By Peter Wakem

1. Choose a company that has financial strength, longevity, an extensive inventory and a large, loyal customer base. Visit that company’s location to verify a wide selection of products are available. Be comfortable with the company’s representative and confident in their explanations.
2. Explain your needs, learn your options, and ask questions about how systems work, the required maintenance, and their warranties. Be aware that a warranty is only as good as the company that stands behind it.
3. Understand that only PROPERLY SIZED and CORRECTLY INSTALLED treatment equipment will give your family the standard of water quality you require, whether the source is from the Municipal City water supply or a private well system.
4. Dismiss purchasing by price alone. Differences are common due to size, quality and type. Know that a company’s low price may indicate a smaller, inefficient, poorly designed system, so learn the differences. Any salesperson that sells on low price alone knows the worth of their product. Cheap prices equal cheap products with no services.
5. Substantiate that the proposed equipment is certified by the Water Quality Association, NSF or Underwriter Labs, and is proposed by full time water professionals.
6. Confirm that all future water testing needs and equipment consultations are easily accessible and are offered at no charge.
7. Avoid ”fly-by-night” handymen with a cell phone and a pickup truck. It is too easy for them to evade you after the sale is paid for and their misplaced, inferior equipment is installed. No matter how nice they seem at the time, they will take your money and vanish.
8.The Internet is good for gathering information, but can be deceptive when it comes to purchasing water treatment equipment. A book, shirt or Groupon discount coupon is safe to buy from the Internet, but a mechanically controlled water treatment system that needs competent, professional installation, is not one of them. A new roof, air conditioner, kitchen cabinets and correctly sized water systems are best purchased and serviced by local professionals.
9. Be wary of marketing companies that employ in-home, persistent, and high commissioned salespeople that present lengthy demonstrations and demand an immediate decision. They commonly use dishonest tactics to close any sale they can. They are not interested in proper water equipment placement. They are only interested in taking your money. They will give you extremely high priced equipment you could have purchased at a much lower price from a honest, helpful, highly respected, and well established local company.
10. Avoid multi-level marketing sales people. Purchasing soap and cosmetics does not compare to investing in water treatment equipment for the protection of your family’s health.
11. Be suspicious of Big Box stores like Sam’s Costco, Lowes, and Home Depot. Their equipment is often short lived because they are an inferior grade. These types of stores cannot diagnose your particular water problem or meet your needs because their cheap inferior equipment is based on a “one size fits all” mentality. Often, replacement parts and filter cartridges are unavailable and the ones they do have are inferior in their size and grade. There is no guarantee they will continue to carry replacement cartridges or offer proper maintenance of the systems they sell.
12. Beware of brand specific franchises. They are required, not only to pay fees that are passed along to the customer, but their equipment is manufactured in another part of the United States, and is designed to meet different living and weather conditions than our locally manufactured products. The franchise brand’s parts are only supplied by the franchise company, so all competitive factors, such as future price and availability are strictly controlled. You will be bonded to that company for the life of their unit or system, no matter how expensive, inefficient and unprofessional the franchise company is.

Call us and we will come to you, or stop by our family owned and operated stores today! Bring a sample of your water for our free laboratory testing. We will propose and demonstrate the proper equipment needed to solve your water problems. Your water will be safer, cleaner and healthier with Clean Water America!