Water treatment scams are on the rise for the second time in Florida, despite decade-old efforts to crack down on swindlers. Scam artists like Jonathan Yacketta use false scare tactics to trick elderly women and other vulnerable people into buying expensive water treatments, claiming that their water is toxic and undrinkable. But Florida is not the only victim. Water treatment scams are common all over the world. You may recall a post we did a few months ago on a South Korean professor charged with fraud after claiming to invent a device that could turn regular tap water into “holy water.” (Professor Kim’s water treatment scam earned him over $1 million before he was finally arrested.)
So how do you avoid becoming the victim of a water scam? Here are five simple actions to ensure that neither you, nor your 83-year-old grandmother, get swindled:
1. Avoid contact with door-to-door water treatment salespeople.
2. Avoid unsolicited offers for a free water test. Instead, consider purchasing one of our drinking water test kits.
3. If concerned, have your water tested by a certified laboratory.
4. Don’t fall for the bottled water scam! Most bottled water is nothing more than filtered tap.
And last, but not least…
According to a recent article in Tampa Bay Online:
“Most dealers in the $3 billion-a-year industry, its representatives say, are honest sellers of equipment for removing chlorine and minerals and softening water from public utilities or private wells. They say rogue operations selling equipment at inflated prices through scare tactics and misleading information are the exception.”
I’m sure all of our customers could testify to the fact that we are the exception, rather than the rule. So, here is our final piece of advice:
… 5. When in doubt, buy your water filters from FiltersFast.com.
Alex says
Hi John,
The TDS meter is just giving a reading to the total combined dissolved solids in your water measured in parts per million (PPM). You RO system is doing good with 96% removal of all of the dissolved solids in your water.
The TDS meter will not tell you what is actually in the water, so the 767 reading isnt really telling you much of whats in it or even that you need a different system.
The softener is exchanging minerals for sodium ions and is adding to your TDS reading. Likely there are other minerals and iron dissolved in the water too that is adding too it as well. You should likely get the water tested to know exactly what is in the water to see if filtration is necessary. Sounds like a salesman that just needs to sell a system, but he may have also had more information than i did as well.
John Russell says
HI: I need a little advise, my well water here in Ocala, Florida is treated with a clorated filtering system and than a soft water treatment that I paid $3,000.00 for back in 2007 before it enters my home. I have a reverse osmosis system on the kitchen sink that the wife and I use for drinking and with. That water on a TDS-3 tester comes in at 30, while are well water that we use to brush are teeth with and shower with tested at 767. A salesman for a local water supply company here in Ocala said we should not be brushing are teeth or even taking a shower in this water. He wants to sell us a new well water treatment system for $5,500.00. Is this necessary? Thanks John Russell