua Master, G.E., Bruner, Hague, Star, Water Boss, and Montgomery Wards. Repair service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Is well water safe to drink?
Private wells are not regulated or treated by anyone but you, so safety depends on testing. Most Hill Country well problems, like hardness, iron, and sulfur, are nuisance issues rather than health risks. Bacteria is the exception, and UV purification handles it reliably. We recommend testing your well at least once a year.
How fast can you get to an emergency repair?
We answer the phone around the clock and reach most of our service area the same day, including weekends. If your system fails or your water changes suddenly, call 210-635-7418 at any hour.
Free analysis, honest answer
Find out what is actually in your water.
Thirty minutes at your kitchen table. Real numbers, a plain explanation, and a firm quote only if your water needs one. If it tests clean, we will tell you that too.
210-635-7418Prefer email? gaines.softwater@gmail.com