Affordable and reliable softeners. Save $3,000–$10,000+ compared to the national brands. Our family owned business ensures quality with proven and dependable parts (Fleck 5600). Schedule a quick consultation today before you spend thousands more elsewhere.
Figures below come from the Orlando Utilities Commission's own published information and its 2025 Water Quality Report.
For context: water is only classified as soft below 1 grain per gallon. Orlando's 129 ppm sits inside the USGS “hard” band (121–180 mg/L) — seven times the soft threshold. If you've noticed spots on glassware or crust on your shower head, that's what 7 gpg looks like.
Sixteen substances have been detected in OUC water. Seven of them sit above a health guideline selected by the Environmental Working Group from a federal or state public health authority. Here is each one, what it was measured at, and what the guideline is protecting against.
| What's in the water | In OUC water | Health guideline | What the guideline protects against, and who set it |
|---|---|---|---|
Total trihalomethanes Chlorination byproduct |
53.4 ppb | 0.15 ppb 356× over |
Cancer. Four chemicals that form when chlorine meets organic matter during treatment. The 0.15 ppb figure is a one-in-a-million lifetime cancer risk level from a peer-reviewed EWG study.3 |
Haloacetic acids (HAA9) Chlorination byproduct |
32.7 ppb | 0.06 ppb 544× over |
Cancer. The nine-acid group, formed the same way. One-in-a-million lifetime cancer risk level, peer-reviewed EWG study. No federal legal limit exists for this group.3 |
Haloacetic acids (HAA5) Chlorination byproduct |
23.8 ppb | 0.1 ppb 238× over |
Cancer. The five federally regulated acids within that group. Same one-in-a-million basis.3 |
Bromate Ozonation byproduct |
3.52 ppb | 0.1 ppb 35× over |
Cancer. Forms when source water containing bromide is treated with ozone — which is how OUC begins treatment. Animal studies show DNA damage and cancer in multiple organs. Guideline set by the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment.3 |
Radium (226 + 228) Naturally occurring |
0.84 pCi/L | 0.05 pCi/L 17× over |
Bone cancer and other cancers. A radioactive element that occurs naturally in the Floridan aquifer. Guideline from the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment.3 |
Chromium (hexavalent) Natural and industrial |
0.0456 ppb | 0.02 ppb 2.3× over |
Cancer. Reaches groundwater from mineral deposits and from industrial pollution. Guideline from the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. No federal legal limit.3 |
1,3-Butadiene Industrial |
0.0229 ppb | 0.0103 ppb 2.2× over |
Cancer. Guideline set by the EPA as a testing benchmark under the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule. No federal legal limit.3 |
OtterSoft Water
Otter Soft Water is part of the UDI family — UDI Water, United Hydro and Otter Soft Water. Three names, one company, one job: clean water in Southeastern homes. The people installing your system, stocking your parts and answering your service call have been doing exactly this since 1979.
At 7 grains per gallon on OUC water, a softener changes what you see on the fixtures, what the appliances take, and how the water feels. On a Central Florida well, the number is often higher still.
A 30,000-grain system sized to your household and your tested hardness, regenerating on gallons actually used. The activated carbon stage matters here too, since OUC uses free chlorine you can taste — and it is the stage that addresses the chlorination byproducts in the table above.
Under-sink reverse osmosis for drinking and cooking. This is the one that addresses the substances a softener cannot — EWG lists reverse osmosis as effective against all seven of the exceedances above. Worth a look if the table concerns you, or if your household has been buying bottled water out of habit. Sold separately from the softener.
RO detailsOUC serves the City of Orlando and portions of Orange County. Much of Greater Orlando is on other utilities entirely — or on a private well — and those readings can be very different from OUC's.
If you're outside OUC's territory, the 129 ppm figure on this page doesn't describe your water. That's exactly why we test at your tap instead of quoting from a utility report.
Tell us who you are and when suits you. A local Otter technician calls to confirm, then brings your price in writing — before you spend $THOUSANDS more at the national brands.