Tips on Buying a Water Conditioner, Filter or Softener

Water Filtration, Water Conditioning, Water Purification, Water Softening, what is the best water system for you?  With all the different options and claims in the Water Treatment Industry, many consumers can get extremely confused.  Hopefully, this article will get you started off on the right foot so you can be confident in your decision making process for a water system for your home or business.  This article is  not written to recommend what type of product you need, but to aid you in your decision making process.

So you can feel confident in the information provided in this article,  here are my qualifications and experience in water treatment:

I started out in the Water Conditioning Industry in 1978.  My experience stared out as a service technician, then moved on as service manager, sales manger and general manager for a well known water conditioning dealer for over 24 years. During that time, I became certified by the Water Quality Association as a Water Treatment Specialist and received my State Contractor's License in Water Conditioning and Purification.  I am currently the Managing Partner for a water treatment manufacturer, with a full service laboratory and research facility specializing in the designing and engineering of every type of water treatment from simple residential filters to complex laboratory grade commercial purification systems.  I am writing this article based on my experience, observations and knowledge of the Water Conditioning Industry. 


Preparing yourself  to shop for a water system:

Do you know the chemistry of your water?  Are you on a water supply from a municipality, private well water or another form of  natural water supply?  Before you can proceed with any shopping or product research, you should know the chemistry of your water, what is in it and what you want to change or remove to make it suitable for your needs.  A viable water treatment company will offer this service.  Some do it at no charge as a part of their service,  making sure they are offering you the right piece of equipment for your water chemistry.  Others will charge and credit off  the testing fees if you purchase product from them.  Water districts are required to publish detailed water quality reports for the public.  They are readily available on the internet for your review.

It is imperative you know what you want to do with your water.  Are you unhappy with the taste? Is your water leaving water spots on your plumbing fixtures and sinks?  Do you have health concerns? Is it all of the above?

Taste:
Taste of the water is very subjective and many factors effect the taste of your water.  Minerals, contaminants, chemicals all influence how your water is going to taste. 

Minerals:

High mineral content can cause water to taste very heavy.  Depending on the specific minerals in your water,  the taste will vary as well. Heavier concentrations such as iron can cause your water to taste extremely objectionable.  Many consultants or sales people will suggest you to leave minerals in the water as they are essential for your diet and nutrition while others will tell you you get more nutritional benefits from eating one baked potato compared to drinking a bathtub full of tap water. It is a known fact minerals in a solid state coming from foods you eat such as vegetables  that are digested and absorbed into your body are more beneficial than minerals dissolved in water.  Here is a perfect example of this: Our Chief Engineer recently had surgery and had a small portion of his small intestine removed.  He was unable to eat for several days and was fed intravenously.  He started showing symptoms which were indicative of low potassium.  Testing confirmed this and the head nurse was ordered to add potassium to his I.V.  After 3 bags of sugar water and potassium,  his level had not increased.  With his knowledge of mineral absorption, our Chief Engineer asked to speak to a Pharmacist.  Upon the Pharmacists arrival, it was agreed that it would be acceptable to put a potassium pill under his tongue so it would be absorbed sublingually in to his system.  His potassium level was up to normal within 15 minutes.  The discussion between him and the Pharmacist concluded only 5-10% of dissolved minerals will benefit the patient where as solid minerals dissolved naturally will offer 90% plus.  The theory:  You will be much better off removing minerals from water in order to remove harmful contaminants and compounds during the process of water purification.  They can always be added back in or supplemented in your diet. 

Mineral content in water is measured by Total Dissolved Solids or TDS.  It is typically measured in parts per million (ppm) but can be referenced in milligrams per liter as well (mg/l).  While other compounds, elements and contaminants can be  picked up in this measurement, it is a good indicator of your overall mineral content.
Your water should be tested for specific minerals as well that can affect taste and scaling.  Such minerals should include iron, calcium and magnesium.

Excellent article published on how minerals affect the water supply.

