The short answer
Choose a company that tests your water with a certified lab (or starts from your utility's report), names the certification behind each contaminant claim, gives you a written, itemized price before you sign, explains your cancellation rights, and uses licensed plumbers for the plumbing. Walk away from color-change or TDS-meter demos, same-night pressure, and financing pitched as a low payment without the full terms.
Questions to ask any company
- How will you test my water, and who runs the test? For a well, the answer should be a state-certified lab. For city water, a good company starts from your utility's annual report and only adds testing when there's a reason, like older plumbing.
- Which certification backs each claim? Ask for the standard (for example NSF/ANSI 44 for softeners, 53 or 58 for health-related reductions) and the specific contaminant. NSF notes that certification doesn't mean a system reduces every contaminant.[source] Look the exact model up in the NSF listings yourself.[source]
- Can I have the price in writing, itemized, before I sign anything? Equipment, any installation, ongoing filters or salt, and service plans should each be clear.
- What are my cancellation rights? In North Carolina, a buyer in a home-solicitation sale can cancel until midnight of the third business day after signing.[source] The FTC's Cooling-Off Rule requires a written cancellation notice for covered sales made at your home and a refund within 10 business days of a valid cancellation.[source] A good company explains this without being asked.
- Who does the plumbing, and are they licensed? North Carolina's plumbing licensing law names whole-house water treatment systems.[source] South Carolina requires plumbers to hold a specialty contractor license.[source] Ask for the license number and look it up.
- Who warranties what? The equipment maker, the installer and the seller may each cover different things. Get it in writing.
- How do you ask for reviews? The FTC's rule on consumer reviews bans fake reviews, incentives conditioned on positive (or negative) reviews, and review suppression.[source] A company that asks every customer the same way, with no strings attached, is doing it right.
- What happens if my water doesn't need treatment? The honest answer is "we'll tell you."
Red flags worth walking away from
Color-change and electrolysis demos
The classic in-home demo adds a reagent or runs electricity through a glass of tap water until it turns dark. The Water Quality Association has warned about this: its technical director said the precipitation test measures hardness but "does not show pollution or indicate a health concern."[source] If a salesperson tells you a dark glass means your water is contaminated, that's a reason to end the visit.
TDS meter readings presented as contamination
A TDS meter measures total dissolved solids, mostly ordinary minerals. It can't identify lead, PFAS, bacteria or disinfection byproducts, and a low reading after reverse osmosis doesn't prove anything specific was removed. For reference, Charlotte Water's 2025 report lists average TDS of 59 ppm.[source] Read more in why TDS meters mislead.
Same-night pressure
"This price is only good tonight" is a sales tactic, not a property of water. A company confident in its recommendation will leave you a written quote and the test results and let you think it over, compare, and look up certifications.
Financing sold as a payment, not a price
In 2024 the FTC took action against a water treatment financing company whose dealers, according to the complaint, used deceptive teaser rates, led consumers to believe introductory rates and payments were permanent, failed to tell them that deferred-payment loans kept accruing interest, and didn't clearly disclose a security interest in the equipment that could make it hard to sell the home.[source] If financing comes up, ask for the full written terms, including the total cost, before signing, and see our financing page for how we handle it.
Fear about compliant water
If your utility's report shows no violations, someone telling you your city water is unsafe is selling, not informing. Check the report for your town in our service areas. Equally, be wary of any product claim about health benefits; certified reductions of specific contaminants are the claims that can be checked.
A softener for soft water
Charlotte Water's 2025 average hardness was 32 mg/L, which is soft.[source] A softener recommendation for water like that, without a hardness test showing otherwise, is a sign the recommendation came before the water. It's one of the items on what we won't sell you.
How we try to meet this list
We're a new company, so we don't have years of reviews to point to yet, and we won't pretend otherwise. What we can do is hold ourselves to the same checklist: test first, recommend from the results, put prices in writing, and keep the plumbing with licensed independent plumbers. Here's how our licensed installer model works and our full five-step process.