Water Doctor Plus LLC - Latest Blog Entries

Is Your Water Safe?

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 14:41:00 -0500

See what Dr. Oz has to say and what he recommends here:

http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/your-water-safe

"Energy Star"

Fri, 16 Apr 2010 14:00:00 -0500

"Energy Star"

The National Water Quality Association is currently working on getting WATER SOFTENERS / CONDITIONERS added to the list of appliances that are "Energy Star" rated. They save ENERGY and help the ENVIRONMENT also. Hopefully, soon they will be approved and qualify for a tax credit, like the one the sate Missouri is working on and even giving credit to everyone that upgrades their energy wasting appliances during April 2010.

Check out the article about GREEN HOUSE GASES on our web site: http://waterdoctorplus.com/home/did_you_know

Should I RENT or BUY a Water Softener?

Tue, 06 Apr 2010 13:41:00 -0500

There are many options available to help you have the best water for your home and family!

Most people BUY their water softener.

Others choose to RENT the water softener system.

What are the Pros's and Con's?

If you are planning on living in your home for many years, buying is the best choice in the long run. Some worry about how much it costs to maintain or have repairs done on the machine, but that is really not an issue if you purchase a quality machine from a reputable dealer. Often times if you purchase a cheap water softener, it may need service sooner than a higher priced, quality machine. This makes the cheaper unit more or less a THROW-AWAY machine, often times it will cost as much to repair the cheaper machine as it would cost to just buy another new one.

Buying the quality machine will last much longer and will not need the repairs as often plus they have a better warranty. For example if you purchase one of our Evolve Series water conditioners, we will provide our customers with FIVE YEARS of FREE Service Calls and Labor, parts are all covered by the factory. We also fill up your salt tank the first time, 300#-350# of salt or potassium chloride, whichever you choose.

Renting a water softener is a good option for people that don't plan on living in a home for a long time. Maybe they only plan on being there for 2-3 years. In that case, renting will be cheaper in the long run. The only expense that you will incur is the installation cost and the salt with taxes on both the rent and salt. All repairs and service that is required is covered by the monthly rental charge that you agree upon.

Often times if you do want to purchase a water softener, we can arrange to give you a 90 days same as cash option. We simply divide the total cost by 4. You pay 1/4th down and 1/4th per month for the next 3 months. This makes it a little easier to come up with the purchase price.

Of course you should not forget that a water softener will save the average family of 4 about $95.00 per month according to a study that was done in 2006. It was compiled by 10 different organizations that are not in the water treatment business, Universities, government agencies and so forth.

If you have any questions, please fill out our contact form and we will address your questions as soon as we receive them.

No Salt Water Softeners

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 10:53:00 -0600

No Salt Water Softeners?

Do those no salt water softeners work?

Many of these systems utilize a wire that is wrapped around a section of your plumbing that connects to an electrical devise mounted on the wall. Recently I installed an Evolve Series Water Conditioner for a customer that thought about buying one of the NO SALT WATER SOFTENERS. He spoke with the company that sells this product and asked if he could have a six month guarantee so he could return the product if it did not change his water. The company told him they could not do that because there was no way to test the water to see if it was working. That was a deal breaker for the NO SALT WATER SOFTENER company. When my customer found out he would not be able to test the system to see if it really works, he decided to buy our system that uses salt which we can test the water coming from it and prove it REALLY DOES WORK!

So if you are looking into one of those NO SALT WATER SOFTENERS, I encourage you to think long and hard about it. After all, if you cannot test the water and see a real difference in the before and after the system, I would be very leary about purchasing that kind of system.

When you soften your water with a water softening system that uses salt, you will actually notice a real difference in your water. Besides that, you will immediately start saving money in many areas around your home. The biggest savings will be in cleaning products, then energy costs, appliance repairs just to name a few. You will also be helping the environment by not putting a lot of unnecessary chemicals down the drain.

Whether you buy my system or someone elses, it will really pay off if you only purchase a system that uses Salt or Potassium Chloride. These systems REALLY work!

How Much Does a Water Softener Save?

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 16:06:00 -0600

Water Softeners are the ONE appliance that really does pay for itself!

It will save the average family of four approximately $95.00 per month according to a study that was conducted in 2006 by ten different organizations, not in the water treatment business. Some government groups, universities and other organizations. If you would like to see the results of the study, simply go to the tab on our web site that says "Did You Know?". There you will find a chart that will give you the breakdown of the ways a water softener will save your household a lot of money.

Also you will find information on how a water softener is good for the environment. Check it out!

What is that smell?

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 15:10:00 -0600

Have you noticed a really bad odor in your water that smells up the whole house? Does it smell like rotten eggs?

Sometimes the silver you have will turn black or get tarnished very quickly. If that happens, you likely have a problem with SULFUR!

Not only will sulfur tarnish your silver jewelery and silverware, but it will also ruin your airconditioning "A" coil, even the copper coils in your refrigirator. It doesn't take long for this to add up to a huge expense.

If you have such an odor in your home from the water, give us a call!

We can test the amount of sulfur in your water and make a recommendation on how to get rid of it. We do not charge to test your water for this problem. Just give us a call at: 800-456-1016; 660-747-3421 or 816-524-4100 and we will be happy to help you with this problem.

