Kinetico's Jason Stevenson: San Antonio Water Hits 150 Grains in Helotes

The September 14, 2026 episode of The Building Texas Show, titled The Hidden Damage Hard Water Is Doing to Your Home Right Now, hosted by Justin McKenzie, takes listeners onto the floor of the San Antonio Home and Garden Show at the Alamodome for a candid conversation with Jason Stevenson of Kinetico. The episode arrives as tens of thousands of new Texas homeowners, many transplants from California, Colorado, and points north, discover that South Texas water is punishing their skin, their hair, their appliances, and their bank accounts. It is a practical, timely deep dive into a problem hiding in plain sight across nearly every San Antonio garage.

Stevenson and McKenzie work through the science and economics of hard water in an unusually specific way. Listeners can expect concrete threads including:

• Why San Antonio water tests between 10 and 32 grains hard, while parts of Helotes run 50 to 150 grains.
• How fluoride and chlorine are added by San Antonio Water System to control pipe buildup, and what it means for what comes out of the tap.
• The fine print that voids tankless water heater warranties above 10 grains of hardness.
• Kinetico's dual resin tank plus carbon tank design versus single tank competitors.
• Pricing from $3,200 to $7,500, 12 months interest free financing, and military and first responder discounts.

Stevenson is blunt about the damage most homeowners never see until it is too late. "Without a water softener, your dishwasher lifespan is reduced by close to 70%," he tells McKenzie, explaining that the heating element captures calcified minerals from the aquifer's limestone. He also warns new buyers to check glass shower doors and stovetops within two to three weeks of moving in: "If you see that white residue either on the glass door or around that pot and pan, then you know you have some very hard water over there." Shower fixtures, he notes, can wear out twice a year in the hardest zones.

The conversation goes deeper on Kinetico's engineering and its Texas footprint. Because the twin tank system uses soft water to regenerate, Stevenson says units routinely last more than 20 years, with warranties that transfer to new homeowners by serial number, a rarity in the industry. On the sustainability side, Kinetico regenerates on roughly 11 gallons of water versus 62 to 92 gallons for competing systems, a point Stevenson ties directly to Texas water scarcity and the surge of data center demand. Commercial customers, including hotels, schools, churches, and San Antonio fire stations, are cited as reducing detergent use by more than half after installation.

About The Building Texas Show

The Building Texas Show, hosted by Justin McKenzie, spotlights the entrepreneurs, tradespeople, and civic leaders shaping the Lone Star State's explosive growth. Through on the ground conversations at events like the San Antonio Home and Garden Show, the podcast delivers practical insight for homeowners, business owners, and newcomers navigating life in Texas. This episode is available now wherever podcasts are heard.