Choosing
Which system should I buy?
If you can get under the sink, Under-Sink Carbon at $199 fixes taste, chlorine and sediment for the tap you drink from, and that is most of the benefit for most people. Choose Under-Sink Reverse Osmosis at $247 instead if you have a specific problem carbon cannot solve — dissolved solids, fluoride, nitrates or arsenic. If you rent or cannot plumb, the Countertop at $169 needs no installation at all.
How do I know what is in my water?
Your utility publishes an annual water quality report and must send it to you free on request. That tells you what enters the distribution system. It does not tell you what happens in the pipe between the main and your kitchen, which is where lead comes from. Our Water Test Kit covers hardness, chlorine, pH, iron, nitrate and lead in about a minute, and is worth doing before you buy rather than after.
Do I need reverse osmosis?
Probably not. RO is the right answer for dissolved solids, fluoride, nitrates and arsenic. For chlorine, taste, odour, sediment and most organics, a carbon system does the same job with no waste water, no tank and no remineralizing stage to think about. Buy RO because a test told you to, not because it sounds thorough.
Will a filter reduce my water pressure?
Not noticeably on any of our under-sink systems, which are direct-flow. Reverse osmosis produces water slowly by design — around 2.8 litres an hour — but it stores what it makes, so you do not wait at the tap.
Fitting
Do I need a plumber?
No. The under-sink systems connect to the existing cold supply with a shut-off valve and push-fit connectors, and take thirty to forty minutes. The Countertop and Faucet Mount need no tools at all. The Shower Filter needs one wrench.
What if my tap will not take the Faucet Mount?
Pull-out and spray taps will not accept it, and neither will most taps with a moulded or hidden aerator. If yours is one of those, the Countertop is the alternative that needs no fitting.
The first water out of a new cartridge looks grey.
That is carbon fines, it is harmless, and it is expected. Run two full cycles to waste before you drink from a newly fitted cartridge and it will clear.
Cartridges
How often do I change the cartridge?
Six months on the under-sink and countertop systems, three months on the Faucet Mount, six months on the Shower Filter, and two to three years for an RO membrane. The full table is on the Maintenance page.
How will I know it is due?
Flow slows, then taste returns. Write the fitting date on the housing in pencil, which is more reliable than either. If you tell us what you fitted and when, we will email you a reminder — there is no subscription attached to that and no card kept on file.
The housing drips after I changed the cartridge.
Nearly always a dry or pinched o-ring. Remove the housing, check the o-ring is seated in its groove and not twisted, wipe it with a little food-grade silicone grease, and re-seat. Our O-Ring & Seal Kit at $11 has the full set if one has perished.
Orders
How long does delivery take?
Orders leave us within one to two business days, and standard delivery is a further three to six. You get tracking by email when yours ships. Flat $7 shipping in the United States, free over $75.
What is your returns policy?
Sixty days, and we do not ask why. Opened mineral concentrates are returnable. Filters may be returned used — empty and dry them first and keep the cartridge, we do not want it back. Full detail on the Returns page.
How do you handle my card details?
Card details are entered on our payment processor’s secure page, not on ours. Pura Vale never receives, sees or stores your full card number.
Who am I actually buying from?
KOLANOVA CORP, a corporation registered in Wyoming, trading as Pura Vale. The registered address and contact routes are on the Contact page.
Still stuck
Email support@puravale.com. We answer within one business day, and support is staffed Monday to Friday, 9am – 5pm Mountain Time. Full contact routes are on the Contact page.