Here’s something most Clearwater residents don’t realize: the water coming into your home might be safe to drink according to city standards, but that doesn’t mean it’s actually good water. There’s a big difference between water that won’t make you sick and water that actually tastes clean and fresh.
Maybe you’ve noticed your tap water has an odd taste. Or you’ve seen that weird film on your glasses after they come out of the dishwasher. Some people around here complain about their water smelling funny, especially during the summer months when the city cranks up the chlorine treatment.
Others just don’t trust what’s coming out of their taps and end up hauling cases of bottled water from the store every week.
At Countryside Water, we’ve served Clearwater homes and businesses for over 20 years. We’ve tested water from hundreds of homes and businesses across Pinellas County. We’ve seen what’s actually in the local water supply.
We’ve helped families, condo associations, and businesses get truly clean drinking water without the hassle and expense of buying it by the bottle.
Let’s clear something up right away. Water purification isn’t just one thing. It’s a whole category of water treatment solutions designed to remove specific contaminants from your water supply. What you need depends entirely on what’s in your water to begin with.
Some homes just need basic filtration to get rid of chlorine taste and odor. Others have sediment issues from old pipes. Some people want to remove fluoride. Others are concerned about lead, pharmaceuticals, or other stuff that occasionally shows up in municipal water supplies.
A good water purification company doesn’t just sell you equipment. We test your water first, figure out what’s actually in there, and then recommend the right water system for your specific situation. Cookie-cutter solutions don’t work because every home’s water is a little different.
We’ve been doing this in Clearwater long enough to know the quirks of different neighborhoods. Water quality near Safety Harbor is different from water quality over by Countryside or down in Feather Sound. The age of your home matters too. Newer subdivisions have different plumbing than houses built in the 1960s.
The city does a decent job of treating our water. They have to meet EPA standards, which means killing bacteria and keeping certain contaminants below legal limits. But “below legal limits” doesn’t mean those contaminants aren’t there. It just means they’re at levels the government decided are acceptable.
Chlorine is the big one everyone notices. The city adds it to kill bacteria, and it works. But chlorine gives your water that swimming pool smell and taste.
During hot months, they sometimes increase chlorine levels, and you really notice it then. Some people can barely stand to drink tap water in July and August.
Then there’s the infrastructure problem. Clearwater has some older water mains and service lines. As those pipes age, they can leach things into the water.
We’ve tested homes with elevated lead levels from old solder in the plumbing. Rust and sediment from corroding pipes is pretty common, too.
Florida’s water sources also naturally contain things you might not want to drink. Depending on where the city is pulling water from on any given day, you might get trace amounts of agricultural runoff, industrial chemicals, or even pharmaceuticals that made it through the treatment plant.
This isn’t meant to scare you. Clearwater’s water won’t make you sick. But when you know what’s in there, you start to understand why so many families invest in water purification.
Walk into any big box store and you’ll find a wall full of water filters. Pitcher filters, faucet attachments, refrigerator filters, and under-sink systems. They all claim to purify your water. Some work better than others, and most are designed for one specific tap.
Here’s what we typically recommend for Clearwater homes:
Reverse osmosis systems are the gold standard for drinking water purification. These go under your kitchen sink and feed a separate faucet that dispenses purified water. RO systems remove up to 99% of dissolved solids, including heavy metals, fluoride, pharmaceuticals, and pretty much everything else you don't want in your drinking water. The water tastes incredibly clean because, well, it is.
Whole-house water filters treat all the water coming into your home. Every tap, every shower, every toilet gets filtered water. These are perfect if you're mainly concerned about chlorine, sediment, and taste issues. They don't purify water to the same level as RO systems, but they improve water quality throughout your entire house.
Water softeners with filtration combine two types of water treatment. The softener removes hardness minerals that cause scale buildup. The filtration component removes chlorine and sediment. Lots of Clearwater homes benefit from this combo approach because our water is moderately hard.
The right system for you depends on your water test results, your budget, and what problems you’re trying to solve. Some people just want better-tasting drinking water. Others want their whole house treated. We’ve installed systems ranging from simple under-sink filters to complex multi-stage treatment setups.
Condos present some unique challenges for water treatment. You don’t control the main water supply to the building, and you probably can’t install a whole-house system even if you wanted to. But you still want clean drinking water in your unit.
We’ve worked with dozens of condo owners throughout Clearwater and the surrounding areas. The typical solution is an under-sink reverse osmosis system for your kitchen. It gives you purified drinking water and cooking water without requiring any modifications to the building’s plumbing.
Some of the larger condo associations we work with have installed water treatment systems for the entire building. This makes sense for older buildings with water quality issues affecting multiple units. If you’re on a condo board dealing with resident complaints about water quality, give us a call. We can test the building’s water and recommend solutions that work for multi-unit properties.
Veterinary clinics and pet grooming businesses have specific needs when it comes to water quality. You’re bathing animals all day, mixing medications, and sometimes providing drinking water for overnight patients. The chlorine and chemicals in regular tap water can irritate animals’ skin and eyes just like they irritate humans.
We’ve installed water purification systems in several pet clinics around Clearwater. Most want a combination of softened water for bathing (to prevent scale buildup in tubs and equipment) and purified water for drinking. The vets we work with say they notice a difference in how animals’ coats look after bathing in treated water.