Water runoff carrying contaminants

Chemicals and contaminants in your water:
Rain falls to the earth in its purest form.  As it travels and ultimately ends at your tap, have you ever imagined what the water has come into contact with on its way to your home?  Boat exhaust, contaminant run-off, animal waste run-off, waste from fish and other living organisms within the water, poorly managed industrial wastes.  The list goes on and on.   With that being said, most municipalities do a pretty good job processing the water from rivers, lakes and reservoirs so it meets the EPA standards for drinking water. The major culprit causing bad taste from chemicals in municipal water treatment is chlorine added to the water supply for disinfection purposes.  Here again, if you choose to go one step further and continue treating your water for bad taste and improving your overall health benefits by removing chemicals and contaminants, there are several water treatment options to choose from as you will see below.  Because chlorine is an actual gas, many municipal water supplies will add ammonia to chlorine which is called chloramine.  Th chemical will not evaporate as readily as chlorine.  Fluoride has also been added to the water supplies for teeth and cavity prevention.  I urge you to research fluoride and make your own decision as to whether you want it in your water.  Fluoride, like radiation,  has a cumulative effect.  It has not been in our water supply long enough to determine the benefits vs. possible side effects to your health.  Recently, there has been a lot of concern about organic compounds in water as well.  These can range from insecticides to gasoline by- products.  Again,  having your water tested or analyzed and knowing what is in your water before you start shopping will help you make a decision on what type of water treatment you are comfortable with.

Informative article on types of water pollution

Water spots and scale prevention. 

Water Spots

Calcium and magnesium are mainly responsible for most of the water spots on your plumbing fixtures and glasses.  They can cause scale build-up in plumbing as well.  Because of the physical properties of these minerals, they are able to attach themselves to the inside of pipes and fixtures.  As the water evaporates on your glassware and shower doors, they stay behind and leave those dreaded water spots that can sometimes be difficult to remove.  This dilemma is called water hardness.  Hardness is typically measured in grains per gallon.  To simplify this measurement,  take a look at an aspirin tablet.  It is 5 grains.  If your water hardness reading is 20 grains per gallon, you have 4 aspirin tablets of calcium and magnesium dissolved in every gallon of water that passes though your pipes, laundry and dishwasher.   Needless to say,  it does not take much for water spots or scale build up to occur.  The Water Quality Association states that anything over 2 grains per gallon is considered to be hard water.  In the areas where I live, the municipal water is between 17 and 22 grains per gallon.  I have seen wells in our area where the hardness is over 60 grains per gallon.  These poor people have commented they feel like they are "showering with rocks" the water is so hard.   The only way to eliminate or reduce water spots and scale is by the actual removal of calcium and magnesium or changing the physical properties of these elements so they are unable to attach themselves to other metals and fixtures.


What kind of water treatment system should I consider?
As I mentioned above, it all depends on what you want to do with the water.  Below are typical water treatment products and what they are capable of doing:

Point of Use Filter

There are two types of water filters or water purification systems for your home. The first is point of use. This term is used for systems that have a specific purpose at a specific location.  In most cases, these are used for water consumption including drinking water, ice cubes and drinking.  These are usually installed at the location where the water is going to be used such as a kitchen sink.  The second is a whole house water system.  These systems are designed to provide every tap in your home with treated water.  They are typically installed at your main water line coming into your home.  The water is treated before it enters your home, providing you with 100% of treated water.  You can count on spending more money for a whole house system compared to point of use.  Many homeowners choose both systems.  A water conditioner, filter or softener is installed at the main water line, then a more sophisticated point of use system is installed at the kitchen sink to further treat the water for consumption and cooking.  That is what I have in my home.  


