What should I record first?
Record whether the change affects hot water, cold water or both and whether it followed a salt refill, power loss, service visit or a change in household use. Feel, spotting and soap behavior are useful observations, but they are not a substitute for a hardness result.
What changes the recommendation?
A provider can compare untreated and treated samples, bypass position, brine draw, regeneration settings and flow demand. Hardness breaking through near the end of a cycle needs a different response from a system that never softens after regeneration.
What should the service scope include?
Bring the valve model, settings and any error code to the service request. Ask for a measured restoration criterion, then review the related repair guide instead of buying additional filtration for an unconfirmed hardness issue.
Use the correct Palm City source
Confirm the supplying account or household well. Martin County’s 2025 Drinking Water Quality Report, public system4431891, is public-system context and not an individual tap or private-well result. The County utility map helps identify the account. A separate irrigation well may feed landscaping rather than the household. Source reviewed October 3, 2026.
Read the Palm City source guide and local Learn article. Compare well treatment, softening, filtration and all service guides. Use the educational check if the starting point is unclear.