You seem to be talking about two different things: The Kinetico reverse osmosis unit and Clack and Flack (control valves) on water softeners.

What is it that you are trying to accomplish from a water treatment perspective?

i would like to buy a ro unit. can you recommend one? I have a kinetico now vx deluxe plus and I am thinking of getting a new one.. is kinetico overpriced like people are saying

Are kinetico overpriced: Yes.

More to the point, why do you want / need an RO unit? What is it that you have in your water that you need to remove?

chloramines in my city water.. i just want to replace my kinetico unit.. it is 11 yrs old and im not sure if its still ok

i want clean drinking water.. idk what is in the city water but i want to clean it. i had a kinetico ro unit but i went to upgrade and thought they were a scam

They are expensive. That does not make them a scam (why would you use that word?). Since your old RO is still working, you can get a plumber to install your old RO in a new location. Install a new RO membrane and new pre/post filters as well if they are over a year old. Or, you can purchase a different RO unit that uses standard-sized RO membranes and pre/post filters.

what brand is good ? I am sick of the kinetico rip off dealer

Carrie Beth (zone 9b) I don't think you are going to get a lot of help with this approach.

In general, I think kinetico is overpriced and selling people on water treatment they don't need (which makes them really overpriced).

AIW tends to believe that kinetico is higher priced but higher quality and provides better training to their reps.

Neither of us would put kinetico in the "scam" category.

You seem to want people to agree with your pre-concieved ideas "kinetico is scammy" "I don't know what's in my city water but I want to clean it"

You said you want to remove chloramines in your water... do you even know that they are present or at what level?

hey jake.. I am in need of help. I am on the fence about kinetico right now. part of me thinks it is a scam but another part is not sure. I am not trying to convince anyone of anything. I just do not know how to figure any of this out. I am not looking for an argument. I am searching for what ro unit to use. Where do I have my water tested? please clue me in.. thank you. do you have an ro unit you think is of good quality and price.

Kinetico is a scam in the same way that Mercedes is a scam - it's just a premium brand with proprietary parts and tightly controlled service network that not everyone wants to (or is able to) pay for. A scam makes impossible claims or fails to meet its reasonable claims - not the case here.

You've made it clear you aren't okay with Kinetico - whatever works for you is fine. Pretty much all of the inexpensive RO systems use the same housings, tanks, filters and membranes. Given that, you will be fine with a standard system you can purchase at places like Home Depot or Lowes. If you stick to those, rather than proprietary brands then your pre and post filters that should be replaced every 6-12 months and your RO membrane that should be replaced every 12-48 months (depends upon your water quality). If you have unsoftened city water, replace all filters and the membrane every 12 months - that will cost you $100 annually and you can do it yourself (or hire a plumber if you wish).

Nearly all RO systems come with a saddle valve to attach to a water line. Don't use the saddle valve - they always leak eventually. Have your plumber install a tee for the feed line to the RO system.

Alice I appreciate this explanation. I wish I could edit my first post or delete it because Im having a painful learning curve right now.

No worries

Carrie, before you spend your money on systems you may or may not even need, you should educate yourself and have your water tested to determine if you even NEED an RO system. Chloramines are used to disinfect water and low levels are determined safe to drink. If you're just throwing money at an RO system without really need it, you're actually scamming yourself and blaming companies like Kinetico for your lack of knowledge. The best water systems are setup specifically to combat what is nasty/excessive/lacking in your actual water.

How do you test your water? There are many places/kits online that offer this service. A quick google search will provide you with many results.

About chloramines from the CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/drinking/public/chloramine-disinfection.html

The only scam is someone buying water treatment that they do not need. And the worst scam is someone scamming themselves through a lack of interest in educating themselves.

Steve J The standard response to someone asking about water treatment is to tell them to get their water tested by an independent lab. That's good advice, but also it's often a show-stopper. There are some places on the interwebs that will do this - but the follow-through generally doesn't happen.

A more workable thing is to get a link to the water quality report. That will at least tell us what disinfection is being used.

AIW is smart and approaches things from a scientific standpoint- but has made a point previously about non-rational wants.. her point was that you can't apply rational arguments when people are working from a non-rational place... and we all have those purchases that aren't rational (car, tools, clothes, etc). Sometimes you just have to roll with it.

Everything about this post says it's a non-rational purchase.

Yes, I completely agree with you. Just trying to beat it into OP a little more that you cant treat something if you dont know what you’re treating. Education is the one thing that beats irrationality. She asked for advice, and I think its the best advice she can be given whether she chooses to use it or not.

You are partially correct. You can't pick the most appropriate water treatment without knowing what you want to remove. However, treating drinking water may be used as a prophylactic measure as well (and there is nothing wrong with that), in which case RO is the most appropriate treatment.

It is not necessary for you, or anyone else, to "beat it into OP" - if your goal is to educate or encourage education, that approach has little chance of success.