Monthly Archives: January 2008

Water Softener Sizing and the House Size

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QUESTION: We are adding a water softner to a home that is now approx. 3600 sq. ft.  In three months, we are adding and additional 2000 sq. feet. Is 1.0 cubic large enough or do I need 2.0 cubic?

ANSWER: Good question. This is a very popular misconception. The size of any water treatment system is based on the amount of water that flows through it and the amount of hardness in the water – and in the case of automatic filters, the flow rate – so if the number of people using water is two, and you add 2000 square feet of living space but only two people are using water, they will still use the same amount no matter how large or small the home gets.

If the above person were to be adding on bedrooms to his home in anticipation of selling it to prospective buyers who might be considering the home for 5 or more people then yes, you will want to up the size of your softener accordingly. The main point here is that it’s not the size of the home but the size of the family (and water hardness) that determines the proper size of the softener. You would not buy an industrial size clothes washing machine for two people just because you have room for it, would you? Of course not. It would be a waste of water and energy.

Local Installer or Dealer

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So you’ve done the research, tested your water and chose your water treatment equipment, but who do you get to install it? Who is going to service it when it breaks down?

For the most part, the customers who purchase from Water Value install their own systems and as far as working on them goes, all of the equipment we carry is Professional Grade. In other words, it is designed to NOT break down. The vast majority of our customers do not need to worry about repair, only some simple preventive maintenance steps which are outlined in the service manuals.

But what about all the money that can be saved over buying from a local dealer? Well, you can save a great deal of money by purchasing this equipment through us or another online volume dealer, but there’s a reason for that. First of all, the number of systems – water softeners, whole-house filters, UV filters, chlorinators, reverse osmosis – that we sell per day is often greater than a local “hands on” dealer will sell in a month or more. That is why the manufacturers give us such a break on the price, but the local water treatment dealer is going to be equally as proficient as us at water treatment system design and operation. The big difference is, they are a short drive away. It is likely that Water Value Company is over 1000 miles away from you. We cannot put these systems in for you. We can only offer support over the phone or via email. We cannot be there to examine your system, determine the problem (if any) and affect a solution. If there are any problems, we have to rely on your senses and descriptive observations. That is why sometimes, no matter how much money you can save, you should also consider a local water treatment dealer.

Here is an example: A customer sends an email to us explaining that his media tank is leaking. He purchased the water softener five years ago and it’s still under the ten year warranty. “What are you going to do about it” he asks? Well, first we have to determine that there is actually a defect in the tank. The warranty covers manufacturing defects, not sudden impact or freezing several years later. So the customer is asked a series of questions designed to determine the cause for the concern for a leak. Often times, the customer will be asked to take a digital photo of the problem, in this case the leak on the tank, and send it in to us.

After asking these questions, the customer does not have a digital camera and is unable to send in a photo to us. His description of the puddle of water is dead on, but he cannot see a crack or breach in the tank. So is this a defective tank with a leak hidden under the base of the tank? Not in this case. It turns out that after heavy water flow for added irrigation purposes, his tank (and water pipes) produced condensation from the rapid temperature changes. It took nearly a week of correspondence to determine this fact. Near the end, the customer was frustrated thinking that we were not going to honor the manufacturer’s warranty, when in fact we have every intention of covering those warranties. You can choose to contact the manufacturer directly, but they would insist that you send the defective component in to them for evaluation which we will not normally do. But we will perform our examination via email or over the phone.

Not only did we determine that the tank was sound, but we saved the customer a great deal of effort transferring the media over to a replacement tank. Things are not always as they appear and most people are prone to think the worst when something goes wrong.

The point is, if we were able to visit the customer’s home and examine his system, we could have determined the cause of the puddle right away. That is why the local dealers must charge more. They have much higher overhead costs and they do not get the price breaks that we do.

So if you can handle the minor plumbing involved with installation and you can research enough reliable information to make an educated decision, then Water Value Company can save you a great deal of money. But if you have had a visit or two from your local water treatment dealer and had them determine the right solution, it is really not fair to them to purchase from us and ask them to install it. Most local water treatment dealers will want to install their own equipment, even if it is the same as we sell.

For the past 4 years, we have had a section of our web site set aside for water treatment installation professionals where they can add their business contact information and location. So far there have been only a few takers. This is because the local water treatment business feels very strongly that the online volume sales of water treatment equipment is taking away from their “bread and butter”. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is a simple fact that some customers are willing to take a “hands on” approach to their water treatment needs and save themselves a great deal of money in the process, as opposed to hiring someone else to do it. I, for example, do all of my own work on my car. I have hired garages in the past to do things like brakes, water pump replacement, oil changes, etc., but I have yet to find value with hiring someone else to do something I can do for hundreds less. But when it came time to fix the leak in my house roof, I hired a professional. Yes, I could have saved hundreds doing it myself, but I would have had to put up with a real mess up there for several days – praying there would be no rain – to fix it while I worked a full-time job. The professionals had it done in a matter of hours.

The main reason I got into this water treatment equipment business was because I had a friend who worked for a national water treatment company. He told me he could get rid of the iron in my water. I gave him about $1500 and he dropped off a water softener. Yes, I could get it installed, but that would cost more. Because that $1500 was about all I had, I resolved to put it in myself (yes, my friend helped, but it took a case of beer). Once I was done and realized how easy it was to do, I knew there had to be others out there like me that can handle the job themselves who needed a source of equipment with no strings attached.

That is what Water Value Company does. We supply the equipment, advice, experience, diagnostics, prompt service and delivery along with great value for your money. Doesn’t that $1500 I spent on my first softener sound kind of high? Well, that national franchise my friend worked for was paying just about that much for those softeners. My friend got me a great price. They were selling as many of those systems in one year as we do in one week, so naturally Water Value is going to get a bigger break on the price. But we cannot replace the local water treatment expert.

So if you have researched and identified your water treatment needs and can handle the installation and setup yourself, Water Value can save you hundreds, maybe thousands of dollars.