If you don't filter your water, your body is the filter.™
Free in home water test anywhere in Orange County. I test at your tap, write the numbers down on paper, and hand them to you. Buy nothing. Keep the report either way.
No sales pitch in your living room. · Most appointments within 48 hours. · Nothing to buy.
800+ five star reviews. Irvine, CA since 1972.
What you've been noticing
I've walked into eight thousand Orange County homes since 1972. Almost every one of them, the homeowner already knew. They just hadn't put a name on it yet. See if any of this sounds like your house.
Chalky ring around the base of the faucet. Pale spots welded to the shower head, so the spray comes out crooked and one jet shoots sideways at the wall. You hit it with vinegar. It came back in three weeks.
That crust is dissolved mineral. What's on the chrome is also on the inside of every pipe behind your drywall, where you can't reach it with a rag.
It started as a faint ticking in the garage. Then a low rumble when the hot water kicked on, like gravel rolling in a drum. Then one Tuesday morning there's a dark stain spreading across the garage floor and a plumber's van in your driveway.
That rumble is scale sitting on the burner plate. The tank was rated for twelve years. In hard water it can go in seven.
You turn the handle and catch that faint pool water smell in the steam. You get out, and before the mirror has cleared your forearms already feel drawn and papery. Your daughter's hair squeaks when she runs a hand through it. There's a bottle of lotion on the counter you didn't own five years ago.
The towels don't help either. They come out of the dryer stiff, smelling faintly sour, no matter which detergent you buy.
Here's the part that bothers people most when I say it out loud. None of that happened overnight. It built for years, one shower and one wash cycle at a time, and the bill for it arrives all at once, usually on a weekend, usually from a plumber you've never met.
Where it actually starts
I want to be fair to the water districts, because they do a hard job and they do it well. The water leaving the treatment plant meets every standard California sets. That's real.
Then it gets in a pipe. It runs miles of city main, through your neighborhood lines, and into plumbing that in a lot of these homes went in before the kids were born. Chlorine is still working when it reaches your tap. Hardness minerals came along for the ride. Whatever pressure your street runs, your house gets, whether your fixtures were built for it or not.
The city's responsibility ends at your meter. Everything past it is yours. That isn't a complaint about anybody. It's just where the line sits, and it's why I test at your kitchen sink instead of quoting you a municipal report.
What I'm actually offering you
You've probably had a water company in your house before, or heard about it from a neighbor over the fence. So here's the entire appointment, minute by minute. No surprises.
Hardness in grains per gallon, chlorine, total dissolved solids, pH. Done right there at your kitchen sink on the same Hach equipment a municipal lab uses. You see the numbers come up. Nothing happens out in the truck.
Gauge on the hose bib for pressure and flow. Then a look at the water heater, the softener loop if you have one, and the condition of your fixtures. This is the step almost everybody skips, and it's the one that tells us whether a system would choke your pressure.
Your readings, on paper, in your hand. What each number is doing to your pipes, your water heater, your laundry, and your skin. Where your house sits next to the rest of your city. Plain English. If a tech uses a word you don't know, stop him and make him say it again.
Want options and a written price? You get them before he leaves, and the number he writes is the number you pay. Don't want them? He leaves the report on your counter and goes. Costs you nothing either way.
What you will not get: a financing table spread across your kitchen counter. A price that's only good today. A technician stepping outside to call his manager. A follow up call every week for a month.
And if a McCowin tech ever pressures you, call me at (949) 569-5736 and I'll make it right personally. Fifty plus years in one county, I can't afford to do it any other way.
Takes about a minute. Pick your own time.
Who's behind this
Same county. Same trade. Fifty plus years of it.
I've seen every shortcut in this business. The cheap filter designed to quit in a year. The company that installs on Friday and can't be reached on Monday. The guy who sells one brand because it's the only brand he carries, whether it fits your house or not.
That's not how we work. My techs test first and recommend second, and sometimes what they recommend is nothing at all. If your water reads fine, you'll hear that from us, and we'll go.
My people stay, too. Low turnover. Customers notice it and they write about it, which tells me more about this operation than any award would.
From your neighbors
Real names, real houses, most of them within a few miles of yours.
