Ask The Water Doctor

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:

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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.

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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.

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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.

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In my thirty-plus years of experience, I have personally tried every method known to man to remove iron. Today, I primarily tried use hydrogen peroxide, as it is a much better oxidizer of iron than either chlorine or potassium permanganate and does not leave excess air in the water like oxygen systems. Unlike chlorine, hydrogen peroxide is simply hydrogen and oxygen and produces no harmful chlorination byproducts. A hydrogen peroxide system consists of a chemical injection pump, solution tank, in-line static mixer, and a backwashing filter to remove the oxidized iron.

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Also, did the salesperson leave literature about his product? Does it use the word “purified” in it? There are some salespeople who make all kinds of claims in the home, but leave no literature to back their claims, and they fail to put anything in writing. While there is no rule of thumb as to what a water treatment system should cost (it really depends on what YOUR water is like and how much you should clean it up), generally it should be less than $2,500-usually a lot less in most areas, unless there are extraordinary installation considerations or unusual water problems.

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There is currently no technology available on the consumer level that delivers “soft water” without salt. There are some devices which may or may not offer some benefits, but they do not produce soft water, eliminatre spotting or reduce soap and detergent usage. In short, they are not “water softeners”. The next “great leap” could come whereby water softeners may be regenerated with hot water or or some other element or use some mechanical method to neutralize hardness ions. The initial price of water conditioners will be higher, but without salt, the cost will be much lower.

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