Water Filters:

Whole House Conditioner

A good water filter will have a combination of filtration to remove sediment and turbidity along with a carbon style filter to remove chlorine, organics and chemicals.  The most important thing to consider is contact time on the carbon.  Make sure you purchase a carbon based filter that is large enough to come in contact with every molecule of water.  If the filter is too small, the water will pass through it a too high rate of speed and be totally ineffective.  These filters are typically two stage.  The first being a simple filter to remove sediment and second is carbon filtration.  Have you ever went to a restaurant where the water tastes really good and you wonder what kind of filters they are using?  You can bet a good quality two stage sediment and carbon filter is installed at all of their water stations and bar guns.  Remember, coffee, juices and beverages are 98% water.  Having good tasting water can really make or break a good cup of coffee.  Beware of water companies that exaggerate the term coconut shell carbon.  They lead you to believe this is the best thing going.  Many use the term coconut shell because it sounds earthy and organic.  Coconut shell is effective, but, in reality, it is one of the least expensive types of carbon.  There are other forms of carbon that do a much better job in the removal of organics, chemicals and contaminants.  If you are looking for fluoride removal,  coconut shell is not a recommended carbon.  It is very important carbon filters be replaced regularly

Remember, carbon removes chlorine and it is a harboring area for bacteria.  Good carbon filters are very effective, but can be a nightmare with bacteria if they are not serviced properly.   These systems can be purchased as point of use or whole house.  Keep in mind the systems need to be purchased based on the size of your home, the size of your plumbing and the size of your family.  An improperly sized system can be 100% ineffective in water filtration.

Link to technical information on carbon

Reverse Osmosis

Point of Use Reverse Osmosis

Reverse Osmosis is very popular in water purification.  This process is used in many water treatment applications from residential  to very sensitive laboratory grade water.  Reverse osmosis filters for your home are offered from three stages all the way up to 12.  Most of the time, homeowners use this process as point of use.  There are others who put large whole house systems and have purified water at every tap. Regardless of size, they can be engineered to take everything out of the water, providing you with distilled water quality.  Others can be designed to remove everything from the water, then add trace minerals back into the water.  The water can be made alkaline or acidic.  Ultra violet disinfection can be added as one of the stages as well. Reverse osmosis is actually a water purification process. These systems use water to make water.  Make sure when you are considering a reverse osmosis system you check out the specifications.  Many of the discount warehouse systems are less expensive but waste a lot of water.  A good reverse osmosis system will use one gallon of water for every gallon of water they produce. This is called a product to waste ratio.  The less expensive units will have a product to waste ration of one gallon of product to 4 or 5 gallons to waste.  With the concerns over water conservation, these systems should not even be considered.  The waste water from reverse osmosis can be reclaimed and used for watering plants, gardens, etc.   Another specification is how much water will the reverse osmosis system produce.  These systems can be built to make anywhere from eight gallons per day for point of use to thousands of gallons per day for whole house systems or commercial applications.
More information on reverse osmosis process

Technical overview on reverse osmosis

Whole House Water Conditioners
These systems are typically designed to to multiple functions.  They usually contain carbon. The term coconut shell carbon applies here as well.  It is widely used as an earth friendly, organic compound.  It has been around for years so don't  be fooled.  It works, but there are other forms of carbon that is much more effective.  It is one of the cheapest forms of carbon on the market today. These systems are larger than the typical water filter.   Since these are whole house water conditioners, more contact time is needed on the carbon so more carbon is needed.  Some of these whole house systems contain a very expensive but very effective media called KDF.  This media is well known for heavy metal removal, chlorine removal, reduction of water hardness and anti-microbial (prevents bacteria growth).

Most whole house water conditioners claim they prevent scale as well, thus the term multiple function.  Some of these scale prevention devices are gimmicky and poorly constructed without any proof of effectiveness, no testing or no patents.  You will find other companies have documentation, clinical testing, patents and references showing their devices are extremely effective.   Beware of companies that use giant magnets or special tubes in their equipment.  Magnets cannot work alone.  They typically work well with in a process combined with a slight pressure drop which causes the hardness minerals to begin microscopic crystallization,  the water then passes through a catalyst (very similar to a catalytic converter in a car) and finally over a strong magnetic field which holds the hardness crystals in a suspended state for a period of time.  This process does not remove hardness minerals, but prevents them from attaching to plumbing and fixtures.  It is also effective in the spotting of glassware as the minerals to not attach themselves and is easily rinsed or wiped off.  These systems are effective in water hardness that is 25 grains per gallon or less and temperature does not exceed 130 F.  For that reason, they work well in residential applications, but are not recommended in commercial locations where high water temperature is required for sanitary reasons.    It is not classified as soft water.     

