Drinking Water Systems for Fullerton Kitchens
An under sink reverse osmosis system gives you one faucet of properly clean water for drinking, cooking, coffee and ice. Everything else in the house carries on with city water, which is the sensible split, since polishing the water going to a washing machine would be money thrown away.
It is the smallest and cheapest piece of water treatment most households buy. The three models are compared on the under sink drinking water systems page.
Why Fullerton Water Tastes Like It Does
Two disinfectants, blended in proportions that change. The city chlorinates its own wells, and the water it buys from Metropolitan arrives chloraminated. Which mix arrives at your street shifts over time, and chloramine is both more persistent than free chlorine and the one people find more objectionable.
That is why the taste complaint here tends to be intermittent rather than constant. A membrane system at the kitchen tap takes the variability out of it, because the finished water is the same regardless of which disinfectant was in the supply that week.
"Fullerton customers often tell me the water is fine and then correct themselves and say, well, apart from a few weeks in the summer. That is the blend changing. Once there is a membrane between the city and the coffee pot, those few weeks stop existing as far as the kitchen is concerned."
Gregg Stewart, Owner, Puronics of Orange County, CA C-55 #904801, (714) 545-3022
What the Stages Do
- Carbon. Removes sediment and chlorine, and protects the membrane behind it, since chlorine damages membranes.
- Ultrafiltration. Fine enough to act as a barrier to waterborne cysts such as Cryptosporidium and Giardia if present, and it is self cleaning.
- Reverse osmosis. Water passes the membrane and most dissolved solids do not, covering dissolved metals and the TDS load that makes water taste heavy.
- Carbon block polish. The final pass on taste and odor before the dedicated faucet.
If reverse osmosis water tastes too clean to you, the Pur Alkaline filter adds calcium and magnesium back after the last stage and lifts the pH.
Fitting One in an Older Kitchen
Fullerton has a lot of houses older than the concept of an under sink appliance. Cabinets in the downtown Craftsman and bungalow homes are frequently smaller than modern ones, and they may already be holding a disposal and a hot water dispenser.
The MICROMAX 7000 is the low profile four stage system built for that constraint and it is the usual answer here. Where space allows and the test shows a heavier dissolved solids reading, the MICROMAX 6500 adds a fifth stage and stretches the service interval. The MICROMAX 6000 is the value option. All of them run on water pressure alone, so no electrical work is involved.
This Will Not Fix Hard Water
Said plainly because it saves money. A drinking water system treats one faucet. It does nothing for the shower, the dishwasher, or the water heater, and it will not stop white crust forming on your fixtures. That is hardness and it needs a water softener in Fullerton on the main line, or if the issue is smell at every tap rather than scale, whole house filtration.
The free water test at your home establishes which of the three you are dealing with before anybody quotes anything.
Drinking Water FAQ: Fullerton, CA
Why does Fullerton tap water taste different from month to month?
Because the disinfectant changes. The city chlorinates its own well water, and the supply it imports from Metropolitan arrives treated with chloramine. Which blend reaches your street varies over time, and chloramine tastes noticeably different from free chlorine. Most people register it as the water suddenly tasting like a pool for a few weeks.
Is Fullerton tap water safe?
Yes, it meets federal and state drinking water standards. The chlorine and chloramine people taste are exactly what keeps it safe on the way to the house. Safe and pleasant are separate questions though, and the regulations only guarantee the first. Nearly everyone who installs a drinking water system here does it for taste.
Will an under sink system fit in an older Fullerton kitchen?
Usually, but the cabinet is worth checking first. Kitchens in the older downtown homes were not built with a disposal, a hot water dispenser and a filtration system in mind. The MICROMAX 7000 exists for exactly this constraint, being the low profile unit in the range. We measure the space during the water test rather than assuming.
What does reverse osmosis remove that a pitcher does not?
Dissolved solids. A carbon pitcher or fridge filter handles chlorine, taste and odor, which covers a lot of complaints honestly well. It does nothing about the dissolved load, including metals such as lead and copper where present. The membrane is what separates the two approaches, and whether you need it depends on what your water actually reads.
Does it need electricity or special plumbing?
Neither. The Micromax systems run on household water pressure alone, so there is no outlet needed under the sink, and they connect to the cold supply with a faucet adapter rather than needle valves. In an old house that matters, because it means the install does not turn into an electrical job.
Should I get this or a softener first?
Depends entirely on your complaint. If the problem is what the water tastes like, the drinking water system is the direct answer and much the cheaper one. If it is scale on fixtures and appliances, the softener is what addresses that and a drinking water system will not touch it. The free test measures both so you can sequence it sensibly.
More from Puronics of Orange County: the Fullerton water treatment overview, salt free systems in Fullerton, plus drinking water systems in Orange, Yorba Linda, Huntington Beach and Newport Beach.
