Drinking Water Systems for Tustin Kitchens
An under sink reverse osmosis system gives you one faucet of clean water for drinking, cooking, coffee and ice, while the rest of the house stays on city water. The City of Tustin runs the supply here and the city sits inside the Orange County groundwater basin. The three models are compared on the under sink drinking water systems page.
Two Tustins, Two Kitchen Cabinets
Tustin is really two housing generations sharing one water supply, and for a drinking water install that difference shows up under the sink rather than in the water.
The older streets around Old Town have kitchens built long before anybody expected a cabinet to hold a garbage disposal, a hot water dispenser and a filtration system at the same time. Space is the constraint, and it is a real one. The newer construction around Tustin Legacy generally offers more usable depth and modern shutoff valves, which makes for a quicker job.
The water arriving at both is the same. What changes is which system fits and how long the install takes, which is why we look at the cabinet during the test visit.
"In Tustin the water conversation and the cabinet conversation are separate, and people are always surprised the cabinet is the one that decides. I have measured Old Town kitchens where only the low profile unit was ever going in. Better to find that out with a tape measure than with a van full of equipment in the driveway."
Gregg Stewart, Owner, Puronics of Orange County, CA C-55 #904801, (714) 545-3022
What We Will Not Tell You About Tustin Water
You will find pages quoting confident hardness figures for this city. We do not have current verified numbers for Tustin, so this page does not publish any. Tustin blends locally pumped basin groundwater with imported supply, and blends move.
That is not evasion, it is the same standard applied everywhere on this site: a fact gets published when it has a source, and otherwise the honest thing is a measurement at your address. Twenty minutes, no cost, and you get a number that is actually yours.
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 self cleaning.
- Reverse osmosis. Water crosses the membrane and most dissolved solids do not, covering the mineral load and dissolved metals where present.
- Carbon block polish. A final pass on taste and odor before the dedicated faucet.
The Pur Alkaline filter returns calcium and magnesium after the final stage if the water tastes too clean for you.
Choosing a System for Your Kitchen
The MICROMAX 7000 is the low profile four stage unit and the usual answer in the older Tustin kitchens. The MICROMAX 6500 separates sediment and carbon into their own stages, which suits a heavier dissolved solids reading and stretches the interval between service visits. The MICROMAX 6000 is the value option.
It Does Not Touch the Rest of the House
One faucet, by design. Scale on the fixtures and inside the water heater needs a water softener in Tustin, and disinfectant smell in the shower needs whole house filtration. The free water test at your home measures everything at once so you can plan rather than guess.
Drinking Water FAQ: Tustin, CA
How hard is Tustin water and what disinfectant does it use?
The City of Tustin runs the water system here and Tustin sits inside the Orange County groundwater basin, so a good share of the supply is pumped locally and blended with imported water. We are not going to publish specific hardness or disinfectant numbers for Tustin, because we do not have current verified figures and a confident guess is worth less than an honest measurement. Yours takes twenty minutes.
Will a system fit under an Old Town Tustin sink?
Usually, but measure first. Kitchens in the older parts of Tustin were built before anybody expected a disposal, a hot water dispenser and a water treatment system to share one cabinet. The MICROMAX 7000 is the low profile unit in the range and exists for this exact constraint. We check the space during the water test rather than on install day.
What about the newer homes around Tustin Legacy?
Generally easier. Newer kitchens tend to have more usable cabinet depth and modern shutoff valves, so the install is quicker. The water arriving is the same city supply either way, so the system choice comes down to your reading and how much room you have.
What does reverse osmosis remove that a filter jug does not?
Dissolved solids. A carbon jug or fridge filter handles chlorine, taste and odor, and does it honestly well. It cannot reduce the dissolved load, which is what makes water taste heavy or mineral rather than chemical. The membrane is the difference, and a TDS reading tells you whether you need one.
Does it need electricity?
No. The Micromax systems run on household water pressure alone and connect to the cold supply with a faucet adapter rather than needle valves or special plumbing. In an older Tustin kitchen that keeps the job simple.
Do I need a softener too?
They solve different problems. A drinking water system covers one faucet for taste. A softener covers the whole house for scale, which is what affects the water heater, the dishwasher and the shower. The free test measures both so you can decide which to do first rather than buying twice.
More from Puronics of Orange County: the Tustin water treatment overview, salt free systems in Tustin, plus drinking water systems in Irvine, Santa Ana, Orange and Costa Mesa.
