Placement and independence from PUR filters
The water softener installs at the main cold water supply line before any fixtures. The PUR pitcher sits on the kitchen counter and fills from the kitchen faucet as normal -- the only change is that the kitchen faucet now delivers softened cold water. The PUR faucet-mount filter (FM-2000B or FM-4000B) continues to attach to the kitchen faucet aerator in the same way, now filtering softened water. Both PUR pitcher and faucet-mount products operate identically on softened supply water -- no adjustments are needed.
Impact on PUR filter life in softened water
PUR filter life (100 gallons per MAXION cartridge) is determined primarily by chlorine loading, organic compound loading, and lead adsorption -- not by water hardness. In softened water, filter life for lead and chemical reduction is approximately the same as in hard water. In high-chloramine municipal water (many cities switched from chlorine to chloramine as disinfectant after 2000), PUR MAXION filters deplete faster due to higher chloramine loading. If your water authority uses chloramine, replace PUR filters at the 80-gallon mark rather than waiting for the indicator to show red.