Palm Beach County · Buying guide
How to compare water treatment companies
Compare water treatment companies in Palm Beach County with six questions: the price before a visit, the appointment length, grain capacity, components, warranty and the cost after year one. Our answers to all six are here, so you can hold anyone, including us, to the same standard.
The six questions
Our answers on the left. What to ask everyone else on the right.
Print this if it helps. We’d genuinely rather you bought a good system from someone else than a bad one from us.
1. Can you give me a price before you visit?
Honest Water Co. PB
Usually yes. A few questions on a short call is normally enough to give you a complete installed number. If your situation genuinely needs eyes on it (a well, an awkward plumbing run), we'll say so rather than pretend.
Ask anyone else
Ask for a number over the phone before you book anything. A company that will only quote in your living room is telling you something about how the close works.
2. How long is the in-home appointment?
Honest Water Co. PB
The free water test takes about fifteen minutes. We're not there to run a presentation at you.
Ask anyone else
Ask how long to set aside. If the honest answer is three hours, that is a sales process, not a water test.
3. What grain capacity am I being quoted, and why that number?
Honest Water Co. PB
48,000 grains on the Standard, 64,000 on the XL, 96,000 on the Dual Tank. Which one you need comes from your test result and your household size, and we'll tell you which of the three it is and why.
Ask anyone else
Ask for the grain number and the reasoning. 'It's our best system' is not a reason. Also worth knowing: a salt-free conditioner has no grain capacity at all. It prevents scale; it doesn't soften. Anyone quoting you grains on a salt-free unit is confused or hoping you are.
4. What are the components, specifically?
Honest Water Co. PB
USA-made 10% crosslinked softening resin, granular activated coconut-shell carbon, polishing gravel, and a control valve with ceramic discs and a 72-hour memory backup.
Ask anyone else
Ask which resin and which valve, by name. A brand sticker on the tank is not a component list.
5. What does the warranty cover, part by part?
Honest Water Co. PB
We hand you the manufacturer's written warranty for the exact system you are buying, before you buy it, not a summary of it, and not a verbal promise on your kitchen table.
Ask anyone else
Ask for it broken down by component, and ask specifically whether labor is included and for how long. A great many 'lifetime warranties' mean parts only, from day one.
6. What does it cost me after year one?
Honest Water Co. PB
Salt for the brine tank, and RO filter changes annually. We'll give you both figures on the call rather than after you've signed.
Ask anyone else
Ask the annual filter cost and whether there's a trip fee once the first year is up. This is the number that quietly separates a good deal from a bad one over ten years.
One more thing
The industry’s worst habits, named
If you see any of these, it isn’t a red flag about that one salesperson. It’s how that company is built.
The price that drops if you sign tonight
A price that falls by thousands because you hesitated was never the real price. Real pricing doesn't care what day it is.
Testing your water to frighten you
The precipitate demo, where tap water turns orange in a jar, shows dissolved minerals, which is what hard water is. It is not evidence your water is toxic. It's theatre.
'Lifetime warranty' with nothing behind it
Ask which components and whether labor is included. If the answer isn't a table, there isn't one.
Financing quoted as the price
'$97 a month' is not a price, it's a payment. Ask for the cash number and the total you'll pay over the term. Both.
Then go and ask everyone else the same six.
Most homes we can quote right over the phone. Get our number first. It makes every other conversation easier.
Questions
More buyer questions
Check the numbers yourself on our county water comparison and community rankings, or see every system we install and the water softener guide.
Sources: EPA: Consumer Confidence Reports; Florida DEP: Source and Drinking Water Program; EPA: Secondary Drinking Water Standards
How much does a water softener cost in Palm Beach County?
Our softener plus reverse osmosis package starts at $2,850 installed, with a lifetime warranty. The free in-home test turns that into an exact price for your home before you decide. From anyone else, ask for the cash price and the total you would pay over any payment term.
What is the difference between a softener and a salt-free conditioner?
A softener removes calcium and magnesium by ion exchange and is sized in grains. A salt-free conditioner has no grain capacity: it prevents scale while the minerals stay in the water. Hardness is a nuisance rather than a health issue, so the choice comes down to the result you want at the tap.
How do I check a company's claims about my water?
Ask where each number comes from. Every community water system publishes an annual Consumer Confidence Report under EPA rules, and Florida DEP runs the state's drinking water program. We link every utility's report on our county water comparison, and the free test measures your own tap.
How long does installation take?
A whole-home install is usually half a day and an under-sink reverse osmosis system about two hours. We beat competitors on time to install and on service, and the price on the quote is the price on install day.
Free water test
Find out what's actually in your water
We test at your kitchen sink, show you the result and size a system to your home. Free, with an exact price before you decide.
- Free in-home water test
- Exact price up front
- Lifetime warranty
Prefer to talk? Call Mike on (561) 354-3095