· by Michael Blair, Nashville's Water Filtration
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.
Why test your water before buying treatment?
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
How much can filter cartridges cost over time?
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 color 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.
FAQ
Common Mistakes Buying Water Treatment — questions
Are in-home water tests reliable?
Demonstrations that produce a color change or a precipitate show a chemical reaction rather than a health concern, and Middle Tennessee hardness produces one every time. They are a sales technique. An independent laboratory test of your own tap is what a purchase decision should rest on.
What should I ask before buying a system?
What the test showed and which contaminant each stage addresses, what replacement cartridges cost and how often, whether the cartridges are proprietary or generic, and what the warranty covers. Then get a second quote. Anything sold on a single visit with a same-day discount deserves particular skepticism.
Is bottled water cheaper than a filter?
Almost never over any reasonable period, and an under-sink carbon system typically pays for itself quickly against regular bottled water purchases. It is also a far smaller waste stream. The comparison that occasionally favors bottled is a household drinking very little water at home.
How can I tell if my water is contaminated?
Not by taste, and not from a demonstration at the kitchen table. A color change or a precipitate shows a chemical reaction, which Middle Tennessee hardness produces every time, rather than a health concern. An independent laboratory test of your own tap is the only reliable way to know what is in the water.