Water filters can remove contaminants present in water, such as sediments, chlorine & by-products, odor, atrazine, lindane, lead, rusts, toxins, pesticides, bacteria & virus from your drinking water. There are many filtration technologies & a few dispensing modes. We are going to discuss about one mode of dispensing filtered water – under sink.

Beauty of under sink water filters

If you just want clean, quality water that you can consume direct from your tap (ROOM TEMPERATURE), a beautiful solution is under sink water filtration. It is a Point-of-use water filtration system filters water at the point nearest to the outlet, ensuring you have good water when you want to drink it.

It usually does not require electricity, unless it is RO or Electrolysis. Therefore, there is no electrical components to maintain. It is an economical solution that requires very minimal maintenance & investment is usually not too big.

Singaporean locals have this passed down tradition to boil water to cool it down to room temperature, to have safer drinking water. Under-sinks keep the counter CLUTTER FREE from water jugs & other containers that you might otherwise use to keep your drinking water (had you got to do the traditional method).

Feasibility of under sink water filters

Maybe you think that under sink water filtration fits your needs. The next question is the feasibility of installing one. Installation of under sink filters usually comprise of drilling hole to install a small tap that is just for filtered water (separate from the unfiltered tap water used for washing dishes) & mounting or fixing the filter body under the sink, in the cabinet below your kitchen sink. The mounting or fixing of filter body (housing or cartridges) and connecting the outlet to the faucet is usually straightforward. So let us concern ourselves with the installation of the tap.

Typical faucet installations for under sink filters

– examples of faucets installed for under sink water filters

Drilling of 1.2cm diameter hole is typically required, to install the auxiliary faucet. There are 2 options to install it on. Counter top OR sink corner.

Drilling on counter top material

If your tap is to be installed on your counter top due to under mount kitchen sinks, & your counter top is made of these materials, we can drill a 1.2cm hole to install the faucet for you.

• solid surface
• Acrylic
• Laminate
• Wood
• resin

However, some households have counter top materials that are not drill-friendly, such as quartz, marble, granite, cement or concrete (underneath, with tiled top).

Drilling on sink corner

In these cases, if there is space on the sink corner, customers will usually prefer the drill on the (usually metal) sink.

Required space for faucet base

If you have a diameter of MINIMUM 3.2cm diameter base, we can install the basic (Hyundai Waco or Paragon brand) faucet tap for you. If the corner is not tight for 3.2cm diameter, shop now here https://shop.waterfilter.com.sg/water-filters/under-sink.html

If your sink corner seem tight, you are not sure if it is enough space for 32mm diameter, fret not.
For such scenario, you may DOWNLOAD this pdf to cut the circle to place on your corner to see if it is good.

Cut-out template is here!

Under-sink-water-filter-tap-1a1.pdf

1. DOWNLOAD pdf from the link
2. PRINT
3. CUT out Circle A for minimum space requirement
4. PLACE cut-out on FLAT surface at your corner and see if there is space for it. If there is, congrats, you can possibly choose from our under sink water filters in our shop! If otherwise, contact us to discuss. There are other alternatives.
5. Snap TWO pics with mobile:
   – cut-out on corner
   – under the sink
6. You may want to send us #5 via WhatsApp direct at https://wa.me/6590016441
7. Shop Now
   https://shop.waterfilter.com.sg/water-filters/under-sink.html

Why not drill hole

There are some customers who does not want to install the faucet that comes with the filtration system due these 2 reasons:

1. Renting the apartment
You who are renting the apartment may not want to drill a hole on the sink or counter top as it is subject to approval by landlord and that is a hassle.

2. Quartz, Granite, Marble
Quartz/ Marble/ Granite top not installed yet, kitchen under renovation
If you have one of the counter tops like quartz, granite or marble, you might not want to drill on it, thought it is not always the case that it has to be drilled on the counter. For sinks that are not over-mount by the counter, drilling on metal sink is easy.

Over-Mount Sinks (does not have exposed sink top areas) E.g.:

We can drill on quartz but it requires our external contractor to do it and it is not covered under basic installation. $50 is chargeable.

We do not drill on marble and granite.

Quartz/ Marble/ Granite top not installed yet, kitchen under renovation
If your marble / granite / quartz top is not installed yet and you need to drill on counter as you have a total under-mount sink, you can get your designer or contractor to have your counter drilled with a hole. The hole needed is 12mm. For Hyundai 500N & Paragon 1-stage, 2-stage, 3-stage)

Using under-sink filtration systems without installing auxiliary filter

There are alternatives and it all depends on your situation.

