Water treatment questions, answered plainly

From a test, not a sales pitch. Your water source and test results point to a system type: for example, iron and low pH on a well point toward filtration and a neutralizer, while chlorine taste on city water points toward carbon. Our packages show the common starting points.

Yes, always. On city water, start with your utility's annual report. On a private well, get a certified-lab panel. Here's how our water testing works.

No. A TDS meter measures dissolved minerals, not lead, arsenic or bacteria, and the Water Quality Association has warned that color-change demos don't indicate contamination.^[source] We don't use either as evidence.

A softener uses ion exchange to remove hardness minerals (calcium and magnesium) that cause scale.^[source] A filter, such as activated carbon, traps contaminants and improves taste and odor.^[source] They solve different problems, and many homes need neither or only one. More on water softeners.

Almost certainly not. Charlotte Water's 2025 report lists hardness at 32 mg/L,^[source] which is soft by USGS standards.^[source] Check yours with our softener check.

Water pressure pushes water through a membrane that rejects many dissolved contaminants. Treated water goes to a storage tank or faucet, and the rejected water goes to the drain.^[source] Read more about reverse osmosis.

Whole-house (point-of-entry) systems treat all the water entering the home, which matters for things you notice in showers and laundry, like chlorine odor or iron staining. Drinking-water (point-of-use) systems, like under-sink RO, treat one tap for what you drink and cook with. Many homes need only the second.

On the manufacturer's schedule for your model, which depends on the system and how much water you use. EPA advises tracking days or gallons if there's no indicator light.^[source]

RO: prefilter, postfilter and membrane changes. Carbon: media or cartridge replacement. UV: lamp replacement and sleeve cleaning. Softeners: salt refills and periodic valve and resin checks. A Care Plan schedules all of it.

NC DHHS recommends bacteria testing every year, metals, nitrate, lead and copper every two years, and pesticides and VOCs every five years, plus testing after repairs, flooding or any change in taste, color or odor.^[source]

Yes. Care Plans cover equipment of any brand, whether or not you bought it from us.

An independent, NC- or SC-licensed plumbing contractor, under a separate agreement with you. We sell and size the equipment and coordinate with the plumber.

That depends on the system and your plumbing, so the independent plumber schedules the work and gives you their own time estimate. We'll make sure they have the equipment and specs ahead of time.

Because the right system depends on your results and your plumbing. You get a written quote with the full price before you sign anything. Financing is available.

Yes, for sales signed at your home. NC law gives you until midnight of the third business day after signing,^[source] and the FTC Cooling-Off Rule requires refunds within 10 business days of your cancellation notice.^[source] Your contract includes the written notice.

We serve communities within about a two-hour drive of Charlotte in North and South Carolina, measured with road-network drive times.^[source] Find your town on our service areas page.

We're a new company, so we don't have any yet, and we won't invent them. When we ask for reviews, we'll ask every customer the same way, with no incentives and no filtering out unhappy customers. See our reviews page.

Softeners for soft city water, systems justified by TDS or color-change demos, and anything sold with fake urgency. The full list is on what we won't sell you.