About Kelly McClendon & This Site

Kelly McClendon
Founder, WaterFilterSoftenerCombo.com · Mesa, Arizona

I started this site for one reason: when I was shopping for a whole-house water system for my own home in Mesa, Arizona, I couldn't find a single review written by someone who had actually installed the thing and lived with it. Every page was the same spec sheet reworded, the same stock photos, the same "9.8/10" with no test strips in sight.

Mesa sits on some of the hardest municipal water in the country — my kitchen tap tested at 19 grains per gallon, with the chlorine taste to match. So I did what I wished someone else had done: bought a filter-and-softener combo with my own money, installed it on my own main line, and measured everything for six months before writing a word. That test became the flagship review on this site's homepage.

How I test

• Real installs, real water. Systems go on an actual main line in an actual hard-water home — not a lab bench, not a spec-sheet summary.
• Measurements over adjectives. Hardness test strips, TDS readings, pressure-gauge checks before and after, salt-bag counts, and 30/90/180-day follow-ups.
• Honest disqualification. Every review names who should not buy the product. A combo built for city water is the wrong buy for a well, and I'll say so even when it costs me a commission.
• Compliance with the facts. No water system removes every contaminant in every condition, and I never claim otherwise. Certification claims are stated at the component level when that's what they are. Health-related topics reference EPA and CDC guidance and are never medical advice.

How this site makes money

Through affiliate commissions, disclosed on every page that contains an affiliate link. If you buy a system through a link here, the seller pays me a percentage; your price doesn't change. Commissions never decide a verdict — the 6-month test data does. Read the full affiliate disclosure.

Get in touch

Reader questions regularly turn into new test ideas. Reach me through the contact page, or the old-fashioned way: