We didn't model this. We tested it.
One real Arlington home. Two samples — the kitchen tap, and the exact same water after Hydra — sent to an independent, accredited lab. Here's what came back.
Microbac Laboratories · EPA 524.2 · 300.0 · 200.7 · 200.8 · Collected July 11, 2026 · Paired tap vs. RO output
Total trihalomethanes (THMs)
58 ppb2.79 ppb
The Arlington tap came back over the health guideline for three disinfection byproducts. After Hydra, two were undetectable and total trihalomethanes fell 95%.
Every number below came back from the lab.
Orange is the Arlington kitchen tap; blue is the same water after Hydra. Bars are scaled within each row, in parts per billion or parts per million as reported.
Disinfection byproducts & metals
Byproducts of the chlorine used to disinfect municipal water — several are regulated carcinogens. Three came back over the health guideline at the Arlington tap. The metals below were already within guidelines, and Hydra still cut them by roughly 80% or more.
Overall purity
Total dissolved load — the combined weight of minerals, salts and metals in the water. Lower means purer water at the tap you actually drink from.
What this actually means.
Disinfection byproducts
Chloroform and two related byproducts all read above the health guideline at the tap. They form when chlorine meets organic matter — invisible and tasteless. Hydra took total THMs from 58 to 2.79 ppb.
Total dissolved solids
TDS is the combined weight of everything dissolved in the water. The tap measured 184 ppm; after Hydra, 51.8 — a 72% drop in overall dissolved load at the tap you drink from.
Your water isn't this water
This is one home on one day. Your street, your pipes and your utility are different — which is exactly the point. Check your own ZIP first, then see what a system does about it.
How this test was run.
Two samples were collected the same day from a single-family home in Arlington, VA — one from the kitchen tap, one from the outlet of the installed Hydra reverse-osmosis system. Both were shipped to an independent accredited laboratory and analyzed under standard EPA methods.
- Laboratory
- Microbac Laboratories
- Program
- Tap Score / SimpleLab
- Methods
- EPA 524.2 · 300.0 · 200.7 · 200.8
- Collected
- July 11, 2026
- Reported
- July 20, 2026
- Report IDs
- C2PAZ8 · 65VFLG
Results reflect one household at one point in time and are specific to that home's water and installation. Individual results vary with source water and conditions. Full unaltered lab reports available on request.
The system we tested
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Reverse osmosis under your sink. In this test it took total THMs from 58 ppb to 2.79 ppb.
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