· Michael Blair
Water treatment has a long history of high-pressure selling, often built on a demonstration rather than a test. A few errors account for most of the money wasted.
Buying before testing
A test of your own tap costs very little and tells you what you actually have. Buying treatment without one means specifying a solution to an unknown problem.
It is the single most common and most expensive mistake, and it is what in-home sales demonstrations rely on.
Confusing filtration with softening
Filters do not soften and softeners do not filter. A household that wants better-tasting drinking water and buys a softener has spent a lot to solve a different problem.
Both may be justified; they are not substitutes.
- Test your own tap before buying anything
- Filters do not soften; softeners do not filter
- Check the maintenance interval and cartridge cost
- Beware demonstrations that show a reaction rather than a measurement
- Get a second quote on anything substantial
Ignoring running cost
Cartridge cost and replacement frequency over ten years can exceed the purchase price, particularly on proprietary systems with no generic equivalent.
Ask what a set of replacements costs and how often, before buying rather than after.
The demonstration problem
In-home tests that produce a colour change or a precipitate demonstrate a chemical reaction rather than a health concern, and hardness in Middle Tennessee water will produce one reliably.
An independent laboratory test is the basis for a decision. A demonstration on your kitchen table is a sales technique.