For health-conscious households -- PFAS, NSF certification, real data
Five PFAS compounds, third-party NSF certifications you can verify yourself, and a research page that documents every decision on this site. We do not make health claims -- we show you the data and the certifications, and we are explicit about what we cannot prove.
The cited answer
Does reverse osmosis remove PFAS?
Reverse osmosis systems certified under NSF/ANSI 58 reduce a range of regulated contaminants; systems with NSF/ANSI 53 certification are tested specifically for health-effect contaminants including PFOA and PFOS under that standard's protocols. The point-of-use reverse-osmosis unit we install is the Puronics Pur-Alkaline 6-stage system at the kitchen tap. We provide the exact certification scope for the recommended model in writing before install -- verify any listing at info.nsf.org. Our Puronics Hydronex iGen whole-home conditioners are WQA-tested but not currently NSF listed for contaminant reduction; we do not make whole-home PFAS-removal claims.
Source: Franklin Water Treatment NSF listings; EPA PFAS National Primary Drinking Water Regulation 2024
Here is what your water looks like
Five PFAS compounds show in Summerville CPW data: PFUnA (7.1 ppt, 1,183x the EWG advisory), PFDoA (4.5 ppt, 75x), HFPO-DA / GenX (8.0 ppt, near the 10 ppt federal MCL), PFHxA (2.7 ppt, no federal MCL), and PFPeA (3.3 ppt, no federal MCL). CPW December 2024 testing separately reported PFOS at 8.1 ppt and PFOA at 5.7 ppt, both above the 4 ppt EPA MCLs set April 2024. All of these are legal today -- the April 2024 rule carries a compliance deadline toward 2031 and a regional $96M remediation project. You do not wait on the utility if you are already watching exposures.
We cite EWG.org (SC1810003), EPA.gov, and CPW's own Consumer Confidence Report. We do not restate health effects beyond what EPA and NSF testing establish. Full data interpretation at /water-in-summerville. Our research page documents every claim decision.
Questions we hear from households tracking exposures
Yes -- in general, reverse osmosis systems certified to NSF/ANSI 58 are tested for reduction of specific regulated contaminants, and NSF/ANSI 53 certification covers health-effect contaminants including PFOA, PFOS, and related PFAS under specific testing protocols. The point-of-use reverse-osmosis system we install is the Puronics Pur-Alkaline 6-stage unit at the kitchen tap. The exact certification scope for the recommended model is provided in writing before install -- verify any listing at info.nsf.org by manufacturer and model. Our Puronics Hydronex iGen whole-home conditioner is WQA-tested but not currently NSF listed for contaminant reduction -- so we do not make whole-home PFAS-removal claims. PFAS removal on our stack sits at the RO point of use.
The in-home test covers hardness, free chlorine, total dissolved solids (TDS), pH, iron, and manganese. It does not detect PFAS, VOCs, or heavy metals at the low ppt / ppb levels those contaminants occur at. For PFAS specifically, the honest path is the South Carolina Department of Environmental Services (SCDES) certified lab panel (~$30) or an equivalent certified private lab. We recommend the lab test alongside our in-home test for any household with a health-event trigger, and we will interpret results either way. This scope honesty is on our /services test-scope section and in the research page -- we do not expand our in-home claim beyond what the meter actually reads.
The honest answer is that it depends on what you are already spending to work around the water. A whole-home conditioner plus under-sink RO at $8,500-$10,000 works out to roughly $2.33-$2.74 per day over ten years. A family buying bottled water typically spends $1,500-$2,600 per year on bottles alone ($15,000-$26,000 over ten years). Medical costs from a child's chronic skin condition, skin-product spend, and appliance replacement all sit in the same column. We will not tell you the system pays for itself -- that depends on your specific household. We will tell you the per-day math and let you compare it to your current spend.
What to do next
Step 1 -- Verify certifications
Go to info.nsf.org and search the manufacturer and model we recommend for your home. We hand you the exact certification scope in writing before you decide. Do this before you book anything. Certification claims that cannot be verified are disqualifying.
Step 2 -- Read the research page
Every persuasion decision on this site -- claim sourcing, framing, palette, palette rejections -- is documented openly. If you have ever wished a contractor would show their work, this is the page to read.
Step 3 -- Get a SCDES lab test
The in-home test does not cover PFAS. If PFAS is the specific concern, SCDES will ship a sampling kit to your address. $30 per panel. We will interpret the results at the free in-home test or separately if you prefer.
Step 4 -- Book the free in-home test
45 minutes, on your counter, no 90-minute pitch. Hardness, chlorine, TDS, pH, iron, and manganese in writing. We will be explicit about what the test does and does not detect.
The verification stack
The Puronics Pur-Alkaline 6-stage reverse-osmosis kitchen-tap unit is the model we install. We hand you the exact certification scope for the recommended model in writing before install -- look up any listing yourself at info.nsf.org before, during, or after the appointment.
The whole-home conditioner is WQA-tested for softening performance. It is not currently NSF 44 or 53 listed, so we do not make health-effect claims for it. That boundary is what honest sourcing looks like.
Naming, palette, copy, claim sourcing, alternatives rejected. The research page is a live record of every decision on this site. No other water-treatment company in this market publishes this.
For PFAS / VOC / metal concerns, we point you at the South Carolina state lab ($30) before pushing an install. Independent lab results are how you verify a water-treatment recommendation without trusting the installer.
Reviews come after the first ten installs. We do not solicit them. No star badge is a substitute for a certification you can verify yourself.
Closing note
Open info.nsf.org. Open scdes.sc.gov. Open ewg.org and punch in PWSID SC1810003. Then decide. This is the sequence the customers who think most carefully tend to run.
