System options
Systems by water source
The first question is not which filter. It is where your water comes from, because that decides what is left to treat.
City or county water
The utility treats and tests the water before it reaches your meter. What is left to decide is taste, smell and what you drink.
We read your utility's yearly water report with you
Chlorine or chloramine smell: carbon filtration, at the kitchen or the main
Dissolved minerals at the drinking tap: reverse osmosis
Hardness: noted, and a softener discussed only if scale is the complaint
A private well
Nobody tests it for you unless you do. We take readings first, and we ask whether a laboratory test has ever been done.
Iron and hardness: the first stage is chosen to suit the reading
Sulfur smell: found at the source before it is treated
Pump and pressure tank: checked against the system's flow
Bacteria and nitrates: a laboratory test, your call, and we hand you the result
A condo or villa
Shared plumbing, little room and an association. The system has to fit the cabinet and the rules.
Reverse osmosis under the sink, with its own small tap
Association approval: we ask before we cut anything
Drain connection and tank position agreed with you first
Whole-home treatment only where there is a utility closet and approval
A second home
Empty for months, then full for weeks. The system has to cope with both.
A flush before the first fill of the season
A cartridge schedule that follows your season, not the calendar
A shutoff and bypass you can use before you leave
Readings repeated after the house has been closed up
At a glance
What each system changes, and what it leaves alone
Every system does one job well and leaves the rest to something else. This is the short version we go through at the visit.
| What it leaves alone | What it changes | |
|---|---|---|
| Reverse osmosis at the kitchen sink | What it leaves aloneThe rest of the house's water, exactly as it arrives. | What it changesTypically lowers dissolved solids and changes taste at one dedicated tap. |
| Whole-home carbon | What it leaves aloneHardness and dissolved minerals. | What it changesChanges chlorine taste and smell at every tap in the house. |
| Sediment prefilter | What it leaves aloneTaste, smell and anything dissolved. | What it changesCatches grit and particles before they reach fixtures and the next stage. |
| Whole-home carbon with kitchen RO | What it leaves aloneNothing on the maintenance list: it adds two things to look after, not one. | What it changesTreats house water for taste and smell, and the drinking tap further. |
Before we size anything
What a system needs from the house
A short list we check on the test visit, so the proposal does not change after you sign it.
Room
A wall, pad or garage corner near the main for a whole-home system. A cabinet for a kitchen unit.
A drain
Reverse osmosis sends its rinse water to a drain. We find one that works before we promise a position.
A way in
An accessible main shutoff and, for some stages, a power outlet within reach.
Permission
A permit where the town asks for one, and your association's approval where you have one.
Not sure which source you are?
Tell us your street and what you notice at the tap. We will say what we would measure first.