A separate drinking water faucet at the kitchen sink for North York bungalows and condo suites, fitted after we test the water and check the pipe.
Most North York homes and condo suites are on municipal water. If your cold water tastes of chlorine or your tea picks up a chlorine smell, you can treat that at the kitchen sink without changing the rest of the house.
An under-sink reverse osmosis system fixes that at one faucet: carbon for chlorine taste and odour, sediment media for grit and a membrane for dissolved minerals. Other taps stay unchanged; reverse osmosis drinking water systems across York Region covers the equipment.
What differs in North York is the pipe between meter and glass. In Willowdale, Bayview Village and Don Mills houses we check the supply under the sink first, since older homes may still have galvanized; the oldest streets may have original lead services; and the Yonge, Sheppard and Finch towers have risers under management rules. See plumbing for North York homes and condos.
An RO faucet changes what fills your glass, not the pipe feeding the sink. In North York that pipe deserves a look first.
Carbon ahead of the membrane strips the disinfectant flavour and smell, and shields the membrane from chlorine.
The membrane rejects most dissolved solids, including hardness and the sodium a softener adds.
A system certified for lead reduction lowers lead at that faucet only; an original lead service still needs replacing.
Brown water from galvanized and weak pressure are untouched; the sediment cartridge just clogs sooner.
City treatment sets what leaves the plant; your house decides what reaches the sink. We measure hardness on the kitchen cold line, since hard water wears a membrane out early, and take a dissolved-solids reading as the RO benchmark. We check the service at the meter for possible lead, and note any rust or low pressure that points to narrowed galvanized.
We agree where the faucet, filters, tank and any fridge line go, and in a condo book the shut-off with management.
Angle stops are tested. If the line is corroded galvanized, that section is replaced with copper or PEX and the RO tee or adapter goes on the new pipe.
The faucet uses a spare sink hole or one we drill, the waste line saddles onto the tailpiece above the trap, and filters hang where cartridges swap easily.
The first tankful runs to waste, each push-fit joint is checked under full pressure, which matters above a neighbour's ceiling, and the RO water is read against the benchmark.
Hot drinks lose the chlorine note, and a connected fridge makes ice from the same water.
The RO faucet runs slower than the main tap, and a large pot empties the tank for a while.
A short gurgle during refill is expected; water trickling to drain nonstop needs a service call.
Equipment cost rises with extra stages or an optional mineral cartridge for flavour. Labour follows the kitchen: cutting stone or quartz for the faucet, replacing any rusted galvanized with copper or PEX where the tee goes, the tubing route to the fridge, sometimes across a bungalow's basement ceiling, and a tower's shut-off window. Lead service or repiping work is priced separately, and everything is in writing before we start.
Where older galvanized remains in the house, its rust clogs the first cartridge fastest; change it before blaming the membrane for a weak stream.
Carbon is replaced on the interval set at installation, and the membrane when its reading creeps up toward the regular tap's.
A short burst then a trickle means the tank has lost its air charge; we recharge or replace it and sanitize the housings.
Reverse osmosis is for drinking and cooking water at one faucet, and often the practical choice in a condo suite. If crust on fixtures and a scaling water heater bother you more, water softener installation in North York treats every tap and helps the membrane last. For chlorine out of showers too, whole-home carbon and sediment filtration treats water where it enters.
Asked by North York homeowners and suite owners.
Back to the AquaTec Plumbing home page for every plumbing service we offer.
We test at the sink, check the line under it and give you a written RO price before any work.
