Jenny, Any update on what you ended up doing? I installed a whole house softener for hard water issues, but I have odor issues (sulfur and chlorine mostly). I'm leaning toward adding a charcoal filter before the softener. We also have RO in the kitchen and wet bars. Also, you could always just have another hole drilled for the RO faucet without replacing the granite slab. If you have an undermounted sink, the new hole is all you need. What did you end up doing?

Hey Jake maybe I can be a little more clear on the Pure Water Appliance, and a little more helpful as I am more technically involved with the system and its design. First off there is no "magic sauce" or even a one size fits all approach with our unit. The machine is 3 compartmented so we can use a multitude of medias inside of our unit for different purposes. For instance in the state of Texas we use 85 different configurations of medias in this unit depending on the water it will be treating. When you ask what medias we use in the system the answer is quite a few of them. This solely depends on where the machine is going, and what it will have to remove to make drinking water in the whole house. That being said there are instances where the machine will not function 100% and in those instances we either add peripheral equipment to ensure the water quality going into the home. I.E a bad sulfur well, or a high TDS situation, or we simply will decline the use of the Pure Water Appliance. We DO NOT put the unit anywhere it will not function properly. That is why in the 4 years this thread has been operational it has not been flooded with bad reviews, and horror stories. Quite simply put if there is a problem with our unit it is simply fixed at no cost to our customers in any fashion. We actually guarantee our unit for 10 full years, and that covers everything on or in our unit including medias. So if our machine has a failure at 9 years 11 months, lets say either the second compartment, or third and the medias are no longer viable, then we simply replace the unit free of charge. No trip fee and no labor charge at all. Just to be clear the cost of replacing the unit at 9 years 11 months and 30 days is $0.00 usd . There is no company in the United states that can say that at all. Another thing I would like to add is that of course we design each compartment with proper space to expand and clean the medias properly. We actually use some ingenious flow screens that lift the beds evenly allowing us to clean more efficiently with less space. If you can lift a resin bed evenly you can reach your needed expansion in a smaller space. Also we use almost every media there is in the book redox, absorption, Ion exchange, filtration, you name a media that actually does what it is designed to do and we have probably used, or at least tested it's viability for use in our system. The way we build our units is off of proper testing of the water we will be treating, in all cities in Texas it is mandatory that they send water analysis reports to the state twice a year from multiple points of use in their water systems. We simply look at the water analysis reports for the last 20 years, make a projection of how we see the water changing, and design the system to the best of our ability for the next 20 years. We also recommend to our well customers that they have a full analysis done from a third party laboratory so we can build them exactly what they need, we offer our own base line testing, but anytime any one has their own well we always recommend labs off the TCEQ approved testing facilities. Does this machine work in every situation? absolutely not that's why if the machine wont work properly we either give an alternative set up that will take care of our customers problems, or recommend companies in their local area that can take care of them properly. We just design a system as bullet proof as we can, and back it with a non prorated warranty to protect and take care of our customers. No magic, no gimmicks just honest over the phone pricing, and proper service for our people. I'm sure this post wont be sufficient for you as I'm almost convinced you are a competitor hell bent on bashing our company. That is fine we know the warranty we have, we know the service we provide, and we will always take care of our customers, and even take care of customers that have been abandoned by shady inexperienced companies. We have been here for 37 years and will continue to be here for the foreseeable future.

1. Salt-free water "softeners" do not soften water. They are pretty good at separating folks from their money, but that is all. That Clack system is too small. If you were only using the place for a few weeks total it would probably be fine, but since you are there half the year, you want one twice that size - 2 cubic ft or resin. Kinetico is different for a whole bunch of reasons, so the units will be smaller, if space is a premium. For a place that sits idle, they are a nice option. However, they will be way more expensive. An RO will remove the GenX toxin. Without knowing the specific chemistry of the chemical, it is difficult to say exactly what percentage will be removed. However, given its origin, removal efficiency should be quite high. There are certain things to look for when purchasing a softener (these don't apply to Kinetico): High quality American or German made resin. This will provide a tight size distribution for optimal flow within the resin, longer resin life, and more reliable, predicable water softening. If you have WELL WATER: 8% crosslinked resin. If you have CITY WATER: 10% crosslinked resin. The oxidizers that city water treatment plants use, such as chlorine or chloramine, are harmful to softener resins. Higher crosslinking will resist chemical attack longer. 3. Top basket (nice to have for well water, required for city water). This serves two purposes. It sets up a proper water distribution during normal operation and prevents resin loss during backwash. Gravel underbed. The gravel underbed is there to set up proper flow patterns, improve backwash, keep the bottom basket in place, prevent basket failure, and prevent channeling. Many softener sales companies like to leave this out or sell softeners with a vortex system instead. Vortex systems weigh less than gravel so they cost less to ship. In addition, they are a more expensive item that adds profit for the softener salesperson, but provides no additional benefit to the homeowner . It simply adds another piece of equipment that can break. Fleck or Clack valves. These set the industry standard. Be aware that you will not be able to purchase Clack valves online. This is not a problem if you purchase locally. The valve should regen based on water usage, not time. Install the softener with a three-valve bypass. This will make it much easier if you ever need to remove the softener for repairs or wish to take it with you when you move. Use full-port, quarter-turn valves. Noryl bypass. Most softeners are available with either Noryl or stainless bypass valves. Both are good valves, but the noryl tends to be more reliable when not used for long periods of time. This is a redundancy if you install with a proper three-valve bypass. I prefer a bit of redundancy but it is your call. Brine tank: Although either round or square will work, round brine tanks are more structurally sound and will not deform like a square tank will. Additionally, if you need a softener 1.5 cuft or larger, a square tank will most likely be too small. If you live in a cold climate, ensure equipment is stored in a climate-controlled environment. Frozen softener resin is damaged softener resin. Purchase a Hach 5-B test kit. You will want to periodically check to ensure your softener is working correctly and this kit is your best option. Additionally, you should purchase a Hach 5-B test kit. You will want to periodically check to ensure your softener is working correctly and this kit is your best option.

There are only two things that the OP said that are pertinent: 1.Hard water which 2.smells like chlorine. Those are typically treated with two different systems: 1. The ONLY practical way to treat residential hard water is with a water softener. You COULD do RO or distilling for small quantities (drinking water, for example), but that's not something you can do on a whole house. Note filters, "conditioning", "Descalers", electromagnets, etc. will not remove the hardness. There is no "salt free" water softener. A simple water softener will do exactly what you need and you can measure its effectiveness. No guessing. No BS. A good quality water softener is $700 + installation. You don't need a $2,000 water softener. It won't do a better job. 2. Chlorine is removed with a carbon filter. Carbon filtering is particularly cost effective when its limited to drinking water. Carbon filtering will also remove many taste/odor issues as well as generally cleaning up drinking water. Note: You need to know if your water is disinfected with Chlorine or Chloramine. Chloramine removal requires a different type of carbon filter. You can get a good quality carbon filter for your drinking water for $200-300. You will typically replace a carbon filter cartridge once a year. I think the whole " I'm sensitive to salt, and I don't want it in my drinking water " is learned from websites selling BS. Soft water has less salt than a slice of bread or a glass of milk. For the people who don't want to drink soft water, run an unsoftened drinking water line to the kitchen and put a carbon filter on it. Although I'm not going on about sodium in my drinking water, the cold water in my kitchen faucet is unsoftened and carbon filtered.