If you run a pet-related business, water treatment isn’t just about quality. It’s about protecting your expensive equipment too. Grooming tubs, washing machines, and water heaters last longer when you’re not running hard, chlorinated water through them constantly.
Every good water purification project starts with testing. We come to your home or business with our testing equipment and collect water samples. The basic test covers the stuff most people care about: chlorine, hardness, pH, iron, and total dissolved solids.
If you want a more detailed analysis, we can test for specific contaminants like lead, bacteria, nitrates, or volatile organic compounds. This costs a bit more but gives you a complete picture of your water quality.
The test results tell us what water treatment approach makes sense for your situation. Sometimes people are surprised by what we find. They thought they had a hardness problem but it turns out they mainly have a chlorine issue. Or they’re worried about bacteria when the real problem is sediment from old pipes.
Based on the test, we’ll explain your options. We’re not going to upsell you on equipment you don’t need. If a simple filter will solve your problem, we’ll tell you. If you need a more sophisticated water system, we’ll explain why and what it’ll cost.
Installing a water purification system isn’t like hanging a picture. It requires cutting into your plumbing, making sure everything is sized correctly, and testing the system when it’s done. This is definitely a job for professionals.
For an under-sink RO system, installation usually takes two to three hours. We mount the unit under your sink, install the storage tank, connect it to your cold water line, add a drain connection for the waste water, and drill a hole in your countertop or sink for the dedicated faucet. When we’re done, you’ll have a separate tap that dispenses purified drinking water.
Whole-house systems take longer because we’re working on your main water line. These installations typically run four to five hours. The system usually goes in your garage or near your water heater. We cut into the main line, install the treatment equipment, set everything up, test it, and make sure you’re getting proper flow and pressure throughout the house.
We always clean up our work area and haul away any packaging or old equipment. Most people are surprised by how neat we keep things. Nobody wants a mess in their home, and we respect that.
Different systems need different amounts of maintenance. Reverse osmosis units need new filters every six months to a year, depending on your water quality and how much you use the system. The RO membrane itself lasts about three years. We offer maintenance plans where we come out and change everything on schedule so you don’t have to think about it.
Whole-house filters typically need media changes every two to three years. Some systems have cartridge filters that need replacing more often. We’ll set you up on a maintenance schedule based on your specific equipment.
Water softeners need salt added regularly, and the resin bed eventually needs replacing. If you’re not comfortable maintaining it yourself, we can handle that too.
The worst thing you can do is ignore maintenance. Filters don’t work when they’re clogged. Old membranes let contaminants through.
We’ve seen people spend good money on a water purification system and then let it go without maintenance until it’s basically useless. Don’t be that person.
We’ve been serving this area for over 20 years. Clearwater, Safety Harbor, Dunedin, Palm Harbor, Countryside, Feather Sound, East Lake, Oldsmar. Pretty much anywhere in Pinellas County, we’ve installed water treatment systems.
Being local means we understand the specific water issues around here. We know which neighborhoods have hard water problems.
We know where the old infrastructure is causing issues. We know how the city’s water quality changes seasonally. That local knowledge helps us recommend the right solutions.
Our service trucks are in your area every week. If something needs attention, we can usually get to you quickly. No waiting around for a technician from Tampa or St. Pete.
After 20 years in business, we must be doing something right. People call us because we’re honest about what they need. We’re not trying to sell the most expensive system to every customer who calls. We test your water, explain what’s in it, and recommend treatment options that make sense for your situation and budget.
Our installers know what they’re doing. They’ve done hundreds of these installations. They show up on time, work efficiently, and treat your home with respect.
We don’t use subcontractors or random crews. Just our trained people who’ve been doing this for years.
We also stick around after the installation. If you have questions about your system, call us. If something doesn’t seem right, we’ll come take a look. We want you to be happy with your water quality for the long term, not just on installation day.
Depends completely on what system you need. A basic under-sink filter might run a few hundred dollars. A whole-house system with softening costs more. After we test your water and understand what you’re trying to accomplish, we’ll give you an exact price.
Most people find it’s less expensive than they expected, especially when they factor in not buying bottled water anymore.
Yes, it’ll taste better. Cleaner. Less chemical flavor. People who’ve been buying bottled water usually say our RO water tastes just as good or better.
Your coffee and tea will taste better, too, because the water doesn’t have chlorine and other stuff interfering with the flavor.
City water is safe. It won’t make you sick. But safe and good are different things. If you’re happy with your tap water, great.
If you’re bothered by the taste, smell, or you’re concerned about contaminants, water purification makes sense.
The only way to know what’s in your water is to test it.
Under-sink systems: two to three hours. Whole house systems: four to five hours. We’ll give you a specific time estimate when we schedule your appointment.
Usually yes. We service equipment from most major manufacturers. If you bought a system years ago from a company that’s no longer around, we can probably maintain it. Bring us out for a service call and we’ll let you know.
We’ll tell you the schedule when we install your system. Most people set a reminder on their phone or calendar. Some newer systems have indicator lights. If you’re on our maintenance plan, we just come out and handle it for you automatically.
