Soft Water Salt Lake City

[ecosmart]

Hi, I live in Salt Lake City, Utah and am looking for a water softener.
I want a good deal, but don't want "cheap junk", I'm just looking for the very best deal. I've got appointments this week with Culligan, Kinetico, Ecowater for in home presentations on there water softener systems and reverse osmosis drinking filters. My plumber mentioned Intermountain and Northstar as good brands also. I've looked at the internet ompanies and I'm a little scared to have something that isn't serviced by a local company. So help me out please to find the best deal. What should I ask the salesman, what are good haggling strategies and what is a reasonable price to pay ? What is the most environmentally friendly system and what has the best service record ?

Thanks !!!

[greg-cws]

Salt Lake City has hard water indeed, in fact some of the hardest water in the nation. You dodn't mention which side of the valley you're on, but if you're on the west side closer to Riverton, Magna, and Herriman you can expect water hardness up to 45 grains, which is just awful.

Definitely avoid the "disposable" systems that you find at the big-box retailers and look for a reputable local dealer who can provide you with the pre-sale and post-sale support that you need.

I work for Intermountain, so naturally I'm somewhat biased towards our products, but if you're looking for a basic water softener you can't go wrong with any of the companies you mentioned in your original post.

When evaluating a potential company, make sure that they meet the following criteria:

1. In business for at least 5 years
2. Positivle rating by the local BBB
3. No active open complaints from the State dept. of consumer protection
4. Valid contractor's license
5. Current liability insurance
6. They're prepared to give you real written testimonials from at least 2 satisfied customers who are not direct family of theirs.
7. They are members of the Water Quality Association (http://www.wqa.org)
8. The salesperson is at least a WQA Certified Sales Rep, or preferably a Certified Water Specialist (CWS)

Good luck and feel free to ask any and all questions that you'd like.

Greg