McCowin Water › The McCowin Guarantee™

The McCowin Guarantee™

If it doesn't work, we pull it out.

If the system we put in doesn't do what we said it would, we fix it. If we can't fix it, we pull it out and replace it with one that does. No gimmicks, no fine print, no B.S. Below you'll find it written out in full, including the parts most companies leave off their guarantee page. What's covered. What isn't. How long it lasts. Exactly how to make a claim.

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One year performance guarantee. · Parts and labor on our install. · You call us directly.

800+ five star reviews across Orange County

Brian McCowin, owner of McCowin Water, at the company showroom in Irvine, California

Brian McCowin, owner. The guarantee below is his, and the phone number goes to his office.

The promise itself

What The McCowin Guarantee actually says

Most guarantee pages give you a slogan and hope you don't ask follow up questions. Ours is two steps, in this order, and that's the whole thing.

If the system we install doesn't do what we said it would do:

We come out and fix it. No charge.

You call our Irvine office. A McCowin technician comes to your house, retests your water, and compares it against the readings we wrote down before we installed anything. Most performance problems turn out to be a setting, a sizing issue or a part, and they get handled on that first visit.
If we can't fix it, we pull it out and replace it.

If the system genuinely cannot be made to perform the way we told you it would, we take it out and put in one that will. You don't pay the difference for our miscalculation, and you're not left owning equipment that doesn't do the job.

The performance guarantee runs one year from your installation date. Service support doesn't expire, and the equipment carries its own manufacturer warranty on top of this, which we administer for you rather than handing you a phone number.

Book my free water test Or call (949) 569-5736

The part nobody publishes

What's covered, and what isn't

Every guarantee in this industry has exclusions. Ours are on this page instead of on page four of a contract you sign in your kitchen. If you've been burned before, this is the column you should read first.

Covered

Performance. If the water doesn't taste, feel or behave the way we said it would, that's on us to correct at our cost.
Parts and labor on our installation. We stand behind our own work rather than pointing at the manufacturer.
Sizing and design. If we sized it wrong for your home, correcting that is our cost, including replacing the equipment if that is what it takes.
Service support for as long as you own the system. One phone call, one company, no runaround.
Manufacturer warranty claims. We file them and manage them so you don't sit on hold.
Sales tax. We absorb it. It won't appear on your invoice.
Drain lines, power and plumbing connections. Handled as part of the install, not billed as extras afterward.

Not covered

Damage from misuse, tampering, or modification by anyone other than a McCowin technician.
Systems that haven't had their required filter changes or salt. The equipment needs maintenance to perform, same as a car needs oil.
Damage from freezing, flooding, fire, or other events outside normal household use.
Changes to your municipal water supply that we could not have measured at the time we tested.
Problems created by other plumbing work performed after our installation.
Equipment we didn't install. We'll happily service it, but at our normal service rates.

Outside the guarantee still means we show up. Anything on this list gets our regular service rates and a real technician, not a runaround.

Why we can afford to say it

A guarantee this strong isn't bravery. It's arithmetic.

Here's the part that makes the whole thing work, and it happens before anybody installs anything.

We test your water first. Hardness in grains per gallon, chlorine, total dissolved solids, pH, and the water pressure and flow rate at your hose bib. Those numbers get written down and you keep a copy. Only then does anybody talk about equipment.

When you know exactly what a home's water is doing before you size a system for it, you're not guessing about whether that system will work. You already know. The guarantee isn't a leap of faith on our part. It's just what happens when you do the diagnostic work first instead of selling from a catalog.

The companies that can't offer a guarantee like this are usually the ones that never tested the water.

Start with the free water test Or call (949) 569-5736

Crystal clear filtered water produced by a McCowin Water reverse osmosis system

Where this came from

The kitchen table in Irvine where I first said it out loud

A few years back I met a woman in Irvine. Let's call her Sharon.

She had a look I've seen hundreds of times over the years. The look of somebody who spent thousands on a top rated system from a big brand and worked out a few months later that it wasn't doing the job.

Her water still smelled like chlorine. Her dishwasher was still wrecking her glassware. Her shower still left her skin feeling tight.

She called the company that sold it to her. They told her to give it some time. She waited. She called again. That time they told her she was using it wrong.

Let that sit for a second. She didn't need more customer service. She needed somebody to take responsibility.

So I sat down at her kitchen table and said the thing this company is built on:

"If this doesn't do what I say it's going to do, we'll pull it out and put in one that does. That's the McCowin Guarantee."

She looked at me like I was lying to her.

And honestly, I understood why. Plenty of companies talk big before the check clears and get hard to reach afterward. She'd already met one.

