Ask The Water Doctor

Mike asks:

I have well water and have had several negative tests for coliform or e-coli bacteria.  I have shock chlorinated the well, but it keeps coming back.  What should I do?

The Water Doctor Answered:

QUESTION

Below is the claim from LifeSource: “Think a water softener is the best choice to solve hard water problems? Think again! You can alleviate hard water problems without using a salt based water softener. A water softener merely exchanges hardness minerals with sodium. Instead of hard water problems you’ll have salt water problems.

LifeSource Whole-House Water Systems are the clear alternative to common water softeners. Our Systems are Tested, Certified and maintenance free.

Finally you’ll have clean great tasting water for your entire home from a single long-lasting, maintenance free system. You’ll also notice fewer problems caused by hard water without using salts or chemicals. “

Please give me your advice about this system.

Is it the same with GreenWave salt Free system that you have on your website?

I am looking  a system that can get rid of the hard water problems, skin itchy problems, and safety for kids with special medical condition.

Thank you for your time. – Huyen Pham

THE WATER DOCTOR REPLIED:

An acquaintance of mine reported this about the BEOTRON Water Conditioning Component of the Lifesource system:

This was once hyped as a device for treating water that employed strange and almost-magical forces, but the current promoter has now toned down the hype. A 2008 engineering publication describes the “dissection” of this unit, revealing it is a worthless deception: “The Beotron unit is a PVC tube capped at both ends and filled with sand and a copper wire running down the center. The water does not flow through the tube, and none of the water comes into contact with the sand and the copper.”

The Lifesource unit is a carbon filter.   That’s it.   Nothing more or less.  You can buy a GreenWave Ultra Carbon Filter for 1/3 of the cost of a Lifesourse system.  My opinion of Lifesource is that it is nothing like what they hype it to be.  It’s a good product, but way overpriced.  Carbon filters are for the purpose of removing chlorine, chemicals, tastes and odors from the water.   A GreenWave Ultra does that just as well as any other carbon filter, including Lifesource.

Some of the advantages of a GreenWave Ultra whole-house carbon filter are:

• Reduces or removes the chlorine and chemicals for better-tasting, high quality water throughout the home – you don’t just have one faucet to drink from – you have quality water anywhere.
• Some people say that they don’t want to drink chlorinated water, but then turn around and take a shower in that water, not realizing that they absorb more chlorine through their skin and inhale more from vaporization, than they could ever drink in a day.
• Chlorine attacks faucet, toilet, appliance and plumbing parts that have rubber, dramatically degrading it.  With de-chlorinated water, you home will run smoother, longer and with less maintenance.
• 9 out 0f 10 dogs and cats prefer chlorine-free, chemical free, great-tasting water.  The 10th one?  We won’t go there….

More and more people are wondering if it really exists?   DVGW-512 is allegedly the standard for testing salt-free water treatment systems.  In fact, one company (WATTS) is claiming (in a convoluted, round-about way) that their product is approved by DVGW-512.  Check out this LINK if you want proof.  While they don’t actually “LIE” they lead you to believe that their product is 99.6%  effective (as stated in the test).

There are a couple of issues here, not the least of which is that the testing was done on the ORIGINAL MEDIA, but they are no longer producing the original media (from nextScaleStop).  They claim it is better.  I remain unconvinced.  In fact, we have had more failures of their new media than their older media (and we had plenty of failures of that media as well).

Let’s not beat around the bush, the media in Watts One Flow is nextScaleStop media – they are one and the same!

Pelican uses the DVGW-512 standard in their website, but it turns out it is “Third Party-Tested.”  What does that mean?  It could mean that they gave someone some money to test it and they said it was great.  But what do you expect from a company who says that their system delivers “naturally softened water,“  which is totally false!  Naturally softened water?  Where did they get that?  Look it up!   According to one of the leading water experts in the country:

Naturally soft water supplies have a paucity of any dissolved minerals, or an absence of total dissolved solids (TDS), an excess of carbon dioxide over alkalinity, and generally, a low pH.

Does Pelican do that?  Hardly!  When they start with something that is not true, how much can you believe?  However, I digress.  Here’s the deal:  I think the population can be divided into three thirds:

1. People who won’t believe anything.  You could tell them that the sun will rise tomorrow and they would doubt you;
2. People who will believe everything.  I can tell them I am Elvis and they will believe it (this is the “lunatic fringe.”); and
3. People who are “open” or receptive to new and better things, if they work.

