Contact Us / FAQs
Q) Do your water softeners or filters come assembled? A) Yes. The control valve has been configured for the system and the bypass and/or connectors are shipped in the same box. The inner distributor is shipped inside the tank and we include a resin/media funnel for you to fill the tank with. The brine tank is completely assembled.
Q) How long does it take for my order to ship and for me to receive it? A) One to two business days. You can see our shipping information and map here >> SHIPPING INFORMATION
Q) How do I know what size system I need? A) We have a water softener sizing calculator on our home page. You will need to know your water hardness, iron levels (if any) and the number of persons or potential persons in your household. Click on our >> TEST KITS page if you do not know your hardness or iron levels.
Q) Can you help engineer a system for me? A) Yes! Email us the following:
(1) Your water hardness and your iron level and pH if well water.
(2) Water usage per day (maximum). If home or business, how many persons?
(3) Total count of all water using fixtures for a commercial application or number of bathrooms if a home.
Q) What is the difference in the water softener resins that you offer vs. others found on the Internet?
A) The softening resins that we offer are either a high capacity 8% cross-linked type or a 10% cross-liked type (a stronger bead strength) both made in Canada by Aldex with 83% US manufactured products. Both have been tested and certified by the Water Quality Assn. We do not offer fine mesh resin because (1) it does not last as long and (2) you cannot achieve the same flow rates through this product.
Q) You mention that you sell US manufactured products.
A) Yes, the tanks, controls, tubing and medias are produced in the US by American companies. Our resin is made in Canada with 83% of the raw materials made in the US. We buy the components and assemble and ship them from our warehouse in Ohio. Pentair has recently decided to outsource some of their manufacturing to Italy and Mexico. We will not knowingly buy any components made in China.
Q) What is the warranty of the product? A) The warranties of all components are spelled out on each product page. Field service warranty is handled by the buyer.
Q) There is a lot of information on the Internet about various filter medias. How do I know what to believe? A) We use only industry standard medias that are certified by NSF for use in drinking water and we call them by their manufactured names. Some competitors make up their own brand names so that you cannot compare apples to apples. These companies attempt to disguise their products in an effort to have you believe that they are somehow better than what the industry offers and they are the identical media either in name or performance to what we sell.
Q) Should I order a bypass for a water softener or whole house filter? A) A bypass allows to have the ability to turn off water supply to the softener without interrupting water supply to your home. The bypasses we sell will connect onto the back of the control valve. You may not need to order a bypass if you already have a "house bypass" that is in good working order and not connected to an old system.
Q) What do I need to know about the connectors to a water softener or whole house filter? A) Our available piping connectors are shown on a drop down box on each product link. You will need to know what size your plumbing is. Lay a ruler or tape measure across the pipe. 3/4" copper or CPVC pipe is 7/8" in diameter. 3/4" PVC would measure 1 & 1/8". 1" copper and CPVC would measure 1 & 1/8" in diameter and PVC would measure 1 & 3/8".
Q) Do I need to add a grid to my brine tank? A) An optional grid holds the salt up off of most of the water in the salt tank to prevent some salts from mushing or caking. If you use solar/crystal salt then you will not have the mushing problems associated with some of the pellet salts available.
Q) What does a Res-Up feeder system do? A) This is a system that feeds a solution into the salt tank to assist the water softener is cleaning the iron, bacterial iron and/or sulfur from the internals of the system.
Q) How is media placed into the tank? A) We include a media funnel and a printed instruction sheet. If you ordered a filter or a commercial water softener then the gravel goes in first and the media second. We buy resin in one cubic foot bags so if you order a 1.25, 1.5 or 2.5 cu. ft. unit then the one half cubic foot quantities of resin come in a clear bag that you can see through and not the original bag. It all goes into the tank. On twin units, we package the resin so that you do not have to separate it. We provide gravel as an under layer for filters and commercial water softener but not for residential water softeners as it is not needed. Note that we have not been placing gravel in our residential softeners since 1965 so we have much experience with this.
Q) What do I do if I have an installation or service question? A) Refer to the supplied manual (also found online). If you get stuck for an answer then email us your questions to service@affordablewater.us.
Q) Why did my credit card fail? Can you place the order for me? A) We put the order in on the website the same way that you do. You can only use your card three times per day and if the transaction fails then you will have to try again tomorrow. The three big reasons that your card does not complete a purchase is (1) there were spelling errors when entering the order, (2) your credit card provider flagged the purchase and you will need to contact them or (3) you used a different shipping address then your billing address and that address was not recognized (the message will say AV mismatch). Contact us and we will give you a procedure to go around this. In any of these events, you might consider using a different card.
