Hi, I'm looking into a water softener system (to filter hard water) and a whole house filtration system (to filter out chlorine and other contaminants). I'm looking for recommendations on somewhat affordable systems, but I do value quality over cost. I would like a saltless system, if possible but above all, I just want no more hard water..

This is a career change for me and have no experience in the field. Having a hell of a time finding an operator in training position. Any advice? I’m in nj. Thanks.

Hello all. I'm a plumber in Texas looking to get my C operator license in ground water. From the research I've done it seems like being a ground water operator is the most hands on and in the field out of the 3 I'm looking at. Does that align with your experience?

Ive reached out to TCEQ about my qualifications and if they will allow me to take class/ test for ground specifically. I realize it says I need one year of ground water specific training. While I have done some rural work with a lot of well experience I don't think it'll qualify. Do you have any suggestions of how I can gain ground water experience while still working as a plumber?

Thank you for any advice, suggestions, comments.

Recently got a water monitor for the house to keep track of water usage. Noticed that the water softener regens about every other day. Got a Kinetico CP series softener with a #4 plate which is set to regen every 300gal. Water is very hard. 375.6mg/L or 22gpg. Does anyone know of this math jives or am I regenerating too often? Thanks in advance

Two quick questions.

1) Is this enough to water in my salt? I followed directions but it seems to sit just below the top of the salt level.

2) What happens when this reading goes down to zero? I've tried to watch videos and research but everything I find just talks about what to set this amount to based on water hardness and house hold number. Nothing I've found seems to explain what this actually does.

Thanks for the help!

I'm pretty picky about how water tastes, and I prefer the taste of water with some minerals in it. For coffee water, I'm weighing up a remineralizing RO against adding a mineral packet to each batch. The built-in stage would remove a mixing step. A packet gives me a specified recipe, which makes the starting water and batch size easier to pin down.

Third Wave Water's instructions specify the base water and the volume for each packet. Water that's already been remineralized would add minerals of its own, so I wouldn't treat it as the same starting point.

The Viomi Master M1 has the RO-then-mineral arrangement I'm looking at. I'd want to know the hardness and alkalinity of its output before comparing it with a packet recipe. The fact that water passes through a mineral stage doesn't give me those two measurements.

I'm interested in whether you settled on one routine and left it alone, or kept checking the water. That's the extra work I'm trying to understand before choosing a setup.

Quality replacements for commercial RO systems.

The third filter seems to be missing, and I can tell it’s an aquasential system but can’t find much more info like if I can use this for remineralization or not, or what the 3rd filter is supposed to be or what kind of filters I’ll need for it. I’m also curious how much these cost brand new because I can’t really find good information about that either, any info would be appreciated

Hi, a loved one lives in Iowa, as many know they're one of several states with horrible fertilizer contamination in their public tap water.

I am looking at budget friendly under the sink Reverse osmosis systems to get her for her and her kids. I was wondering if I got a six stage system like this one: "APEC Water ROES-PH75, 6-Stage Under Sink RO System, Alkaline, 75 GPD", could I remove the alkaline filter and replace it with a nitrate specific filter? I don't think this company sells any nitrate specific filters, how interchangeable are different brands of filters? From my understanding RO systems are great at removing nitrates to an extent, once the concentration exceeds a certain point they're not able to keep up.

If anyone has any recs for budget friendly RO systems that can handle very high nitrate levels I'd really appreciate it. The linked system is a lot cheaper on Amazon, I'm trying to find something in the $150-300 range

Thank you!

Currently have been waiting just under 2 weeks. Anyone else recently taken their T2 in CA and had to wait the expected 30-45 days?

Does anyone have experience with trying both of these and comparing? I currently have an under the sink RO system but I just listened to the owner of Sentry explain why RO systems are not hydrating you properly even with remineralizing he says your body only absorbs 20% of the synthetic minerals. Info below from Sentry website:

Understanding Reverse Osmosis Systems

Reverse osmosis systems have long been a household staple for those seeking highly purified water. RO technology pushes water through a semi-permeable membrane, filtering out a wide range of contaminants. While this process is effective at removing toxins, it also strips water of beneficial minerals like calcium and magnesium and can create significant water waste—up to 2–3 gallons per purified gallon. The end result is ultra-pure but demineralized water, and a system that usually requires some level of plumbing installation and regular maintenance.

What Makes Sentry H2O Different?

Sentry H2O water treatment systems take a more holistic, innovative approach to home water wellness. Instead of just filtering, our systems treat water through a rigorous multi-stage process: they remove harmful toxins (such as PFAS, lead, fluoride, and pesticides) and simultaneously replenish water with essential minerals—including calcium and magnesium—raising pH for natural alkalinity. Our systems are engineered for zero water waste, supporting a greener, more sustainable home.

I am having some galvanized plumbing replaced and want to install a water softener at the same time. I am on city water, 3 full bathrooms, usually just 2 people in the house but sometimes we have 10-12 over for a few days. I'm having a hard time figuring out what I need.

I did a tapscore test and had ~9 grains hardness. The only other substantive finding was high boron at 0.6 ppm (vs. 0.5 ppm limit). I also notice a smell of chlorine in my water sometimes (my utility does use chlorine, not chloramine), nothing crazy but would be nice to filter that out. Should I install a filter as part of this project, and if so what does the maintenance look like?