Salt-free systems are sold to to people in groups #2 and #3, which means that 50% of the customers are automatically satisfied because they will believe anything you tell them (they have been on the spaceship and have seen the little green men).   These people frequently write glowing testimonials about how wonderful a product is, but if you visited their residence, you might be shocked.

What about the other third – the ones who are receptive, but not in the lunatic fringe?   These are rational people who often want to be “green” or do not like carrying salt for their water softeners, but make no mistake, they are not any one’s fool!  I have no hard evidence, but from what I have seen,  about half of these people are happy with the salt-free water treatment systems.  50%!  That’s a pretty low satisfaction rating.

Bear with me.  Do the math.  50% of the people who buy salt-free systems to are in the lunatic fringe (100% customer satosfaction)  and 50% are receptive (50% customer satisfaction), which means that 25% of the customers have to be refunded.  What these companies do, is build in the returns into the price and sell them all day long, knowing that they will have to refund 25%, but the other 75% brings them big profits.

Fundamentally, I have a problem with pleasing the customer 75% of the time – that’s too low!

Is there validity to salt free systems using nextScaleStop and Filtersorb SP3?  Yes and since nextScaleStop has changed their formula, I believe that Filtersorb and nextScaleStop are  now nearly identical in performance.  Ask Watts.  They use both Next and Filtersorb. I will be the first to say that I believe they are equal in performance.

Pelican?  I have no clue what they use and they aren’t telling anyone.  That worries me…

One of the most popular products in the water treatment business is the GE Merlin 700 Gallon Per Day Reverse Osmosis System.  It delivers nearly a half gallon a minute under ideal conditions.  Consumers hear that it is “tankless” and assume it is better than other “tank-type” RO’s and is the latest and greatest in reverse osmosis technology.  While it is an amazing piece of equipment, it does have issues.  First of all, let’s talk about its’ good points.

1. It makes lots of water and does it economically, so if you brew beer, do reef-keeping, have a salt water aquarium, greenhouse of do hydroponics, the Merlin is hard to beat, especially if you need hundreds of gallons of water a day.
2. The more you use a Merlin, the better the water is.
3. The initial cost is very low and it is downright impossible to find any reverse osmosis system that can produce this much water at such a low price.

Now, the drawbacks of a Merlin:

1. If you use only a few gallons of water a day, the odds are that the water quality will be wretched unless you use a “flush tank,” because of TDS Creep.  The flush tank surrounds the GE Merlin Membranes with RO water to prevent the TDS creep, but it also causes the Merlin to use a lot more water (it will waste 4-5 gallons each time it fills the flush tank, which is every time you turn on the faucet – If you get a drink 10 times a day, you will waste about 50 gallons of water for those 10 glasses!).
2. The Merlin has problems shutting off.  In other words, after you have stopped using water, and the Merlin should shut-down, it doesn’t!  Instead, it just runs to drain and may waste hundreds of gallons of water a day.  We have an inordinate amount of Merlins that are sent back because of this.
3. It sounds like a “freight train” when it is making water!

Here’s an actual case study with a GE Merlin.  We installed a GE Merlin under the kitchen sink for a man in Brownsburg, Indiana, which has a TDS (total dissolved solids) level of 520.  He kept complaining of “cloudy ice cubes.”  So, we went to his home after the RO had sat unused all day.  We tested the first glass of water and it was 415 PPM.  Here are the rest of the results:

• After 1 minute -   346 PPM
• After 2 minutes – 278 PPM
• After 3 Minutes – 191 PPM
• After 4 Minutes -   96 PPM
• After 5 Minutes -   19 PPM (Pretty good water, but who wants to wait 5 minutes for a glass?)

Now, this could be solved by a “flush tank,” but in this case, the homeowner said “Why do that?”  So, we put in a permeate pump RO system (which delivers the same amount of pressure out the faucet as you have coming in), which always delivers less than 20 PPM, with better pressure and much less waste water.  Another thing to think about is that the GE Merlin Membranes cost about $200.00 to replace, while you can buy a membrane for the permeate pump RO for less than $30.00.

• More Pressure
• Less Waste
• Better Water Quality
• Lower Operational Costs

What’s not to like?  That’s why I have a (non-electric) permeate pump RO in my house.

