Water softener help for Hobbs, New Mexico

How it works

1. Call or send a request

   Tell us your town, where your water comes from and what you're noticing.

2. We connect you

   We pass your call to an independent water treatment company that serves Hobbs.

3. They call you back

   They test the water, suggest equipment or a repair, and quote you directly.

Who is this site for?

Homeowners in Hobbs, Lovington, Eunice and the smaller towns and ranch properties around Lea County who want to deal with scale, spotting or a softener that's stopped working. Maybe you're shopping for your first softener. Maybe you bought a house with one already in the garage and no idea how it's set. Maybe you're on a private well and want to know what's in the water before you buy anything. Drinking-water systems, like a reverse osmosis faucet at the kitchen sink, are covered too.

Where does Hobbs get its water?

From under the ground. The City of Hobbs' 2024 water quality report says the Ogallala Aquifer is the city's only water source, that the aquifer sits about 80 feet beneath the community, and that the city runs 33 wells to pump from it. The Ogallala is the big aquifer under the High Plains, and Hobbs sits on its southwestern edge, on the flat plain known as the Llano Estacado.

Is Hobbs water hard?

The city's report doesn't publish a hardness number, so the only reliable answer for your house is a test at your tap. What we can say is that a U.S. Geological Survey study of southern Lea County describes the Ogallala as chiefly a calcareous sand, which means it contains calcium carbonate. Calcium is the main mineral behind hardness, and it's what leaves the white crust on shower heads, kettles and dishwasher racks.

Once you have a reading, North Dakota State University Extension's widely used scale tells you where it falls: 3.5 to 7 grains per gallon is moderately hard, 7 to 10.5 is hard, and above 10.5 is very hard. A water treatment company should test before it recommends any equipment, and it should tell you the number it found.

Does a softener make sense for my house?

That's up to you. A softener takes calcium and magnesium out of the water so they don't build up as scale. It's worth considering if you're tired of scrubbing crust off fixtures, if you want to keep the water heater, dishwasher and washer free of buildup, or if your well tests harder than you'd like. If spotting doesn't bother you, you may decide the salt and upkeep aren't worth it. A good company tests first, explains the trade-offs and sizes the unit to your water and household, not to whatever is on the truck.

Signs your water is hard or your softener has stopped working

• White, chalky deposits around faucets, shower heads and the dishwasher door
• Glasses and shower glass that come out cloudy
• Soap and shampoo that barely lather
• Popping or rumbling from the water heater as scale collects in the tank
• Salt in the brine tank that never goes down
• A softener that runs to the drain without stopping
• Scale coming back after the softener had kept it away

What's in Hobbs city water besides hardness?

The 2024 report lists several naturally occurring substances, all below federal limits with no violations. Arsenic measured 5 to 7 parts per billion against a limit of 10, and the report notes that while the water meets the standard, it does contain low levels of arsenic. Uranium measured 4 to 8 micrograms per liter against a limit of 30, nitrate up to 4.92 parts per million against a limit of 10, and sodium 38 parts per million. A softener doesn't treat any of these. If you want a drinking tap with less of them, that's a job for a certified reverse osmosis system. More on reverse osmosis.

On a private well?

Plenty of homes outside town limits in Lea County run on their own wells. The New Mexico Environment Department says private well owners are solely responsible for the safety and quality of their water, and its Drinking Water Bureau doesn't regulate private wells. It recommends testing every spring for coliform bacteria and nitrate, testing for arsenic yearly, and testing for uranium every five years. Get those results before you pick equipment, because they can change what you need.

What happens after you call?

You tell us where you live and what's going on, and we connect you with an independent water treatment company that serves your area. They'll usually ask about your water source and how many people live in the house, test the water, look at where the equipment could go, and then recommend a system or a repair. Ask them to write down the hardness reading, the equipment model and size, and the warranty terms.

Are you a water softener company?

No. Hobbs Water Softener is a referral service. We connect you with an independent company that serves your address, and that company does the testing, quoting, installing and warranty work. Before you buy anything, read our tips for hiring a water treatment company and the Hobbs hard water guide.

Areas we cover

• Hobbs
• Lovington
• Eunice

Planning ahead? Read our Hobbs hard water guide.