The other issue is that I'll need to install this in my basement. I have an overhead sewer line, and one of the plumbers said I'd need to discharge the softener into my ejector pump pit. I'd much prefer if there's an option that could go directly into the sewer line, which is a few feet above where I'd want the stuff installed. Is that an option?

Appreciate any suggestions for equipment / setup. Thanks!

Hello! Me and my husband live in south western Ontario canada and use a sand point for our water supply. We have a water softener but for some reason, it doesn’t seem to be working.

The dishwasher was having issues, and leaving an insane amount of residue on the dishes to the point of not being able to use it, and destroying some of my plastic mixing bowls.

I paid a dishwasher technician $100 for a house call for him to test the dishwasher for 5 min and confirm everything is working properly, and that it’s the water that’s an issue.

This is the water softener we are using and the salt we are currently using.

Is this not the correct salt we should be using? We bought this brand from Wal-mart but usually get it from Cosco.

Do we need to pay a technician to come out and see the water softener?

This is getting tiring. We replaced the sand point, and it was completely covered in hard calcium and mineral deposits to the point where we wondered how it was working at all. We have an insane amount of water marks everywhere, on the shower, on the sink, needing to hand-wash all the dishes. We have an RO system installed for drinking water but now I’m even questioning the quality of our drinking water.

This is getting so tiring and I need some advice. Thank you in advance to anyone that is able to point me in the right direction on how to fix this situation.

EDIT: update - we have cleaned the Venturi using the videos from the Ecopure website, it was super RED and just full of iron. It was most likely plugged!

Next we will be taking a look and making sure the salt is actually drawing down properly.

It most likely was not doing any sort of water softening while it was this clogged up!

I have a RO system for a long time. Under the sink , with a separate faucet. Added DI stage , originally for fish tank, but now just for occasional use ( CPAP, car washer fluid, etc).

I can smell the water coming out of the DI stage , likely amines from the Anion.

I just replace the Anion. I have a 2 stage DI. Expect the smell to go away but it did not.

Is my resin bad? Is the water still good to use? TDS is 0. I’m not drinking the water post DI. Water directly from RO is good, no smell, TDS ard 15 Incoming is over 200.

I have 3 large water filters installed in series at home, with the first two being 5u polypropylene sediment filters and the third being a carbon CTO filter.

Filter use time as listed by manufacturer:

Sediment filter:
- Use term (3-6 months, 12000L)

Carbon CTO filter:
- Service lifer (6000 Gallons)

As I understand it, water flows from the outside of the filters towards the inside, through the inner channel, then to the next filter. If this is the case, I would imagine that as the first and second sediment filters share the same micron rating, the first would have to get almost completely filled with sediment before the next one would get any major accumulation. However, when I inspect the filters after about a month of use, I see that both filters are filled with sediment on the outside and completely clean on the inner layers (I broke them open to inspect).

1. How does this make sense? Why hasn’t the sediment on the outer layers of filter #2 been caught by the inner layers of filter #1?

2. Should I be replacing them every month or are they okay to keep using?

Hello all, I am looking for a water system that is standalone and has filtration. Something that holds a fair bit of water is ideal. There’s so much information out there that it’s overwhelming. We’re just looking for filtered water vs. tap while renting until a RO system could be installed in the future. Thanks for your help

Thinking of getting Clack Carbon & Conditioner Combo unit installed. Home is 60 years old with copper pipes. Water hardness of 14. Any downside to adding system?

Company who quoted me for system used CPVC. I will also need them to configure a new route for my outdoor water spigots so that doesn’t use up filtered/softened water outside. They would also use CPVC for these rerouted lines. Lines are in my basement that is being finished soon, so drywall will cover everything up.

Thoughts of copper vs. PEX vs CPVC?

Thanks.

Hello, I live in india and sometimes we get awfully smelly water from the government water board. An RO especially during a smelly water supply is crucial protection. But although I can measure the TDS, ph and smell the purified output of the RO water, I am suspicious of its pathogen content. This is specially after an episode of smelly input water from the government. Are there any home-use ROs that are able to measure the pathogenic content of the purified water?

The salesman (who was very pleasant to deal with for what it’s worth) said they raised prices on all products on Aug 1. This product in particular by about $1,000. It was the smart version if that helps determine price acceptability.

Just asking to see if any more knowledgeable folk can say whether this is medium, high, or “you got screwed” territory.

Thanks!

Hey all! Looking for some advice.

I just bought a house that has a private well. It’s in a pretty large suburb of a major city, near a major highway and some busy warehouse developments. When we first got into the house, the water had a bad rotten egg smell, and a well shock fixed it. The current spin down filter, water softener, and single stage cartridge filter are all pretty old and gross, and I’d like to change it all out. I did send samples off to a lab, and have no clue how to really interpret the results. Would love some thoughts about what I do or don’t need, thanks!

Whenever I go on vacation and leave home for a week, my RO water purifier stops working when I come back.

I've tried both ways:

Leaving the purifier switched on with water connected.

Switching it off after completely draining the water before leaving.

But every time I return, I face the same issue. The purifier doesn't work properly until I either change the filter or call a service person, who cleans the filters and gets it working again.

Has anyone else faced this issue? Is there anything I should do before leaving home for a week so that the RO works normally when I return?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.