Frequently asked questions

Almost certainly. The unit is 18″ wide, 21″ deep and 25.5″ tall — about the size of a small chest freezer — and it goes in where the water enters, usually the basement near the meter. It needs a standard 120 V outlet and 1″ NPT connections, and it works with a pressure tank if you’re on a well.

If your space is tight, send us a photo when you call and we’ll tell you before anyone comes out.

About two hours, and it’s included in the price — there’s no separate installation charge anywhere in our service area. No additional internal plumbing is needed — the system sits inline where the water comes in.

Your water is off for part of that. We’ll tell you when we book.

That depends on which cartridges are fitted, which is why we test your water first rather than guessing. Across the range the system handles:

• Sand, dirt, silt, rust and grit
• Chlorine, chloramine and organic compounds — the chemistry behind bad taste and smell
• Cysts and fine particulates, down to 0.5 micron
• Scale and corrosion — the polyphosphate stage stops hardness minerals bonding
• Optionally, ultraviolet purification and contaminant-specific cartridges for things like heavy metals

More than 40 cartridge options are available. When you ask us what it removes, we’ll answer for your configuration and show you the certificate for that filter rather than asking you to take our word for it.

Here is the honest answer, because this matters more than a marketing line.

The system adds no lead — every wetted part is certified lead-free to NSF/ANSI 372, and the materials are certified to NSF/ANSI 61 not to leach into your water. That is documented and we’ll show you the certificate.

Lead reduction is a separate question. The standard for it is NSF/ANSI 53, and it applies to a specific cartridge, not to a system in general. If lead is your concern, say so — it changes which model and which cartridge we’d recommend, and we’ll give you the certification for that filter in writing.

Anyone who tells you a whole-house system “removes lead” without naming the standard and the cartridge is asking you to trust a slogan.

Once a year is the recommendation, though it depends on your water and how much you use. Each cylinder is replaced on its own — you change what’s worn out, not the whole unit — and the patented design means it’s a quick job rather than a service call.

Your first year of cartridges comes with the system, and the set after that is 20% off.

We come to your house and test what’s actually in your water, then recommend the model and cartridges that match it. It takes under an hour.

The in-home test is included with the purchase of a system. If you want independent lead testing on its own, your village or a certified laboratory can arrange that — ask us and we’ll point you to them. We’d rather you had good information than a sale.

For one specific job, sometimes. RO removes dissolved salts and solids that filtration and UV don’t. If that’s your problem, RO at a single tap may genuinely be the right answer and we’ll tell you so.

For most Milwaukee-area homes it isn’t. RO demineralises — it strips out calcium and magnesium along with everything else — treats one faucet rather than the whole house, wastes 3–5 gallons for every gallon it treats, and a whole-home RO system costs 4–6× more.

Installation is included across Whitefish Bay, Shorewood, Fox Point, Bayside, Brown Deer, Greendale, Hales Corners, Elm Grove, Pewaukee, Wauwatosa, Brookfield, Thiensville and Germantown.

Just outside? Call anyway — we’ll tell you honestly whether we can reach you.

Ten years on the housing. The Flex 4V.1 is manufactured by Qualified Water Systems in Waukesha, Wisconsin, and carries the WQA Gold Seal for NSF/ANSI 61 and NSF/ANSI 372 — certifying that the system’s own materials are safe and add no lead to your water.

Ask us for the warranty terms in writing before you buy — from us or anyone.

No chemicals at all. Filtration is mechanical — nothing is dosed into your water.

There’s no waste stream and no holding tank quietly refilling itself, unlike reverse osmosis which wastes 3–5 gallons for every gallon it treats. The system handles up to 8 gallons per minute and 12,000 gallons per day — comfortably more than a household draws. The filtration itself needs no power; the optional UV stage needs a standard outlet.

Yes, on any of our systems — it’s a separate leak-monitoring module rather than something you have to buy a bigger unit to get.

It gives you real-time leak detection with alerts to your phone, water usage and flow statistics, freeze and drip warnings, and on the Control version a remote whole-home shut-off. Plenty of people buy the filtration for the water and end up valuing this just as much.

The QWS Flex 4V.1 starts at $3,850, which covers the system, standard installation and your first year of cartridges. Standard installation means about two hours, fitted where the water enters the house, with no additional internal plumbing.

It says “from” because some houses need more than that — rerouting pipework, adding an outlet, awkward access. If yours does, you get the figure in writing before any work starts. Ultraviolet purification and leak monitoring are quoted separately, and only where the water test calls for them.

The in-home water test is free, and the cartridge set after your included first year is 20% off. Call (414) 710-0106 or see what the price includes.