That's the whole reason this is written down on a page instead of said once in somebody's kitchen. You should be able to read the terms before you meet me, decide whether they're worth anything, and hold me to them later.

Brian McCowin
Owner, McCowin Water. Orange County since 1972.

The McCowin Water showroom at 222 Goddard in Irvine, California, with water filtration systems on display — Our showroom at 222 Goddard in Irvine. If you would rather look somebody in the eye before you believe a guarantee, this is where we are, and we have been in this county since 1972.

How we work

What comes with every McCowin installation

Designed for your house, not a catalog

Every system gets sized to the water chemistry we measured at your tap, your home's layout and your actual daily usage. We don't mark up a generic model and hope it fits.

White glove install

Drain lines, power and plumbing connections are part of the job, not a surprise line item afterward. Floors get protected, the site gets cleaned up, and somebody walks you through operating it before we leave.

One phone number, forever

If something isn't right you call our Irvine office and a McCowin technician comes out. No third party administrator, no claim portal, no manufacturer call center in another state.

We're not in the water business. We're in the trust business.

Do what we said we'd do. Show up when we said we would. Never sell somebody something they don't need. Make it right when we get it wrong, even when making it right costs us money.

That's not a mission statement somebody wrote on a whiteboard. It's the only way a family company stays in one county for fifty years, because around here your reputation arrives at the appointment before you do.

Guarantee FAQ

Questions people ask about the guarantee

What does the McCowin Guarantee actually cover?

It covers performance. If the system we installed does not do what we told you it would do, we come out and fix it at no charge. If we cannot fix it, we pull it out and replace it with a system that does the job, and you do not pay the difference. It also covers parts and labor on our installation work, and it includes ongoing service support for as long as you own the system.

How long does the McCowin Guarantee last?

The performance guarantee runs for one year from the date of installation. Service support does not expire. Equipment itself also carries the manufacturer's own warranty, which is separate and usually longer, and we handle those claims for you rather than sending you to a call center.

Is it a repair or a replacement?

Repair first, replacement second. Most performance problems turn out to be a setting, a sizing issue or a part, and those get handled on the first visit at no charge. If the system genuinely cannot be made to perform the way we said it would, we pull it out and replace it with one that will, at no additional cost to you. You are not left owning equipment that does not do the job.

What is not covered by the guarantee?

We will say this plainly rather than bury it. The guarantee does not cover damage from misuse, tampering or modification by someone other than a McCowin technician, systems that have not had their required filter changes or salt, damage from freezing, flooding, fire or other events outside normal use, changes in your municipal water supply that we could not have measured at the time of testing, or problems caused by other plumbing work performed after our installation. Anything outside the guarantee still gets our service rates, not a runaround.

How do I make a claim under the McCowin Guarantee?

You call our Irvine office at (949) 569-5736 and tell us what your water is doing. There is no form, no third party administrator and no claim number. A McCowin technician comes out, retests your water, checks the system against the readings we took before installation, and tells you what is happening. If it falls under the guarantee, we handle it and you do not get an invoice.

Do I have to prove the system is not working?

No, and that is the point of testing your water before we install anything. We write down your starting numbers at the free water test. When we come back out we test again and compare. The numbers do the arguing, not you.

Does the guarantee transfer if I sell my house?

Call us before the sale closes and we will tell you exactly where things stand for the new owner and what we can carry over. We would rather have the conversation ahead of time than have somebody discover the answer during escrow.

Why does McCowin Water offer a guarantee this strong?

Because we test before we recommend. When you know a home's hardness, chlorine, total dissolved solids, pH and water pressure before you size anything, you are not guessing about whether the system will work. The guarantee is not a leap of faith on our part, it is the natural consequence of doing the diagnostic work first. Fifty plus years in one county also means we cannot afford an unhappy customer.

Book my free water test Or call (949) 569-5736

You've got nothing to lose here.

The test is free. The numbers are yours to keep. And if you do end up putting a system in, it comes with a guarantee written out in full, exclusions included, on this page where you can read it before you ever meet us.

Book my free water test Or call (949) 569-5736

Talk to Brian directly. (949) 569-5736. Monday through Friday, 9 to 5. 222 Goddard, Irvine, CA 92618.

If it doesn't work, we pull it out.

What The McCowin Guarantee actually says

If the system we install doesn't do what we said it would do:

We come out and fix it. No charge.

If we can't fix it, we pull it out and replace it.

What's covered, and what isn't

Covered

Not covered

A guarantee this strong isn't bravery. It's arithmetic.

The kitchen table in Irvine where I first said it out loud

What comes with every McCowin installation

Designed for your house, not a catalog

White glove install

One phone number, forever

We're not in the water business. We're in the trust business.

Questions people ask about the guarantee

You've got nothing to lose here.