Now, we also find out that GE or Pentair is going to discontinue the Merlin and introduce a new and improved Merlin.  Yes, product failure is part of the reason they are introducing it, but the main reason is that they want to eliminate Internet sales of this product and are only going to give it to a limited number of distributors, who won’t sell it on the WEB.  They want to line their distributors pockets with money while sticking it to the consumer… again!

Necessity is the mother of Invention.  Watch and see why this will be a mistake for Pentair.

A few days ago, I had a customer call me who said “Why did you install a salt-based water softener in my house?  There is a technician here from A Plumbing Company who says that’s the old-fashioned way and that I should soften it the new way with ‘Easy Water.’”

I don’t respond well to situations like that (where the guy who said it is obviously an ignoramus or a liar), so I simply said “Well, whoever said that is an ignoramus or a liar.” I’m not very good at being politically correct – I just call it the way I see it.  No reason to “sugar-coat” the truth.

Easy Water doesn’t soften water – far from it.  Easy Water uses Radio Frequency (RF) to prevent scale (that’s what they write, but if you talk to some people who sell it, they might convince you it will prevent or cure cancer).  It works to some degree, sometimes (in every lie there is an element of truth).

However, when a service technician from a company is in a customer’s home (a position of trust) and says “you still use THAT to soften?” when the fact of the matter is that Easy Water does not soften water, well that is totally dishonest.

All across the Internet, the claims are proliferating regarding salt-free (salt-less) water conditioners (if you have read previous blog entries you know that my argument is that there is no such thing as a salt-free conditioner).  It seems like there are a dozen or more new players entering the arena every day.  The price of admission is low – generally there are no certifications, licenses or testing involved.  Consumers see some salt-free companies exhibiting the Water Quality Association (WQA) “Gold Seal” and mistakenly believe that this seal constitutes some type of product endorsement, testing or certification as to functionality.  Sadly, they are mistaken.  The above graphic was taken from one such company’s website.  Does that mean that their product is proven to work?  Absolutely not!  To find out what the WQA Gold Seal means, click HERE.   On the WQA’s site they specifically say:

Disclaimer:
Listing in these directories does not constitute an endorsement, guarantee, or warranty of any kind by the Water Quality Association or its members of any of the products contained in them.

Don’t be mislead – the WQA seal on a “Salt-Free” or “Salt less” water treatment device simply means that the product has been tested for structural integrity and that it will not add anything detrimental to the water supply.  THERE IS NOTHING THAT ENDORSES THE PRODUCTS FUNCTIONALITY.

Personally, I believe that calling these products “softeners” brands the seller as a charlatan because they do not in fact, soften the water. An argument can be made that they “condition” the water, but that is also deceptive in my opinion.  Most people who have hard water use the words “softener” and “conditioner” interchangeably.

There are magnetic devices, RF (Radio Frequency) devices and other types of mechanical water treatment devices which have some effect upon the water molecules and (to varying degrees, depending upon water chemistry) prevent scale.  I know of no such device that “softens” the water without salt or potassium. If I am wrong, then here your forum to prove it.

Many such devices do nothing to remove chemicals, chlorine and the like, and others which do, make only a minimal effort.   Carbon filtration has proven very effective at removing these chemicals and most companies who sell salt-free products at least attempt to offer carbon filtration as a part of their “system.”    Again, how well they function depends upon the design (back-washing vs. non-back-washing, amount and type of carbon, and other factors).

The best advice I can give when it comes to a salt-free water treatment system is to buy it from a company who obviously has a “full-line” of water treatment products.  All water is not the same and even the BEST salt-free system does not work on all water.  Deal with a company who can provide a “solution,” not just a product.   A “one-trick pony” company is not the way to better water. There needs to be regulation and certification of these devices.  Until then, it’s still, let the buyer beware!

Salt-Free Water Softener. Salt-Free Water Conditioner.  There are several companies selling their products on the Internet who call their salt-free water treatment systems “water softeners” or “water conditioners.”  In a previous post, I discussed how using the terms “softener” or “conditioner” are inherently misleading at the least, and deliberately deceptive at the worst.  To my knowledge THERE ARE NO “SALT-FREE WATER SOFTENERS OR  CONDITIONERS!  When you talk to these purveyors of salt-free systems you begin to realize how the lure of the dollar clouds their thinking and allows them to justify or rationalize their claims.  Where I am from, false claims are simply called “lies.”  No need to sugar-coat it, if it’s not true.

