Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Whether you have questions to help come to a decision on which system you want or if you have questions after getting a
system installed, we have compiled a list of some of
our most frequently asked questions.
Questions About My Whole Home System
Questions About My Reverse Osmosis System
Deciding on a System
Which system is best for me?
Las Vegas valley's water has a variety of contaminants throughout. Which system you need really depends on how thorough you are looking to treat water. Give us a call and we would be happy to go over the differences between all of our systems.
What is the difference between salt based systems and salt-free?
Salt based softener systems are using an ion exchange process to completely remove harness from the water. Salt-free systems are treating the hardest a way to allow it to flow through the water rather than forming scale, rendering hardness much more manageable. However, you will still have hardness in the water with a salt-free system.
How much space do I need for a system?
Footprint Size Needed:
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Essential/Defender 26" x 16" x 62" Tall
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Champion 38" x 16" x 62" Tall
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Guardian 30" x 15" x 52" Tall
What is a soft water loop?
Having a soft water loop means your home is pre-plumbed for a softener. There is water supply piping for your water supply all throughout your home (besides the kitchen cold and outside hose bibs), a drain line, and a power outlet. You can take a look at a picture of a loop HERE.
What is the grain count for your systems?
Standard Sized Essential: 1 cuft or 32k Grains
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Large Essential: 1.5 cuft or 48k Grains
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Defender: 1.5 cuft of resin, 60k Grains total with other medias
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Champion: 1.5 cuft of resin/carbon, 60k Grains total with other medias
What is the recommended size of system for my home?
Our standard sized Essential (1 cuft/32k grains) we would recommend for a home up to 2500 sqft or up to a family of 4. For a home up to 6500 sqft or up to a family of 10, our Large Essential, Defender, or Champion would fit great! Anything larger, we would be happy to build a custom unit for your home.
Do you offer financing?
Yes, we work with a company called Wisetack who offer easy, flexible installment loans with multiple options to chose from. You can learn more information and get prequalified here.
What are your warranties?
For our whole home systems, we offer a lifetime equipment warranty on most parts. Reverse osmosis systems have a 5 year equipment warranty. All of our systems installed have a 2 year labor warranty.
Are your systems proprietary?
No, we are not using any proprietary components on our systems so they can be serviced by a variety of service companies.
Will I lose pressure with a softener system?
We use full port piping and high flow heads to ensure there is not a significant pressure loss throughout your home.
How much electricity do your systems use?
Our electric control heads use less than $1 a year worth of electricity.
How much salt does a softener add to the water?
The salt for a softener is used for cleaning and recharging the softening media. It is not actively added to the water. A minuscule amount of salt is added to the water. There is not enough to be tasted or to get a reading for salinity.
What is the flow rate on your systems?
For our whole home softeners, there is a 31 GPM flow rate. The Guardian is limited to 16 GPM as the effectiveness of the media is limited by the flow through of the water.
Is there a warranty on your medias?
There is a 5 year warranty on the medias in the tanks. Media is considered more of a wear item, but it will be covered if it is discovered to be faulty. However, you should be seeing 15-20 years on the media.
Are there other colors available for the whole home systems?
Our systems come standard as black systems for our Essential, Defender and Guardian. Our Champion unit comes in a Platinum color. We do have some other options depending upon availability, feel free to reach out!
What are my options for drinking water?
We would recommend a Purifier reverse osmosis system for perfect drinking water. That would be a point-of-use drinking water system to be installed underneath the kitchen sink. The Champion system and Guardian system will also provide better tasting, filtered water throughout the home. They will not be as thorough as an RO system.
What is the purpose of a reverse osmosis system?
An RO system is a point-of-use drinking water system that provides perfect drinking water from the kitchen sink. Reverse osmosis is one of the highest forms of filtration providing thorough removal of TDS from the water.
What color faucets are available for your ROs?
We have chrome, brushed nickel, oil rubbed bronze, and black reverse osmosis faucets in stock. Beyond that, we can install a customer supplied drinking water faucet if another finish/style would be preferred.
Questions About My Whole Home System
How do I fill my brine tank?
Your system installation comes with your first 3 bags of salt. A full brine tank can be run down to the last 6" of salt. When you are running low, just head to your nearest store that carries salt and pick up 3-4 bags. Our preference on salt is the coarse/crystals as they dissolve a little better than the bigger pellets or cubes. However, our systems do not require that kind of salt. Whatever is most convenient for you to pick up would work! Just fill your brine tank 75-80% full and you will be good to go for another few months.
