Setup & Care Guide

How to get your 3-stage RO/DI pure water system running, and how to keep it making spot-free water job after job. Questions? Call or text 832-755-2755.

How the 3 stages work

Stage 1, carbon pre-filter (clear housing): traps sediment and chlorine before they can damage the RO membrane.
Stage 2, RO membrane (stainless housing): a 4" × 40" low-pressure membrane strips out most of the dissolved minerals.
Stage 3, DI resin (blue housing): catches whatever the membrane missed, so your water comes out at or near 0 ppm.

Before first use: soak the membrane

A new membrane performs best once it's fully soaked. Hook up your water and let it run through the system for about 10 minutes. Then shut the water off and leave the system full so the membrane sits in water. Give it up to 12 hours for the best results.

Setting it up

Check the filters. The carbon cartridge goes in the clear housing and the DI cartridge goes in the blue housing. Peel off any plastic wrap first, then snug the housings with the filter wrench.
Connect your water. Run a garden hose from your outdoor faucet to the brass swivel inlet on the clear pre-filter.
Connect your pole hose. Attach it to the outlet on the blue DI housing.
Turn on the water. There's nothing to adjust on the system. Give it a moment to build pressure, and pure water will start flowing to your brush.

Check your water at every job

Test your tap water and your pure water with the TDS meter each time you set up. Pure water should read 0 ppm or very close to it. Jotting the numbers down makes it easy to spot when a filter is wearing out.

When to change each filter

Carbon pre-filter: about every 2 months or 5,000 gallons, or sooner if the flow slows down noticeably.
DI resin: once your pure water reads over 10 ppm.
RO membrane: once it removes less than 80% of the minerals. For example, if your tap water reads 300 ppm and the water leaving the membrane reads over 60 ppm, it's time. A worn membrane lets extra minerals through to the DI resin, so you'd burn through resin faster and spend more on refills.

Replacing the membrane

Slide the new membrane into the stainless housing with the arrow on the membrane pointing the way the water flows (downward).

Tips

The system works the same standing up or lying down. When you can, lay it down to haul it.
More water pressure means more pure water. At typical house pressure (about 50 psi), expect around 0.6 gallons per minute.

Winter storage and long breaks

If the system will sit unused over the winter or for a long stretch, fill the membrane with RO membrane preservative to keep bacteria from growing on it. Store it somewhere it won't freeze, because frozen water can crack the housings and ruin the membrane.