It’s six o’clock and dinner is on the table. The phone rings and guess who it is. Yes, you’re right, it’s a salesman, and does he ever have a deal for you. “Do you have time this week for me to schedule an appointment to demonstrate our wonderful water filtering system?” They are even going to test your water for free! Slow down and ask yourself two very important questions before they show up to test your water and sell you a system you probably don’t need or even want.
When you are considering water filtering ideas for your home you need to base your decision on two things.
- Before someone comes to test your water and give a list of toxic ingredients, do you notice a physical problem with the water? Is there bad taste or an unpleasant odor? Is your water leaving stains in the sinks or a collection of minerals in the appliances?
- How much do you want to invest in fixing your problem? What is your budget? Know it and write it down before they ever come into your house. This is like going to an auction. You have to know your limits before the emotional sales pitch begins and convinces you to say ‘yes’ to something you can’t afford.
There is a vast difference in the water pitcher filter that sits in your refrigerator and a whole house filter in your garage or well house. The latter option sending purified water to every faucet and appliance in your home. A whole house system will cost your thousands more than the $30 pitcher filter you have in your fridge. This may sound like I am against any such purchase for your house. To the contrary, I am one of those salesmen. I have been to too many homes where the guy who was there a year or so before seriously oversold them and walked away without explaining how to change filters or maintain the unit. Now they have bad water again because the unit is clogged and the phone number on the side of the unit is disconnected. That salesman has moved on to selling the next big thing or worse yet it was a relative and they don’t want to embarrass them by complaining.
If smell is your biggest problem, then you need to determine the origin of the smell before you invest in a system to have it removed. If taste is your problem, then you probably have too many minerals or organics in your water and you need to filter out the minerals before you can enjoy a crisp clear glass of filtered water. The minerals in water are not the same kind of minerals in your food. The minerals in water are insoluble to your body and cannot be absorbed.
Don’t be oversold. Anyone can come to your home and test your water into oblivion and sell you the moon based upon “test results” of your water. The best advice I can give you when purchasing a water system is to give it a few days thought before making a decision. Any good water system worth buying today in a rush is good enough to buy in a couple of days after thinking over your real reason for wanting to buy a water filtration system. If I sense an uneasiness or hesitation in a customer I will leave detailed information and pricing and just walk away. A phone call a day or so later will determine if I have a solid customer or not.
I am by no means saying don’t buy. What I am saying is that you need to know why you are buying a water filtration system in the first place. I am the biggest advocate I know. I drink nothing but reverse osmosis water. However, if you are not sold on the reasons to be using filtered water, then you won’t be happy with the system they sell you no matter the cost. I first realized that I wanted filtered water when I drank my first glass. I was hooked from then on. So when you are considering these ideas for your home ask yourself why you are doing it. If you truly don’t like the taste or smell of your water and it is hindering you from drinking or using as much water as you should, then say ‘yes’. Make the purchase. If you don’t like what hard water is doing to your pipes and appliances. Make a change. Purchase a water system for your home. You won’t regret it.