If you have any questions or just want to comment please feel free to post either on our blog. You may also e-mail us at: charles@waterdoctorplus.com

What's the best central water softener system out there?

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 16:22:00 -0600

What's the best central water softener system out there?

Without a doubt there are a lot of good water softener's on the market today.

One thing that makes one better than another is the company that you purchase it from. You should be very careful about selecting your water softener company.

For example, does your purchase price include installation? Does the company selling it provide repair service on the product that they sell? Is there a warranty on this product? Has this company been in business very long? Do they have references that show their customer satisfaction rate is acceptable?

In my 33 1/2 years in the water treatment business I have seen many people left out in the cold as it were. After they purchased their water softener they found out that they had to pay extra for it to be installed.

One experience that I know of is a homeowner in Lee's Summit, MO purchased a water softener from one of those big box stores. It cost him over $400.00 to have it installed. I was called when the machine was not providing soft water and not using any salt.

I was asked to inspect the installation to see if it was done correctly and figure out why it was not working.

I found that when the water softener was plumbed in, it missed the master bathroom, a very important area. Looking closer, the water line had been cut and a "T" put in the hard water line that sent water into the water softener. That same water line continued and supplied hard water to the water heater. The plumber then brought the water out of the water softener and tied it back into the cold water line going into the water heater. Needless to say this water softener was never going to work or give the homeowner soft water.

The homeowner asked me how the machine should be plumbed in to give them soft water. I explored the homes plumbing and made a recommendation of how I would have installed their machine so it would work and give them the soft water they wanted in the first place.

After calling the store that he purchased the unit from, the store supervisor came to the home with the plumber that installed the water softener. While they were at the home, the customer called me on the phone and asked if I would explain to the plumber just how it should be connected to the plumbing. After some time of explaining to the plumber what he should do, he finally made the connections necessary. Even after he made the corrections, he still did some things that were not necessary, but even with that, the water softener now works.

The moral of the story is, a cheap water softener is not necessarily a good deal after you factor in all the extra expense not to mention the stress.

If you would like to avoid an experience like this, please give us a call and we will be happy to answer any questions you might have. We will also will come to your home and give you a free estimate and show you the very latest in water treatment systems available on the market today.

You can reach us at: (816) 524-4100, (660) 747-3421 or (800) 456-1016

Should I be concerned about sodium in soft water?

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 19:38:00 -0600

Should I be concerned about sodium in soft water?
If sodium is a concern to you, your water quality improvement professional can explain the amount of sodium in softened water. This varies, depending on the hardness of the water supply. Any person on a sodium-restricted diet should follow the advice of his Doctor. All municipal water supplies contain some naturally occurring sodium.

If the sodium-restricted diet is very strict, discuss the use of RO, or some other water quality improvement system to reduce the sodium to meet your requirements.

For the sake of comparison, one slice of white bread contains about 114 mg of sodium, and an eight ounce glass of milk contains 120 mg of sodium.

If your water contains 10 grain per gallon (GPG) of hardness, and if you consumed a total of one quart of softened water per day, your intake of additional sodium would be 75 mg. That's less than either a slice of bread or a glass of milk.

Things to check if your water softener is not working!

Sat, 23 Jan 2010 21:02:00 -0600

If you are experiencing hard water from your water softener, here are some things you can check, before calling us for a service call.

1. Check to make sure it is plugged into the recepticle.

2. Make sure the water softener is not bypassed, if it has a bypass valve.

3. Look to see if you have salt in the salt compartment.

4. If it has a clock or time display, make sure it has the correct time displayed or that it is continuously keeping time.

5. If your water softener has a meter that displays the amount or number of gallons of soft water remaining, look at it frequently to make sure this number of gallons continue to decrease as you use water.

If you have checked all these items and find that one or more of them are not working properly, feel free to give us a call and we will be happy to discuss it with you and if you wish we will schedule an appointment with you to see if we can repair the problem for you.

Our toll free number is: 1-800-456-1016

One common reason why your water softener is not using salt!

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 17:51:00 -0600

Frequently one reason your water softener is not using salt is because of what we call a "SALT BRIDGE".

A salt bridge is the situation that occurs when the moisture in the brine tank or salt compartment moistens the salt. If the salt is there for an extended period of time, it can harden all the way across the diamiter of the brine tank or compartment and form a ledge or shelf. Once the salt has hardened, it will not drop down to the bottom of the salt compartment. It comes to a point in time when the water that is added to the salt compartment can no longer physically touch the salt, so it cannot desolve the salt. From now on you will look into the salt compartment and the salt will not be dropping down.

What can you do about this problem?

An easy solution is to have a RUBBER MALLET available.

Periodically, once a month or so, you can take the rubber mallet and gentlely tap on the lower portion of the brine tank area, about 10-15" up from the bottom of the tank.

When you do this, if the salt has bridged, you will notice it dropping down to fill in the bottom of the salt compartment. This will get you back on track with providing the needed salt to clean or refresh the resin in the water softener.

If you find this has happened to your water softener, you should start a manual regeneration or cleaning cycle at least two days in a row or succession.

If you have any questions, you may feel free to give me a call at 1-800-456-1016.