Easy Water Systems
Published February 19, 2009 | 
Emil writes:
We have hard water from out well. Its constantly plugging up the kitchen outlets, the showers, the dishwasher, etc..
We see advertisements about “Easy Water” systems…Easy Wate is their trade name apparently…what do you think of their systems, would it be a good choice to purchase their equipment, is there a better system?
Hi Emil, thanks for your question.
Easy water claims to be able to soften water without adding sodium or potassium like conventional hardness treatment. They claim they can soften water without removing any calcium at all.
Most people want water softeners because of the effect that hard water has on detergents and soaps, as well as scale build up issue. The harder your water, the harder it is to get a lather from your soap. This is because the components that make your water hard – dissolved calcium, magnesium, and other trace minerals – react with the soap to form a precipitate, or what you would call “scum”. They also flock out of your water due to friction, heat, and other factors and form scale in your pipes and on your taps, etc.
The key here is that regardless as to what form your dissolved calcium is in, as long as it is dissolved and in your water supply it will continue to react with your soaps and detergents, heat, friction, etc. and produce that undesirable effect.
I went to the Easy Water website. There are a few key elements I found there:
- The main focus of the website was on how harmful sodium is, and how traditional methods add sodium to water.
- They claim only to reduce and remove scale, there’s nothing about effects with soap or detergents
- The only third party proof they have is some questionable photos of what they claim is calcium in tree like branches before hand and little smooth droplets after wards
- They post no data that they’ve had third party accreditation of this technology proving it works in blind studies
- The only other resources they do have points to articles on how unhealthy too much sodium is for you
This electronic water softener claims to send “electronic pulses” that change the state of the calcium ion. Regardless, if it’s still there dissolved in the water, it will still cause problems.
The website does not address the science behind softening, it does not give any valid references to real studies and tests that has been done, it uses clever marketing and health scare tactics to try and drive sales.
To go into the actual and proven methods of softening, there are three ways:
- ion exchange
- sequestering
- reverse osmosis filtration
Sequestering involves the addition of chemicals to “bind” the calcium in the water, rendering it ineffective for scale formation or reaction with soap or detergents. This is generally done with boilers and large industrial heating systems, as sequestering chemicals do not make good drinking water. Reverse osmosis filtration removes everything, and is extremely expensive for whole house water flows.
Ion exchange, for a home owner, is currently the most viable and trusted way to soften your home water. It is a tried and true method, has been proven over and over again, and simply works, no questions asked. There is of course two issues that an Easy Water sales representative would bring up, health issues from excessive sodium, and environmental issues with the brine backwash.
Both issues are easy to deal with. When your plumber is installing your softener, have him run a line of un-softened water to your kitchen tap. Use this water for drinking and cooking. For the environmental concerns, please follow this link to an article prepared by the Canadian Water Quality Association. It seems that dilution of your septic water with briny softener backwash isn’t such a problem after all.
My opinion is stay away from any of these electric water softeners, go with tried, true and proven, and you can’t go wrong.
I hope I’ve helped. If you need any further clarification, or have another question, please let me know.
Free Computer Consulting at, Computer Choice – We’ll find your perfect computer to fit your needs, free.
Want more information, have a question or want to see more cool water stuff? Then Head on over to the main site!
Don’t believe them: Door to door water scams
Published December 15, 2008 | In today’s world, everybody wants to sell you everything. You, as a consumer, must be a smart and savvy shopper to see through propaganda. You need to understand what you need and what you don’t, and see through salespeople who sometimes lie or bend the truth to make that sale.
Unfortunately, this is sometimes hard to do. Not everyone is an expert on everything, and that is certainly true of water. Water is one of those things that some unscrupulous sales people like to manipulate to their advantage, since it is crucial to your health and diet.
To bolster sales numbers, there are a number of people going door to door. Some people are simply trying to sell legitimate products to improve the aesthetics of your municipally treated water, like softeners.
To help you identify what is what, I’ve come up with this simple checklist for you to follow.
1. Municipally treated water is safe.
Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying to you and trying to sell you something you don’t need. Don’t let them in the door. If there was a problem with the municipally treated water supply, you’d receive either a “boil water order” or a “seek alternate supply order” from your local municipality or health unit via the local media.
2. Don’t let them take a water sample or “do a test”
The only people who will ask you to take a water sample or do a water test is your local municipal water department or local health unit. Anyone else will use the opportunity to try to “trick” you into thinking your water is bad by various scams. They might add water to a vial, have it turn black due to a small amount of reagent in the vial, and claim this proves there is “E.Coli” or “lead” or some other harmful substance or microbe. This is complete falsehood.
3. Ask for their I.D.
If they claim to be from the local municipality or health department, ask for their official identification. Any member of the local government will have this and will have no problem showing it to you.
4. Call your Municipality and Ask!
If after seeing the identification of the people you aren’t convinced it’s for real, call your municipality! Ask them to wait outside while you make the call to verify who it is.
5. You have the right to say no.
Unless someone has a warrant or martial law is called, no one has the right to enter your home without your approval. If you have any doubts in your mind, tell them no and close the door. This is your right.
6. Interested? By Invite Only.
If you are interested in investing in home water treatment, call the sales company and invite them to your home for an assessment. If someone drops by and they are reputable, they will have no problem giving you a card, leaving and coming back when it’s convenient for you. If they try to get overly pushy and try to sell you something now, ask them to leave. They may claim one time deals or last years model for real cheap right now, but it’s not worth it. When dealing with home water treatment, you want a reputable company with reputable products. Make sure you get that.
Remember, unless your municipality tells you directly, your water is safe. No private company needs to test your water, and any reputable company will do so only at your request. Don’t let a door to door salesman into your home to pressure you into buying something. Good salespeople make appointments. Above all, ask for I.D. if they claim their with the municipality. It’s your right to the truth.
Free Computer Consulting at, Computer Choice – We’ll find your perfect computer to fit your needs, free.
Want more information, have a question or want to see more cool water stuff? Then Head on over to the main site!