While I have been involved in water treatment for nearly 40 years and have been certified in numerous techniques and disciplines, I must admit that I do not know it all, so if you are an internet marketer of salt-free water softeners or conditioners and can prove your claims, here’s your chance to prove me wrong.  Supply the proof to back up these claims that I took word-for-word from your websites:

You will find that the performance detergents will improve dramatically with the our system in place and you will be able to reduce your detergent use between 40-60% compared to untreated water.

The easy solution for hard water problems…Soap will lather easier. Detergent and soap amounts can be reduced 25% or more depending on water hardness levels.

Your clothes will last longer by reducing the damaging effects of hard water.

Soap will continue to lather efficiently, although in some cases the lather will be better with a salt type water softener.

Use 50% Less Detergents for Whiter or Brighter Clothes

Clothes become softer, cleaner, brighter and last longer while requiring less detergent.

Personally, I believe that all of the above claims are bogus, untrue and false, but it is not up to me to prove them false – it’s up to you to prove them true!  I believe that many unsuspecting consumers are being duped into believing these claims are true.  One of the most effective ways of trying to convince people to buy your product is through the use of testimonials.  The “lunatic fringe” is rife with testimonials as to aliens, UFO’s and amazing medical cures.  Let’s not forget that the “placebo effect” is incredibly powerful which is why drug companies have to use “double-blind” studies.

I do believe that there are salt-free products that do a very credible job of preventing scale (obviously some are much better than others, but that’s another issue), however I do not believe any of the claims about saving soap, prolonging life of clothing and making clothes whiter and brighter.  That is not just an educated guess, but is based upon testing in the laboratory and actual field testing.   You can readily identify what companies are involved in propagating these falsehoods.  I am going to tell you how:

1. They usually sell one product.  Oh, they may package it different ways, but they really sell one product and “one size fits all.”
2. What they say on their websites may sound good, but wait until your hear their claims on the telephone.  Ask if you can record it, and see how fast they hang-up.
3. They are high on “testimonials” but low on scientific evidence.
4. They have pages and pages of “support” material on their websites, but what does it really say?  You end up confused and feel like you have read “War and Peace.”
5. They never ask about a real detailed water analysis (which is like a doctor treating you without any tests, X-rays or MRI’s).
6. Most are not real “water treatment specialists” but have very narrow amount of experience only in their own product knowledge.

Salt-Free Water Treatment Systems are not for everyone and do not work well on some types of water.  My advise is that to find a system that works, you should look for the following:

1. Look for a company that does “full-line water treatment” and has Certified Water Specialist who can handle a myraid of water problems.
2. Ask to see scientific proof of what they say.  Forget the testimonials (many come from the lunatic fringe).
3. Don’t get “brain overload.”  If it doesn’t have scientific validity, forget it!
4. If they say it uses less soaps and makes the clothes cleaner, run as fast as you can.
5. If it sounds too good to be true – IT IS!
6. It’s your money – spend it on a product that works and people who are honest!

By Mark S. Timmons, CWS-VI, CI, CSR – aka/”The Water Doctor”

For the past several months, I have been troubled by the way salt-free water treatment systems have been marketed by manufacturers and their dealers.  After considerable thought, what I am about to write should be welcomed by the  ”legitimate” ethical manufacturers and dealers, but may cause me to be scorned by the unethical, fly-by-night operators, and the out-and-out charlatans.  If you are a manufacturer or dealer, how you respond to what I write, will speak volumes about your ethics and legitimacy, and will ultimately define the legacy of your company.

I.  SOFTENER OR CONDITIONER OR NEITHER?

First of all, I am going to address the issue I think most “ethical” persons agree with – that salt-free devices which purport to create “seed crystals” or form clusters of calcium and magnesium ions, but do not actually take the calcium and magnesium out of the water can not possibly called water “softeners.”  “Soft” water is created when a “hard” mineral such as calcium and magnesium is replaced with a “soft” mineral, such as sodium or potassium.  To date, ion-exchange is the only cost-effective, practical way to soften water.  I will take it a step further and say that I believe anyone who calls a salt-free scale-prevention device a water “softener” is either naive, deliberately deceptive,or is in fact, a charlatan.

Consumers, if you are looking at any salt-free system, whether it be magnetic, electronic, RF (radio frequency) or systems with media to prevent scale, and that company calls it a “softener,”  you should stop looking at that company and RUN, because in my opinion, they are intent upon deceiving you or are ignorant of the facts and are not true water professionals.  TO MY KNOWLEDGE, THERE IS NO SALT-FREE DEVICE THAT IS A SOFTENER. If there is, here is your opportunity to prove it to the world.  Contact this blog and show me!  If not, you are no longer ignorant and you should remove the word “softener” from all your advertising and sales tactics.

