Plaster that feels chalky underfoot, grout giving up, a tile line that never looks clean. Homeowners here notice those first, and they all trace back to the same thing: the water.
Water that pulls at your surfaces
Soft water can pull calcium out of plaster and grout instead of laying scale on them.
Chemistry is one of several things that can be behind it, so it's worth having someone
look before you spend money on it. Repair
diagnostic.
Heaters that sat unused
A heater that hasn't run in a while can be slow to come back. We read what it's telling
us and repair or replace only what needs it, once you've said go.
Pool heater repair.
Pumps and seals
A pump running loud, losing prime, or dripping at the seal is worth a look. We'll tell
you what we find and what it costs before we touch anything.
Pool pump repair.
Wells Branch MUD buys its water from City of Austin Water, which treats surface water out of
Lake Travis and Lake Austin. The district's own 2025 water quality report puts total hardness
at an average of 102 parts per million, across a measured range of 100 to 107. That's about
6 grains per gallon.
Here's why that matters. Pool plaster wants calcium hardness somewhere around 250 to 350
parts per million. Below roughly 150, the water goes looking for calcium, and the only calcium
it can find is in your plaster, your grout and your tile line. So it starts pulling it out.
Fill a Wells Branch pool from the tap and you're starting well under target. You're not
fighting scale here. You're fighting the opposite, and the damage shows up as etching, a
chalky feel underfoot, and grout that keeps giving up.
That's why advice from a friend in Round Rock doesn't transfer. Their water runs more than
twice as hard. Everything they do to hold scale back is the wrong direction for your pool,
and we've met plenty of owners in 78728 who spent a whole season dosing for a problem they
don't have.