How often will I need to add salt?
We have built our systems to try to be as efficient as possible on salt. Salt consumption depends on water usage. For 2 people in the home, a full brine tank should last around 4-6 months. For a family of 5, it should last between 2-5 months. The salt can be run down to the last 6 inches in the bottom.
I ran out of salt. What should I do?
Running out of salt is not an ideal circumstance, but we certainly understand how it happens and you will not do catastrophic damage. First step would be to fill up your brine tank. After there is salt in the brine tank, just hit the “REGEN” button one time. A “Regen Today” message will then pop up on the screen. That will send your system through a regeneration at its scheduled time (around 2am or so). If you have a tank water heater, the next day you would want to run a bathtub on the hottest water setting till it runs completely cold. That will get rid of any untreated water allowing your water heater to be filled with treated, soft water.
Why is my brine tank dirty?
The salt used for a softener is not a food grade salt which is where the "dirty" appearance comes from. It is harmless and the salt is only used for the cleaning and recharging of your softening media. That water does not directly enter your water supply.
Do I need to add water to my brine tank?
No, there actually should not be an excess amount of water in your brine tank. Our systems operate with a "pre-fill" which means water is added at the start of a regeneration cycle to build the brine water for cleaning.
What kind of maintenance is needed?
No real maintenance should be needed on our salt softener systems (aside from regularly adding salt) for about 15-20 years. The Guardian starts to lose benefits after about 5-10 years. At that point, all of our units are completely rebuildable.
What is the rushing water noise coming from my system in the middle of the night?
Our systems are set up to start their regeneration cycles at 2am, which is why if you are up at that hour on a regeneration night, you will hear running water from the system going into your laundry room drain.
How often will my system regenerate?
Our standard sized Essential system will regenerate roughly every 1300 gallons of water you go through. Our larger systems will regenerate roughly every 2000 gallons of water you go through.
Can I change the regeneration time on my system?
We set up our systems with a 2am regeneration time so no one will be using water while it is recharging the media. If you use water during a regen cycle, hard water would be added back into your water supply. Ideally, we want the regen time to start while everyone is asleep in the home.
How much water and salt are used in a regeneration cycle?
39 gallons of water and 9 pounds of salt are used for a complete regeneration cycle.
Questions About My Reverse Osmosis System
How often do I need to change my filters?
We recommend filter changes every 24-36 months.
When does my membrane need to be replaced?
We are seeing reverse osmosis membranes last in the 5-12 year range.
What indicates that I need a filter change?
Time is your biggest indicator. As long as you follow regular filter changes in the 24-26 month range, it will keep your RO running optimally.
Can I change the filters myself?
Certainly! If you felt comfortable servicing your own reverse osmosis system, we can email over a link to a place filters can be purchased online. None of our systems are proprietary.
What is the waste ratio on your RO?
Our Purifier is operating with a 1:1.6 waste ratio. To produce one gallon of water, it will waste 1.6 gallons. Most ROs are typically a 1:3 ratio.
I hear water running in my sink. Is that normal?
Yes! The running water sounds after getting water from your Purifier system is the system producing the depleted water. It does take some time to reproduce water, so water can run for a while.
Why does my RO make strange noises?
Especially after installation, it is normal to hear thumping noises, humming, vibrations, running water, etc.. Air can get trapped in the system which can lead to various noises. It can take weeks for the air to work its way out of the system.
What should my TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) be at?
You should see a reading of under 50ppm. Typically, we are reading under 20ppm.
What does an alkaline filter do?
The alkaline stage uses calcite, corosex and minerals to raise the pH. Initially, we are testing between 9.9 up to 10.5 in pH. It slowly drops over time and settles at about 1.2-1.5 pH above a non-alkaline RO (7-7.5 in pH).
What does a mineral filter do?
A mineral filter also adds positive minerals back into the water following the purification process. However, it will not raise the pH.
My water tastes stale. What can I do to fix that?
Any taste changes can typically be alleviated by purging a complete tank of water. You just turn on the faucet and run it out to a slow trickle (typically 10+ minutes or so).
If I fill a glass of water, I see particles in it. Is that something to be concerned about?
That is completely normal! Those particles are not sediment, but rather air bubbles. If you leave a filled glass out and allow it to sit, you will see that the bubbles will dissipate.
Why is my ice not perfectly clear?
Residential freezers do not freeze the water quick enough to create perfectly clear ice. It is completely normal and does not affect the quality of the water in your ice.