Some of us have rationalized that while they are not “softeners” they are “conditioners,” because they “condition” the water.   Using that same rationale, would mean dumping cow manure into the water is also “conditioning.”    I confess, I used to call it “conditioning” as well, but I now believe that too is deceptive.    Here’s why:  most people think of a water softener and a water conditioner as the same thing, and the use of the word “conditioner” conjures up those same thoughts of better sudsing, less soap, cleaner, whiter and brighter clothes and even the “slick” feeling of soft water.  NONE OF THAT IS TRUE, which leads into my next point.

II.  LESS SOAP, MORE SUDS, CLEANER, WHITER & BRIGHTER CLOTHES?  NOT!

This is going to be a short section.  Look, you can find consumers who will say that, but the “lunatic fringe” may also say they have talked to people in spaceships.  There is also the “placebo effect” wherein people want to believe it does all that.  The empirical evidence says otherwise!  I do not know of a single Salt-Less or Salt-Free or No-Salt system that causes you to uses less soap or detergents, and that will make your clothes whiter and brighter.  Again, if I am wrong – here is your chance to prove it.  Otherwise, you should remove the false, deceptive and mis-leading statements from your web sites and literature.   Most of all, you should remove it from your sales “culture.”

III.  SO WHAT DO WE CALL THEM?

Now, you might ask, “if we can’t call then a “softener” or a “conditioner,” what do we call them?” CALL THEM WHAT THEY ARE:  Scale Prevetion Devices.  TELL THE TRUTH! It’s no more or no less.  Many people do not want to use salt or carry heavy bags.  Some people do not want any salt in their water.  If your product truly prevents scale and if there is some type of carbon filtration component to it, then call it a “Scale Prevention & Chemical Removal System” – that is what it does.  That is a fact!  Now, it’s also a fact that some products work better than others, and before Uncle Sam gets involved, because the salt-free industry has no regulation, all the manufacturers should get together and agree on some type of testing protocol… unless they really are charlatans!

Is the company whose product you are thinking of purchasing a true “water treatement company” or are they just “one trick pony?”  In other words, do they sell just one-type of product, such as a radio frequency device, or are they truly someone who is qualified to treat any water problem.  There is no one “black box” that solves every water problems and there are many companies whose products have very limited validity.

MY FINAL WORDS ARE:  LET THE BUYER BEWARE!

The world of salt-free water treatment is constantly evolving with more and more companies joining the fray.  Some companies are selling their products the right way (explaining how it works and not engaging in hyperbole), while others are not so “above-board” in their tactics.  I would encourage anyone who is looking to go “salt-free” to think about whether the company they are considering is  really a “water treatment company” or just a company that is interested in selling a salt-free product and little else.  There is no “black box”, that solves all water problems, but if you are dealing with a “full-line” water treatment company, you generally can rest assured that they have the expertise to know which product to apply to specific water problems. 

The fact of the matter is that there is water which is conducive to salt-free systems, and water where you would ABSOLUTELY NOT want to use a “salt-free” system.   I do think it would be good to consider the definition of “conditioner” and “softener” because many companies are calling their product “salt-free water softeners” and to my knowledge, a salt-free water “softener” has never been invented!  There are salt-free water “conditioners” however.  What’s the big deal about using softener or conditioner?   Here’s the difference:

• A “softener” softens the water by removing the calcium and magnesium (“hard” minerals that form scale) and replacing them with sodium (which is a “soft” mineral that does not form scale).
• A “conditioner” simply conditions the water so that the calcium and magnesium will not form scale, but does not remove it.

Here’s the rub – there are lots of devices on the market that claim to be softeners or conditioners – some work well and some do not work at all!  How do you differentiate?  Well, if a company only sells “one technology” or product, I would pass on that company.  That would be like going to a doctor who only prescribes one drug regardless of the disease.    THERE IS NO ONE DEVICE OR “BLACK BOX” THAT SOLVES ALL WATER PROBLEMS!  IF SOMETHING SOUNDS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, IT USUALLY IS!  Claims that salt-free conditioners will greatly reduce soap usage are simply untrue.  I would challenge any company that sells salt-free systems to prove that.  Take two flasks of water, one conditioned and one not treated, and add a like amount of pure liquid soap to the water and see if there is any difference.  There is not! 

