I talk to many people each day, inside and outside the water industry,  and the claims by many companies who are trying to sell salt-free, saltless or no-salt (call them what you will) are really confusing.  Many are also not rooted in fact.  I try to keep an open mind and I am receptive to new and improved technology, but it first has to pass the “smell” test.  Devices that “cure” a plethora of water problems and “one size fits all” are dead give-aways to false claims.  Let the buyer beware. Frankly, most do not do what they say. However, there is no reason to be confused. The German Technical and Scientific Association for Gas and Water (DVGW) has developed protocol for testing scale prevention properties of these types of devices. This testing protocol is called DVGW Standard W 512.

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Q.  I am interested in the Waterdog system.  I currently have a hydrogen peroxide system and would like to eliminated the cost of the peroxide.  Would the Waterdog be a good choice? - Larry, Indianapolis, Indiana

A.  According to Waterdog, their patented Dissolved Oxygen Generator (D.O.G.) technology generates extremely high levels of dissolved oxygen in water. By oxidizing 100% of iron and manganese minerals in water, the WATER D.O.G. technology enables easy removal by filtration, while eliminating iron oxide and hydrogen sulfide odors.  We are currently testing one on a small commercial application.  So far, we are not impressed with the results.  The installation had 7.5 ppm of iron and also had methane.  The salesperson who sold us the Waterdog said that the methane was no problem - it’s was, as it seemed to strip away the air bubbles.  We then added an areator to eliminate the methane.  To date, it is still not working, but we have not given up hope.  We will try a few more things and I will report back to you in the near future about our findings.

Q. Do salt-free water softeners really work?  - David M., Greenville, Ohio

A.  Well, I am going to have to assume that you are referring to electronic, magnetic or media devices that are purported to “condition” water.  Notice, I did not say “soften” water.  In my opinion, the only way you can “soften” water is by removing a “hard mineral” (calcium, magnesium) and replacing it with a “soft mineral” (sodium, potassium).  Conditioning can be accomplished in a number of ways:

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A WATER SOFTENER CAN REDUCE IRON TO BELOW THE THRESHOLD OF STAINING, BUT IT CAN NOT TOTALLY REMOVE IT! Under some circumstances, a water softener will work for a while, but the resin bed will gradually become fouled with iron over months or years, decreasing it’s efficiency at removing the iron. To totally remove iron, one must utilize the following:(1) Oxidation and filtration; or (2) Sequestration using polyphosphates.POLYPHOSPHATES We will discuss sequestration of iron with polyphosphates first. Sequestration of iron with polyphosphates does not remove it from the water supply, but keeps the iron in solution, so that Read the rest of this entry »

First of all, you can make ice cubes from water produced by reverse osmosis systems. In fact, ice made from reverse osmosis (”RO”) water produces cleaner, clearer and better tasting ice cubes because most of the contaminants are removed from the water. So, just because water is purified by a certain process, (in this case, reverse osmosis), has no bearing on whether you can make ice. I prefer “clean ice” - in Read the rest of this entry »

There is no “BEST” filter or system, but there are several questions you should ask yourself to determine which type of system is best for you. There are also some questions you should ask if someone is trying to sell you a water treatment system. First of all you need to determine why you want a drinking water filtration system. Are you only concerned with aesthetics (taste, odor, etc.), or are you concerned with possible Read the rest of this entry »

Q. My husband and I recently had a demonstration on how we could save money with a water purification system.The salesman said we needed a purification system for under the kitchen sink and in our basement. He offered us a five-year supply of soap made especially for soft water, and said that we could save over $200 per month with his water treatment system on things like soap, shampoos, detergents, water heating, plumbing repairs, clothing and beverages. He had a miniature water purifier, which he hooked up to our faucet, and preformed the tests. It sounded pretty good until he told us the system was $6000, but we could make monthly payments of about $160. My husband said he wanted to think about it, but the salesmen said that if we acted that night that he would give us a $1300 discount, which would make our payments $120 a month. We still wanted to think about it, so he called his boss who said he had one system for $3200 and our payments would be around $85. This was too much to pass up, so we sighned the contract (maybe we were just worn down by his four hour demonstration). After sleeping on it, we exercised our right to cancel the next day. Did we do the right thing or do you think we were foolish to pass up such a good deal? Also, are all those things he told us about how much a purification can save really true?

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I am not Nostradamas and it is often dangerous to try and predict the future, but here is what I see in the near future for water treatment:

1. Legislation will be passed in states that have specific water problems, that ensures new homes will be “plumbed” so that water treatment will be easily installed in that home. This includes provisions for water softners, reverse osmosis systems and disinfection systems. Many new homes are constructed in such a way that it may be virtually impossible to intercept the main

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Q. We are currently building a new home and have decided to install a reverse osmosis drinking water system. Should we install a system under our kitchen sink and hook it up to the icemaker. What if we want to put another one at our wet bar or in the master bath? Does that make sense? - Signed Bill K.

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