APRIL 2019 • LONGISLANDPRESS.COM 9
SELLING LONG ISLANDERS COSTLY FILTERS
“We’re operating in standard.
They don’t need a filtration
system,” Joseph DiGregorio,
a plant operator for the district,
says. “You’re going to
have individuals approach
homeowners and convince
people the water’s not safe
and they need a filter. It’s a
hard sell.”
Calls to Totowa, New Jersey
based Aspen Water
Solutions were not returned
and the man who did the
tests declined to discuss the
product or tests he did. Home
Depot said it expects all tests
to be ethical.
“Home Depot expects the
service providers who sell
these products and systems
to do so in an ethical, honest,
and straightforward way,”
Margaret Smith, a company
spokeswoman, says. “If any
service provider uses unlawful,
deceptive or misleading
sales tactics, it’s unacceptable and
will be dealt with.”
That, however, is what Hancock says
is being done. The Home Depot is
being sued for violations of Florida's
Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices
Act for free water tests done by firms
affiliated with the retailer.
“Home Depot did not authorize,
condone, ratify, or tolerate any
illegal acts,” the firm said in court
documents.
THE HOME DEPOT TEST
While The Home Depot argues it
isn’t doing the tests, attorneys suing
the retailer see the firm as helping to
open doors to what could be deceptive
practices.
“The in-home water testing is the
misconduct that is at the heart of our
case,” Hancock says, noting it’s the
test, not the equipment, that is his
lawsuit’s focus.
The Florida Attorney General’s office
warns that consumers should “avoid
free home water tests,” which can
easily be designed to scare and sell.
“Some unscrupulous salespeople
prey upon concerned consumers by
using scare tactics and fraudulent
practices to sell their water treatment
devices,” according to the Florida
Attorney General website.
While free, sometimes misleading water
tests may be more common today
than in the past, they are nothing new.
“Avoid ‘free’ home water tests,” the
FTC noted as far back as 2013. “Offers
to test the tap water in your home for
free are almost always part of a sales
promotion. More important, in-home
testing does not provide the specific,
in-depth analysis that is required
to determine if your water needs
treatment and what kind of system
is suited to your needs.”
The FTC pointed out that “a wide
variety of water treatment devices
are available, ranging from relatively
simple, low-cost filter devices for
faucets to sophisticated and expensive
systems that treat water from
its point of entry into your
home.”
The agency notes that “no water
treatment device can solve
every problem” and, even if
you get a filter, it’s important to
match it to your needs.
“Some systems only soften
water by removing calcium
and magnesium, while others
eliminate virtually all minerals
and foreign matter present in
the water,” according to the
agency.
Water supply officials say tests
often are designed to make
people afraid rather than to
identify issues.
“All of our water meets very rigorous
water control standards
set by the state and federal
government,” says Tim Motz,
a spokesman for the Suffolk
County Water Authority
(SCWA), which serves 1.2 million
residents.
CHLORINE QUESTIONS
Testers such as the one who evaluated
the water in a Plainview home
sometimes indicate small amounts of
chlorine are problematic. Local water
officials, however, said the absence of
chlorine, used to purify water, could
be a sign of trouble.
“The purpose of the chlorine is to
prevent bacterial growth,” says Kevin
Durk, director of water quality and
laboratory services for SCWA. “You
want chlorine to be present.”
DiGregorio says providers are “required
to maintain a chlorine residue
to prevent bacterial outbreak” and rebutted
the idea that chlorine residue
is a concern.
Chris Niebling, laboratory manager
for SCWA, says water providers are
required to test for about 150 compounds,
but Suffolk tests for nearly
400.
“All our water will have some TDS
(total dissolved solids), because there
are naturally occurring minerals,”
Niebling says. “It’s not a health hazard.
You want naturally occurring
minerals in there.”
Durk says “there could be good
things in the water, such as minerals,”
including magnesium, calcium,
sodium, and potassium.
While their presence would make
water look murky in a test, some
minerals may be desirable rather
than dangerous.
SOFT SALES PITCH
Devices such as the Brita® Pro, which
the tester in Plainview marketed,
often are water softeners — filters
that, local providers say, may not be
necessary or helpful in this region,
since local water is “soft,” without
high mineral content.
“None of your dissolved solids in
concentration exceed any limits,”
DiGregorio says. “You don’t need to
soften your water.”
Water providers do thousands of elaborate
laboratory tests that are more
detailed than the tests salespeople can
dowith their kits, suppliers say.
“Contact your water supplier or
health department if you’re concerned,”
Durk says. “They would test
the water.”
Filters can leave beneficial minerals,
but also may remove water impurities
along with healthful minerals
such as calcium.
The World Health Organization
released a report stating that water
stripped of all minerals "has a definite
adverse influence on the animal and
human organism."
Filters can make water better, but also
can make things worse, especially
if improperly maintained.
“If you don’t change your filter on a
regular basis ... you can get a bacterial
buildup,” Durk says. “It can cause
more harm than good.”
IN THE NEWS
Joseph DiGregorio, a plant operator for the Plainview
Water District, performs tests to verify
results.
/LONGISLANDPRESS.COM