If you look at salt-free conditioners (or softeners) on the internet, you can find some amazing claims.  One major seller of these systems, which they call “water softeners”  claims this: 

(I think that this can easily be shown to be untrue).  DO THE SOAP TEST!  Hey, I am open to being shown that I am wrong.  I have been wrong before, so if they disagree with me or think I am wrong, then the ball is in their court.  I do think it is deceptive to call these devices “water softeners” because they do not soften the water.   This same company claims that their  system has met DVGW-512, but unlike nextScaleStop (used in the GreenWave systems as well), there is no percentage of scale reduction stated.  The nextScaleStop media’s report shows a 99.6% reduction in scale.   What is their percentage of scale reduction?  Who knows?

How can you tell if a salt-free conditioner is working?  Simple:  Do the “boil” test!  Here’s how – take a pan with about 1/2 inch of water in the bottom and boil it dry.  After the pan cools, you should be able to wipe off the white residue with your finger if the system is working.  If it’s not working, you will have to scrubb it off or use a chemical like “LimeAway” to remove it.

I recently received a letter from a competitor which states the following:

Mr. Timmons,

It has come to our attention that you have been making disparaging claims against our company and products on your Askthewaterdoctor.com website.  On the following page http://www.askthewaterdoctor.com/2007/12/salt-free-water-softeners/ , you make the following two direct references to our company and products:

Comment 1:  This appears to be a “knockoff” and there are many, of the NEXT system. It probably uses FilterSorb which is an Anion-based resin and in our testing has not proven to be acceptable. It seems to have an effect by lowering the pH of the water in the initial stages, but looses it’s effectiveness very quickly.  I notice their website says: “Use 50% Less Detergents for Whiter or Brighter Clothes” – That is easily proven false: Put two 250 ml flasks of their treated and untreated water side-by-side and add 5 drops of pure soap. There will be no difference. If that’s not a true statement, what else is untrue?

Comment 2:   What I read on their site was very generic and their claims are somewhat suspect. I don’t know what they are using, but I don’t think it’s truly TAC!

These negative comments are an unwarranted attack against our company’s reputation and credibility.  You have no knowledge regarding our systems and are therefore making unreasonable assumptions and passing them over as fact.  It is also disingenuous because you are the owner of both us.watersystems.com and wefixbadwater.com and promote your own competing brand.  Pursuant to this letter, we are asking for the complete removal of your comments regarding our company and products from your website. 

If you fail to comply with this request, we will consult with our lawyers and take appropriate legals steps to enforce and protect our rights including, without limitation, filing claims for trade libel.

Please immediatley acknowledge your receipt of this letter and you intent to comply with the requests as set forth herein.

Sincerely,

Tina Wang

APEC Water Systems

Well Tina, here is your response:

1. All answers are in response to questions propounded by readers of the blog.  I am not sure where you are from, but in America we have what is called freedom of speech and I am merely giving my educated opinion in response to a question. 
2. If I am wrong about anything, this is your opportunity to set things straight.  I don’t edit the blog, so fire away and if I am wrong, I will admit what I am wring about. 
3. Was I wrong in saying that it is false that  your product will cause consumers “to use 50% less detergents?”  If so, supply me proof!  I will gladly publish it.  Is it untrue that your product will save 50% on detergents?  If it is, I think I would like to sell your product.  Enlighten me!
4. Was I wrong that your claims are somewhat generic ,and that you really don’t explain how your product works?  Does it use Filtersorb or not? 
5. You say that I have “no knowledge regarding your system.  Well, that is incorrect – I do have knowledge, but you have very little information as to how your system works – here’s your opportunity to tell the world.  I would like to hear your explanation.
6. You say that it is “disingenuous” of me to promote my own brand.  Well, I have never hidden that I am one of the owners of uswatersystems.com and if someone asks where they can get the product I recommend, I do send them to our site.  We are independent and offer a huge variety of products from a plethora of manufacturers.  We pick the best of the best to sell on our site.  If your product does what you say (and I am giving you a chance to prove it), maybe we should sell it.  We sell the GreenWave system because it’s performance has beaten every other unit we have seen and tested, but I am open to seeing what you have to say.
7. You said “If you fail to comply with this request, we will consult with our lawyers and take appropriate legals steps to enforce and protect our rights including, without limitation, filing claims for trade libel.”   WOW!  There’s a lot I could say here, but I’ll save it for court.  Since when is it libel to tell the truth and give your opinion?  This is not Nazi Germany!
8. I am acknowledging receipt of your letter – if you want to provide proof that my opinion is wrong, then feel free to do that.  Explain how your product works, the science behind it and prove your claims.  Or, we can go to Court, if that is what you want.  Rest assured, I will not be threatened or intimidated by your letter.