1. Using the “hot” water hose in a mixer tap
You can use this only if you have a mixer tap and does not use hot water or does not have a heater for the kitchen sink. A mixer tap has 2 hoses, if you check underneath the tap thats installed. We can make use of the “hot” water hose to be connected to the FILTERED water. So when you switch your water faucet to complete “hot”, its filtered water being dispensed.

2. Using a 3-way tap
If you use hot water at sink, you can consider a 3-way tap. A 3-way tap has 3 hoses, one for hot, one for cold, the other for FILTERED water. HOWEVER, if you are now having a SINGLE tap, that is not a mixer tap, chances are, the current hole in which your tap is in, is NOT big enough to install the mixer or the 3-way tap. A 3 way tap hole needed is same as that of the mixer tap. So, sorry for singles, maybe you cannot use this option unless the current hole is expanded.

Look at how beautiful this 3-way tap is!

If you have any more questions regarding this topic, you might want to email us or call us.

Under-sink Water Filter (without the drilling)
Want to enjoy filtered water but have a clean, clear kitchen counter? Don’t want to drill a hole for the auxiliary faucet for the under-counter water filter?

Or perhaps you can’t drill hole as you are staying in a rental unit or do not like to have another faucet on your counter.

Granite & Marble counter top – No drilling
Or perhaps your sink is totally under-mount by surfaces like marble, granite or quartz and have difficulty getting the water filtration company to drill a hole for you, then you have this “no-drill” problem too. (Other solid surfaces are ok to drill, our plumber or technician will do the job.)

If you have yet to install your marble or granite or even quartz kitchen counter, don’t! Get your contractor or counter top factory to drill the hole for you before they install it for you, they will even do it for no extra charge. Then problem solved.

Why auxiliary faucet
Most under-sink water filtration systems come with a set of dedicated small faucet for installation on counter to and that requires a drilling of 12mm diameter hole on the sink top or counter. This way, you can enjoy filtered water for drinking and preparation of food, without wasting the filtered water (if you connect it to the one and only faucet you are using, whether you wash plates or hands with it, it is filtered).

If you are not keen on the auxiliary faucet, yet do NOT want the filtration system to sit on your counter, perhaps you can consider this method.

Don’t worry about the hole
An idea, should you one day not want to use under-sink filtration system, is to use the 1.2cm hole for soap dispensers like this (which we love!):

“Mixer tap method”
For this method, we will connect the water filter to the hot water line instead of the cold water line so when you swivel the tap to the hot water side, it dispenses at the filtered water via the “hot water” from the existing faucet you have. This method will work only if you have a mixer tap and does NOT have have water heater for the water at sink.

Water Flow
Of course the water connected to the “hot” water side may not have such big flow like your usual flow at your existing faucet, but it is not too small, it will be something like the water flow you get at school canteen water cooler spouts. After all, most under-counter water filters for residential or offices are designed for ¼ inch water outlet.

Well otherwise, if you have no issues with us drilling a hole for auxiliary tap, under-sink water filters are beautiful. They save your kitchen counter top from clutter and give it the space you want in the usually small kitchens we have in Singapore.

Check out Under-sink water filters we have at HappyPenguin! https://shop.waterfilter.com.sg/water-filters/under-sink.html

Drilling requirement for P5250 – 25mm
Drilling requirement for twist locks – 12mm

Can user change from using P5250 Maintenance Free Under Counter Water Filter to Twist Locks in future?

The following image shows the Maintenance Free under-sink package. As you can see, the faucet comes pre-lined with tubing and provides a pressure relief function. Only this model is like that. The other 1 stage, 2 stage and 3 stage twist locks faucets do not have pre-lined tubing inside faucet. Therefore, the copper color barrel is bigger and you need to drill a whole of 25mm diameter.

The following image shows the underside of the the measurement of the copper color barrel with diameter less than 25mm.

For further twist lock faucet measurements, please refer to http://www.waterfilter.com.sg/full-package-for-twist-locks-water-filtration . The barrel for Twist locks diameter is 12mm. However, if you use the maintenance Free one (P5250) and then after some time you want to change to the twist locks, you just have to put this plate one on top of counter and one below the counter. (see the following image)