Tap water testing in Austin? (Atlanta, Avery: sales, home, neighborhood)

[visajet]

We just moved to Avery Ranch (~2weeks ago) and a couple of days ago there was a packet hung on our door asking for a tap water sample for testing. It said it was free and from a national water testing agency. We gave the sample and they called us today saying that some levels were higher than expected (no more details) - they wanted an appt. for a technician to come go over results and do some additional testing with our tap water and fridge water.

All this sounds good - just want to make sure these people are legit and their results are trustable. Has anybody had any experience with this?

Thanks in advance...

[OpenD]

Betcha dimes to donuts they're selling water softeners.

[10scoachrick]

Yep, water softener sales. IF you don't already have one, you might consider it. There was evidence of all sorts of crystals in some of our fixtures and DW was having some skin issues, so we did go with a whole-house softener. You can be sure the folks are not selling a system for a few hundred dollars...more like a few thousand. May or may not be worth it to you to hear them out...I can guarantee there will be a 'must buy today' pitch involved.

We're happy with the RainSoft system we had installed four years ago; but, it wasn't cheap. Don't be 'alarmed' into doing anything...the water in Avery Ranch isn't bad...it's pretty good for central Texas water. Just a few too many hunks of calcium carbonate for our taste.

And...welcome to the neighborhood...we're in Brookside .

[die Eichkatze]

Ditto water softner sales pitch. Your water is tested thoroughly and if there was something wrong with it, you would get a boil water notice. Hardness and other "aesthetic" issues with your water are just that, aesthetic, and have no bearing on the actual safety of your water.

[visajet]

Ah, thanks for the heads up. Good to know this before they show up tomorrow. We do not have a water softener and would definitely want to do more research if we decide to get one. On a related one, is the tap water here reasonably safe for drinking or is it advisable to only drink filtered/bottled water?

Thanks for the welcome 10scoachrick. 2 weeks and liking it so far :-).

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by visajet

On a related one, is the tap water here reasonably safe for drinking or is it advisable to only drink filtered/bottled water?

Yes, it meets federal standards, and is continuously monitored. The main reason people might use filtered water is to get a more neutral taste.

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by visajet

Ah, thanks for the heads up. Good to know this before they show up tomorrow. We do not have a water softener and would definitely want to do more research if we decide to get one. On a related one, is the tap water here reasonably safe for drinking or is it advisable to only drink filtered/bottled water?

Thanks for the welcome 10scoachrick. 2 weeks and liking it so far :-).

So, one of the tricks 'they' will use to show how "bad" you water is...a few drops of a catalyst(acid) will cause your water to turn cloudy and discolored. This is the acid reacting with benign minerals in the water...doesn't 'show' anything except a normal reaction with tap water. The salesperson will likely pitch this as potentially harmful to you and especially to children. By the bye, I'll bet they insisted that both adults be there for the 'testing'...a common sales tactic.

On to taste...we had filtered water for the fridge and a two-stage filter at the kitchen sink, primarily for coffee. This was in Atlanta where the water quality is excellent...I still wanted very neutral water for coffee, ice and water bottles for the bike. I definitely wanted filtered water in our current kitchen. If you decide against the softener, you might still want some filtered water in the kitchen.

You didn't mention if you have a 'loop' already installed in your plumbing. If you do, the install cost will be significantly less. Still, if the company is RainSoft or Kinetico or Culligan(and others), you're looking at a few thousand bucks to buy in. Good luck!

There are a number of discussions on C-D from various cities discussing water softeners and sales tactics...If you are waiting for the salesperson, you might try to find some of those. For example:
Kinetico Water softners

If you want to have some fun, mention one or more of the competitors when you get the first 'estimate' on your system. I guarantee the price will go down after the salesperson makes a phone call.

[RooCeleste]

When we first moved into our newly built home in Walsh Trails, we were innundated with calls and packets from "water testing" companies selling water softeners. We did let one come over, because they were giving away some kind of tickets to something we wanted. It was HIGH PRESSURE sales for an $8000 system - yeah right! We already knew that our water was fine, we have both consumed tap water our entire lives, and we were pretty sure we didn't want a water softener (for the right price, I may have considered it though). BUT, I love the whole high pressure sales pitches they give and I view it as a game - let's just see how low you'll go from your first outrageous price. (Plus, my mother's career was in the water industry so I already knew the appropriate numbers for the water)

I didn't think I would ever get the people out of my kitchen, and afterwards, the calls continued for months. So if you know you don't want the product, I wouldn't even open the door for them in the beginning. It turned out to not be as fun as a time-share sales pitch, but at least we got the tickets!

[cserret]

just get a good quality water filter, like a multi-stage one that has bone shavings (the bone absorbs chemicals, so that the chemicals don't get absorbed into your bones). The cheezy "all in one" filters you screw into your faucet are way too expensive, since you gotta replace them every couple months. And they let chemicals right through. I bought a multistage system, that cost about $185, and over a year later, its still running fine with no filter replacement needed.

[eileenkeeney]

I would hesitate to do business with a company that was not up front with you from the start (meaning from the point they asked for the water sample).

I have a problem with sales techniques that involve not being completely up front about what they are trying to sell, from the start.

The city uses my outside faucet to collect samples, I think maybe once a month. I talked to the guy collecting the sample once.