That long awaited kitchen remodeling is staring you in the face, giving you the same helpless look that it did a year ago. Money is tight, bills are due, yet you can’t keep your eyes off of that reverse osmosis machine you found at the water company. All is well in the age of high prices and a full to-do list; this piece will teach you the correct means to fixing the unfixable within a budget that will leave a few dollars left over for some new silverware. Or perhaps a new coffee pot.

Today, our kitchen remodeling work is going to be done on a sample budget of $450.00. That may not seem to be a lot, but considering that you’ll be doing a lot of the work by yourself, we can estimate costs of only materials needed. With that $450.00, we’ll buy and install your reverse osmosis machine easily, and well before the husband gets home to kick you out of the toolbox.

Buying The Unit
The first obvious step is to perform some due diligence on the different units available. The 4 stage reverse osmosis units are easy to install and are equally cost effective as well. We shopped online and found an excellent model at Overstock.com for $169.99 which also factored in standard shipping. Many other units may exist locally; however, the smaller water stores like Culligan, etc. will more than likely gouge your eyes out in price and since this is a DIY operation, you may as well get it in the least expensive manner possible. Assuming that you go this route, place your order and wait 3-5 days for the UPS man to bring the goods to you – if we are trying to receive this package in ‘stealth mode’, perhaps leave UPS instruction to dump the package off at the neighbor’s house so as to not draw unneeded attention to your own.

Pre-Installation Check List
Your unit is going to come with 3 tanks: one that is round and bulky, and two that are thinner and stand upright. The larger tank is the meat and potatoes of the operation as this is what is going to turn the yuck water into the good tasting stuff. One of the thinner tanks is the carbon filter and the other is your sediment filter, both of which are removing the exact stuff from the water as their name implies. And then, there is a whole lot of water line involved, usually thin copper. Not to fear as the diagram that is available in your box, along with the one located at http://www.waterfiltersonline.com/installation-diagram-4-5-stg.asp is going to assist you. As you can see, it is really a game of connecting the lines – which normally the units supply the line and the only thing you may want to get is your pipe glue, which for around $5.00 at Ace Hardware, you can get this glue (use in a ventilated area or you’ll be off in the cupboards eating Doritos as this glue has a bit of a ‘head spinning effect’, to put it tactfully.) and be all ready to go. Secure a small crescent wrench and a smaller handle pipe wrench, and prepare your elbow grease as part two of this article will give you the details, in an easy to digest form, on how to get this unit installed in a few hours with no leaks and good tasting water as your reward.

About The Author

Greg Henderson, a California-based businessman with over 11 years in SEO/SEM, provided this piece based on personal endeavors and education in search engine optimization with a concentration on content optimization for the social media future. His current projects include a Public Records site PublicRecordSources.com, and a background check site SnoopStation.com.