I know that some of you still wonder if you are qualified to install your water treatment system... and I get that. It's better to be safe than sorry, but let me assure you that hundreds of people just like you, are installing their own water softeners as we speak. I am going to use the example of Rob H. who (in his own words) was "a complete novice in water softeners and RO systems before this project." He lives in a condo on a beach in South Carolina and had a very small laundry room in which to install a system. Contractors who build condos often just leave out any plumbing or space to install a water softener. Rob picked our FLEX Water Softener because it took up a very small amount of space, and he didn't have much of that. He also chose our best reverse osmosis system - the Permeate Pump System. The first pictures below are his laundry room, where he had to cut out the wall to get to some plumbing, rough in the plumbing and repair the drywall (this was a big deal, but it didn't stop Rob who wanted good water). The photo on the left shows the extensive amount of drywall he had to cut-out and the plumbing he had to do in the wall, while the photo on the right shows the wall patched with the washer/dryer combo back in place and the water softener installed. He also wanted good, clean drinking water from a reverse osmosis system, but had little room under his kitchen sink to install it, so he installed it near the ceiling in the laundry room and ran lines to his kitchen sink and icemaker. Brilliant! Here's the photo of his RO system (on the right). I have been in the industry for over 40 years and know how easy these systems are to install, but there was nothing easy about this one. Rob is truly one determined man! Here is what Rob said about his water softener and reverse osmosis systems:

Please note how happy I was with your knowledgeable and very helpful staff, most noticeably Luke and Aaron. I was a complete novice in water softeners and RO systems before this project.

Here are a few more pics a several weeks after the final install. Complete with dirty laundry (it's a laundry room after all... And a very small one at that!)

One recommendation I would make to potential customers planning a small space install like ours, is be sure to plan ahead to how you can remove the appliances, shelves, etc to move, repair or replace the other appliances like the washer/dryer or water heater. A great tip is to use furniture pad/sliders under whatever you need to move, in our case it was the washer/dryer combo. You can get them at a hardware store. They make it so much easier. I actually had to make the floor molding in front of the washer removable, because my fit with the flex was so tight! But it all works and there is easy access to the pipes in the back and the water heater by sliding the washer forward, and leaving the flex where it sits. We can move the Flex too if really needed thanks to your quick disconnect couplers.

My softener regenerates every 5 days on average, that seems reasonable, don't you think? I set it for 3 people at 20 gpg hardness. Water tested at 14.

Now our water is great for showers leaving your skin really nice and hair very shiny compared to before. Laundry is whiter and dishes from the the dishwasher have no spots. It has not used much salt at all, which is great because we have to carry it up a flight of stairs because our beach condo is on stilts!

We love the RO system. I tied it to the ice maker, and my neighbors noticed how much clearer the ice is compared to before. The Permeate model does a great job with higher pressure. I am very happy I got that and recommend that upgrade to anyone. We can fill water bottles or cooking pots very quickly. The fridge cold water dispenser also has plenty of pressure, maybe more than before as I removed the refrigerator filter, which also reduces our future expense not having to replace that.

That post-it note on the Flex lid is where I keep track of the regen frequency. I know you can get that info from the setup menu, but I thought this was easiest.

I guess that Rob is living proof that if you want something bad enough, you can do it.