This is my SECOND blog on Salt-Free Conditioners.  I just closed the previous one, as there are nearly 300 comments there, but you can still access it HERE.

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.

In order to be certified by this agency, a device must reach the threshold of being at least 80% efficient. There are several devices throughout the world which are certified as being at least 80% efficient, but to my knowledge, there is only one such device in the USA that achieves this level of efficiency, that being nextScaleStop manufactured by next Filtration Technologies, Inc. of Incline Village, Nevada and that is the product we handle.   W sell it under the brand name “Green Wave.”

Remember this:  Only a salt-based water softener “softens” water. If you like the “slick” feeling of soft water, you won’t like salt-free systems .  Systems that really work without salt, “condition” the water by preventing it from sticking to any surface and one more thing that I think should be done that no magnetic or electronic water conditioning device can do,  is to remove or reduce the hazardous chemicals like chlorine, THM’s, PCB’s, pesticides, tastes and odors – while leaving the beneficial minerals. This would be the “greenest” system on the market!

I would not be comfortable selling a product that wasn’t nearly 100% efficient at reducing scale and had the certification to prove it!   No electronic or electro-magnetic process does that, but there is a process called Template Assisted Crystallization that does.

This would be a good time to review some blogs and discussions about salt free-systems.  Here are some links:

http://www.waternet.com/detail.asp?Parent_ID=137072#137072

http://www.waternet.com/detail.asp?Parent_ID=135334#135334

http://watertechonline.com/detail.asp?Parent_ID=137161#137161

PDF’s:

no-salt-soft-factfiction-or-fantasy

next-scale stop media

http://www.wefixbadwater.com/pdf/Scale%20Stop%20Science%20SF.pdf

To date, the only Salt-Free System in the USA that has passed the Stringent German Standard (DVGW-W512) is nextScaleStop media, used in Watts One-Flow and US WATER’s GreenWave systems.

Here’s a copy of their certification:

http://www.wefixbadwater.com/pdf/DVGW%20report.pdf

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:

1. Filtration – by removing sediment, silt and other contaminants the water is boing “conditioned.”
2. Carbon Filtration – by passing the water through a media containing carbon to remove chemicals and chlorine.
3. Seed Crystalization – by using either electrical current, magnetic or media crystalization to form “seed crystals.”
4. Oxidation – by using chlorine, potassium permanagante, hrdrogen peroxide, ozone or oxygen to oxidize contaminants in the water.

Filtration, carbon filtration and oxidation are well-established methods of conditioning or treating water, so I will further assume that you are referring to the plethora of companies who are promoting “salt-free water conditioners.”  I will say that there is some validity to most of these methods, however companies or websites who say that they “soften” water without salt or make other prespoterous claims like “salt can be absorbed through the skin” or that electronic devices increase sudzing are not dealing in reality and should not be trusted.  I always refer people to The BunkHouse – Gallery of water-Related Pseudoscience – Junk Science in the Marketplace - Check it out!  While there are some fine products in this category of “water conditioning,” there are also plenty of outright frauds and other companies selling products which have limited validity and application.

How do you tell the difference?  There’s the rub…  I can rely on my 36 plus years in the water conditioning industry and tell you that while I have always felt that electronic or magnetic water conditioning has some validity, no one can truly articulate or prove how.  There is a protocal for testing and validating these types of water treatment devices and to date, no ecectronic or magnetic device in the United States has passed that certification.  By the way, to be certified, the developer of ths protocal, called DVGW-12, has established that in order to meet the requirements, the device must be at least 80% efficient in preventing scale.  Ask to see the certification of any device which claims to condition the water by any mechanical, electronic or magnetic means.  To date, I know of no magnetic or electronic device that mets that criteria in the USA.  My guess is that it means they cannot meet that minimum threshold of 80% efficiency in preventing scale.  I never cease to be amazed by the claims that many of these companies make.   Most of their claims have little basis in reality.