Mike Michino
Google review
“Meticulous, and complete in every detail. They do not cut any corners.”
On his annual service visit. He wrote that the technician jumbled the controls on purpose and had him reprogram the unit himself, so he could do it after they left.
Ethan Blair
Google review
“We have been with McCowin water for 7 years and only encountered positive results.”
On quoting, scheduling, service and follow up across seven years as a customer.
Henry Novell
Google review
“He has low turnover which speaks volumes for a good operation.”
After a Hague water softener and reverse osmosis installation. He noted the tech answered every question he had.
Tom Phillips
Google review
“Very friendly and professional technician. Great customer skills as well.”
He wrote that the tech couldn't say enough nice things about the company he works for.
Tom Atkins
Google review
“Good company. High integrity.”
Several years as a customer. Brian came out personally on his most recent visit.
Juliet Williams
Google review
“Maaison was great and super helpful! Very professional and thorough.”
On a recent service appointment.
Jennifer Hill
Costa Mesa homeowner
“They're so professional and helpful. I feel completely safe with their system in my home.”
She described the team as reliable and trustworthy, and said that's rare these days.
Ron Calvarese
Long time customer
“It's rare to see such a commitment these days, and it feels like being part of a family.”
On the ongoing service after the install, which is the part he says stands out.
Where we test
Our showroom sits at 222 Goddard in Irvine and our trucks run Orange County every day. Same technicians, same trucks, same phone number that's rung here since 1972.
Don't see your city? We cover most of Orange County. Call (949) 569-5736 and we'll tell you straight whether you're in our run.
The short version
Before you book
Yes. The test costs nothing, there is no obligation to purchase, and you keep the written results whether you buy anything or not. We have been doing it in Orange County since 1972 because homeowners who understand their water make better decisions.
No. The technician tests your water, writes down the numbers, and explains what they mean. If you ask for options and pricing, you get them in writing. If you do not, he leaves the report and goes. There is no financing table on your counter, no today only price, and no calling a manager for approval. If a McCowin technician ever pressures you, call Brian directly at (949) 569-5736.
Hardness in grains per gallon, chlorine, total dissolved solids, and pH, measured at your kitchen tap. The technician also takes a water pressure and flow rate reading at the hose bib and looks at your water heater, your softener loop if you have one, and the condition of your fixtures. Testing at your tap matters because water changes between the treatment plant and your house.
About 30 minutes for most homes. You see the readings as they happen and you keep the written results. Nothing is installed and nothing is sold at that visit unless you ask for it.
It depends on three things: how hard your water actually measures, the size of your home, and what your existing plumbing looks like. That is exactly what the free test is for. You get a real written number at the appointment rather than a guess over the phone, and the price we write down is the price you pay.
Not when the system is sized correctly. Pressure loss happens when a system is undersized for the home's flow rate. That is why the free test includes a pressure and flow reading before anything is recommended. Systems are then sized to your home's actual demand.
Most whole home installations take three to five hours in a single visit. Under sink reverse osmosis systems take about two hours. Systems are installed at the point of entry or under the sink using existing plumbing connections, so drywall work is rare. If your home does need a modification, the technician shows you and prices it before any work starts.
Renters can install under sink reverse osmosis and other point of use systems, which are removable and leave no permanent modification. Whole home systems installed at the point of entry require owner approval. Most Orange County HOAs permit water treatment equipment, and we install to code under CSLB license C-55 #1022717 and can provide documentation for your HOA.
You call our local Irvine number and a McCowin technician comes out. We have installed and serviced systems in Orange County since 1972, and we service what we install ourselves rather than routing you to a manufacturer's call center.
We test throughout Orange County, including Irvine, Mission Viejo, Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach, Tustin, Costa Mesa, Santa Ana, Anaheim, and Lake Forest. Our showroom is at 222 Goddard in Irvine.
You'll know exactly what's coming out of your taps and what it would take to fix it. And if you decide to do nothing, at least you'll be deciding it on purpose. That's worth half an hour.
Or just call me. (949) 569-5736. Monday through Friday, 9 to 5. Saturday by appointment. 222 Goddard, Irvine.
