Drinking Water Systems for Newport Beach Kitchens
An under sink reverse osmosis system treats one faucet. Drinking, cooking, coffee, ice, filling the dog bowl. The rest of the house carries on with city water, which is the sensible arrangement, because there is no reason to polish the water going into a washing machine.
It is the smallest piece of water treatment a household can buy, and in Newport Beach it is quite often the only piece worth buying. The three models are compared on the reverse osmosis drinking water systems page.
Why This Is Often the Only System Newport Needs
Most water treatment marketing assumes the whole house is the target. In this city that assumption deserves a second look, because the hardness numbers do not really support it. The city report puts the average at 9.4 grains per gallon across a 5.8 to 13 range, which is moderate for Orange County and, at the lower end, genuinely mild.
What does not vary is the disinfectant. Chlorine at the local source, chloramine on the imported Metropolitan share, and chloramine is the persistent one people taste. So the common Newport situation is a household with unremarkable hardness and a real taste complaint. That combination is answered at the kitchen sink, not at the main line.
"A lot of Newport calls end with a drinking water system and nothing else, and that is the right outcome. The hardness reading does not justify treating the whole house, but the water in the coffee pot genuinely bothers them. Fixing the actual complaint for a fraction of the price is a better day for everybody than selling a softener nobody needed."
Gregg Stewart, Owner, Puronics of Orange County, CA C-55 #904801, (714) 545-3022
What the Stages Do
- Carbon. Takes out 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 self cleaning.
- Reverse osmosis. Water crosses the membrane and most dissolved solids do not, including dissolved metals and the TDS load behind a heavy or flat taste.
- Carbon block polish. The last pass on taste and odor before the water reaches the faucet.
The Pur Alkaline filter can be added after the final stage to return calcium and magnesium and lift the pH, which changes the taste in a way most people notice immediately.
Choosing a Micromax for Your Kitchen
The MICROMAX 7000 is the low profile four stage system and the usual answer where cabinet space is limited, which covers a lot of Newport kitchens including the older cottages. The MICROMAX 6500 adds a fifth stage, splitting sediment and carbon into separate filters, and it is the pick for a heavier dissolved solids reading or for a household that wants the longest interval between service visits. The MICROMAX 6000 covers the same ground as the 7000 at the value end.
When You Need More Than One Faucet
If the shower is where you notice the smell, an under sink system will not help, because it only treats the kitchen tap. Treating every fixture is a whole house water filtration job. And if your address happens to sit at the top of the local hardness range with the spotting and lather problems that come with it, that is a softener question instead.
The free water test at your address tells you which of those three you are actually dealing with, in about twenty minutes and at no cost.
Drinking Water FAQ: Newport Beach, CA
Why does Newport Beach water taste the way it does?
Disinfectant, mostly. The city adds chlorine at its own groundwater and surface water source, and the water it imports from Metropolitan arrives treated with chloramine. Chloramine is the one people describe as a swimming pool taste, and it is more persistent than plain chlorine. It is present because it keeps the water safe over a long journey, which is a good trade even when it is not pleasant.
Might a drinking water system be all I need in Newport Beach?
For a fair number of households here, yes. Hardness averages 9.4 grains per gallon, which is moderate, so the case for a whole house softener is weaker than it is inland. If your only real complaint is what the water tastes like in a glass or in coffee, an under sink system solves that for a fraction of the cost of treating the whole house.
What does reverse osmosis actually remove?
The membrane stage reduces dissolved solids as a category, which covers the mineral load that makes water taste heavy, plus dissolved metals such as lead and copper and contaminants including arsenic and nitrates where they are present. The carbon stages around it handle chlorine, chloramine, taste and odor. Together they produce water noticeably cleaner than anything a pitcher filter makes.
How is this different from the filter in my refrigerator?
A fridge filter is carbon. Carbon is genuinely good at chlorine, taste and odor, and for some households it is enough. What it cannot do is reduce dissolved solids, because that needs a membrane. If your water tastes flat or mineral heavy rather than just chlorinated, the fridge filter was never going to fix it.
Which Micromax system fits a Newport Beach kitchen?
Cabinet space usually decides. The MICROMAX 7000 is the low profile four stage unit and fits where room is tight. The 6500 is the five stage system, chosen when the test shows a heavier dissolved solids reading or when somebody wants the longest possible service interval. The 6000 is the value option running the same four stage process as the 7000.
Can you add minerals back to the water?
Yes, with the Pur Alkaline stage, and a lot of Newport households ask for it. Reverse osmosis strips calcium and magnesium along with everything else, and some people find the result tastes thin. The alkaline filter returns those two minerals and raises the pH. It mounts after the final stage on any of the Micromax systems.
More from Puronics of Orange County: the Newport Beach water treatment overview, water softeners in Newport Beach, plus drinking water systems in Huntington Beach, Mission Viejo, Lake Forest and Laguna Niguel.