Beware of the following:

Magnets Zip Tied on Pipe

Some companies promote their magnets are the biggest in the industry.  Don't be fooled. Smaller neodymium magnets are much more powerful and effective.  These magnets are more expensive so the trend is to use larger, less expensive magnets promoting bigger is better.  Not in this case.  Remember, magnets do not work alone and must be combined with a catalytic process for them to have any effect on the water chemistry.

Other companies offer  Bio Tubes.  These tubes are made of PVC pipe, filled with a small copper wire and sand.  They are about 1.5" in diameter and 36" long.  The tube is dropped  into the water conditioner's media tank and claim this tube changes the chemistry of the water.  I have not seen any testing or proof these systems change the water in any way.

Some companies make claims their whole house system uses less water than a traditional water softeners.  Here is the reality: A residential water softener that regenerates once a week will cycle for about 90 minutes in the middle of the night. Flow restrictors have been installed on the drain line so the majority of the cycle is a slow process.  The typical water use through this cycle is 50 gallons. A whole house water conditioner requires a backwash / rinse once a week.  These systems will cycle for 15-20 minutes once a week.   Sounds like the water softener will use a lot more water doesn't it?  Not true. Truly effective whole house water conditioners have to be backwashed at a higher flow rate because of the activated carbon used in the system.  Whole house water conditioners or filters can use up to 100 gallons for a 20 minute cycle compared to 50 gallons of water for a traditional water softener.

Some companies will use a combination of KDF and carbon in their water conditioners.  Make certain the water process flows through the KDF first then the carbon.  You will find most whole house water conditioners have improper flow rates and the water passes over the carbon first, then KDF.  This is because KDF is heavier than carbon and settles at the bottom of the conditioner tank.   An up flow water conditioner is best suited for this combination, compared to the traditional down flow carbon treatment.

KDF Media

Very effective whole house water conditioners with KDF and anti-scaling devices are available that use no water, salt, chemicals or electricity (no backwashing is required).  KDF is anti-microbial so backwashing is not necessary.  KDF is also very heavy and for this reason back washing is not possible.  Most water conditioning companies will not use KDF alone as it very expensive media.  Retail price for coconut shell carbon sells for approximately $150 a cubic ft.  Compare this to KDF which can retail for close to $3000 a cubic ft.

Link to the KDF Manufacturer's website

Link to all KDF Water Conditioner


Water Softeners

Traditional Water Softener

The good old traditional water softener is very effective in doing one thing.  Removing calcium and magnesium from the water.  It is done through an ionic exchange process.  As hard water is passed through the water softener, the hardness minerals are retained and exchanged with sodium.  Do put it in simple terms.  For every calcium and magnesium ion that are removed from the water,  equal amounts of sodium are put back into the water.  The benefit is water spotting is reduced to a minimum, laundry is benefited and scaling is reduced as well.  Some people like the "silky feeling" soft water offers in the bath or shower.  Others do not like the "slimy feeling" because it feels like they cant get the soap off.  Whatever is your preferred way to describe the feeling, this is called from increased salt in your water as it comes in contact with the oils on the surface of your skin. (lanolin) You will not get this feeling with naturally soft water (rainwater for example).  It's a subjective preference to say the least.

Water softeners require more maintenance than a water conditioner. They need to be regenerated with sodium chloride or potassium chloride.  Salt Pellets sell for about $5.00 per bag compared to Potassium at close to $25.00 a bag.  If you choose a traditional water softener, there is no real benefit from Potassium use.  You get a similar end product of soft water.  Potassium Chloride and Sodium Chloride are both salts.  If you feel better spending an additional $20.00 per bag for the name Potassium before the word Chloride, its your call.

More information on the water softening process

Things to consider before purchasing a water softener.
1. Is anyone in your household on a low sodium (salt) diet?  Since water softeners add salt into the water it is recommended you consult your doctor before purchasing a softener.
2. Are you on a septic tank?  The term septic says it all.  Your septic tank requires bacteria for the breakdown of solid waste.  Concentrated salts used during the regeneration of a water softener could be detrimental to the biological environmental needs of a septic system.
3. Are you on municipal sewer?  Many municipalities have restrictions against traditional water softeners. Consult with a viable water conditioning dealer or your local municipal code enforcement department in your city offices. Some states have also put bans on water softeners as well.
4.  Many people find the taste of a water softener objectionable because of the added sodium. Again, this is subjective, but make sure it is not an issue within your household.  I have had complaints from customers commenting they could not even brush their teeth in soft water.

See our blog on water conditioners vs. water softeners

Before buying any kind of water system:


l. Make sure you are buying a system from a viable company.  Many so-called dealers work from a post office box and subcontract with outside sources for installation and service. Once the product is sold,  you may never hear from them again or when you call them you always get an answering machine.  Find a company that has an actual physical address, service and installation department and offers technical support as well.  If the company is local, don't be afraid to stop by and check them out.  You may be pleasantly surprised, hopefully, not very disappointed.

2. Ask for references.  Many companies offer testimonials which are okay but they can be skewed.  If the company you are dealing with has confidence in their products and services, they will be happy to offer references for personal contact.  I have found using email addresses as a very effective means of providing references and keeping my customers private.  Go to Google and type in the name of the company you are considering and type in their name and the word reviews.

3. While you are on the internet, check to see if they have a website.  Look under contact us and see if they are hiding behind a P.O. box or do they offer a real physical address here as well.  It will give you a real indication of what kind of company you may be dealing with.   Purchasing these type of products over the internet can be difficult.  It is imperative you purchase from a company with technical support and true knowledge of the water conditioning industry.  This purchase is not the shopping for shoes for the best price.
Finding a business with knowledge of water chemistry, water treatment products and customer needs are a very important factor when shopping for water treatment systems. 

Not always the best way.

4. Big name companies and discount  warehouses are not always better. Some of the larger well known water conditioning companies have gotten out of the actual manufacturing of water systems and are purchasing inexpensive systems from out of the country and putting their name on them.  Keep in mind that buying systems or components that are not manufactured or assembled in the united states are made with the cheapest materials and labor available.  The quality of your product will definitely be compromised. 

5. A salesman wants to come to my home is that okay? 
Salespeople are making a living like everyone else. Some of the high priced, high pressure companies remind you of buying an automobile.  A car salesperson does not want you to leave the dealership because he or she knows once you do, the odds of you coming back are slim. The same goes for a sales person that comes to your home.  They may try to sell you a system at retail and end up offering big discounts before they leave.  These typical sales people get paid on commission only and are paid well for what they sell.  They work off leads from direct mail coupons, home shows and other forms of lead procurement and solicitation.  Most of them know very little about the industry, water chemistry and water needs.  They are familiar with their product and its claims. Companies that use these type of sales methods do not offer a whole lot of products and very little service.  Maybe a free check up after the installation.   If spend some time looking, you will find a "water nerd" out there that sincerely wants to help you.  They will offer just about any type of water treatment you are looking for and offer guidance as well.  These type of companies are usually very concerned about their reputation and work mainly off referrals or leads produced directly from inquiries from customers who are researching water treatment products because they are in need of some type of water system.

Hopefully you can use this article this article to help you make the right decision on your water treatment needs.  If you have any questions relating water treatment, water chemistry or water products please feel free to email me with any questions or concerns. 

Good luck on your research and shopping!