I have well water at my home so I don't have to worry about what the city might be adding to my water. I do have high iron content, so I have an iron filter in addition to the water softner. 200 lbs of softner salt only lasts me a month. Its about $6-$7 per bag of salt at Kroger or Walmart, and each bag is 40 lbs.

Sucker...

About two months back we interviewed several water conditioning companies (Rainsoft, Hague, Kinetico, and Culligan). *All* of these companies can offer you a soap package and lots of other free stuff, but after interviewing them all it seemed like the ones that were really pushing the soap package were also the ones charging the most money while trying to make it seem like they were giving you the soap for "free". I and my neighbor ended up going with the Kinetico system because their technology seemed to make the most sense to us as it is fundamentally different from all the others out there. Also I know several people who have had Kinetico systems for many years and love them. So, obviously I don't know how much you paid, and likely you'll probably be fine with the system you've got, but for my money I'd go with Kinetico all the way.

I'm glad to know they are a real company. I got a call from them last night (which I didn't ask how they got my number) but she said they would only be in my area 2 days next week from 6:30-9:30 PM! That sounded fishy to me so I said no to the free water analysis. If they call again I will still so no if that is the only time they can come.

Our family has had such a unit for seven years now. Never had a problem. We love it. Removes all that chlorine, limestone, etc. Great for showers, baths. No crusty build up in appliances. We live in Pittsburgh.

I did some research...

Ionics is the only filtration system that services your whole house (so you shower in the same quality of water you drink.. that's awesome!) that inhibits the growth of bacteria. Rain Soft can't say that, or any other company for that matter. That's because Ionics (or Puronics, as the residential line is actually called) has silver in their carbon filter. Silver is one of the best known elements that kill bacteria.

Also, other water "softeners" do not actually remove the impurities, but use salt to hide them or neutralize them. The ionics system does not introduce salt into your water (it uses a bypass valve to rinse your resin with salt water to recharge it, but the salt water never makes it into you water lines). So if you have a heart condition, you will really want to think seriously about any system that "treats" your water with salt. It significantly increases the sodium content in your drinking water. In other words, beware of any company that offers a "Reverse Osmosis" filter for your kitchen sink to filter your drinking water. Ionics water is drinkable from any tap in the house.

Also, if you have a well, you more than likely have bacteria in your water. While chlorine is bad for you in the water, it does serve a purpose. It kills the bacteria. The Ionics system for private wells actually chlorinates your water, lets it "marinate" in it for about 20 minutes, and then dechlorinates it before pumping it into your house.

Honestly guys, I hope all the research I did helps you. I'd definitly feel safer with Ionics. To those who say Ionics is an "unheard of" company... that's because until 20 years ago, Ionics only produced commercial systems (for Pepsi, Coke, NASA, Olive Garden, Red Lobster, etc...). They have only recently moved into the residential market.

I have one I have even moved it 2 times into 2 homes because it moves with you. You only buy one. I used to have a kinetico but the water always tasted bad because there unit was made out of plastic which is made from gasoline. The only people that pick a plastic unit are looking at cost only not quality. I believe these people do not care about there family, nothing is more important then clean water. Yes they are a little bit more expensive but in the long run very well worth it. Cheap is never good. We love it.

We have a General Ionic water softener and RO system and totally love them. We've had ours for 10 years and have never had a problem. Fabulous product!!

we have an ionics water system in our house wew had a serviceman come out to repair it he came out twice we paid him now our water is black we can actually see dirt in the water its horrible we have tried numerous times to contact the serviceman since he will not return our calls this system is horrible

I have had one of the General Ionics systems for over ten years now. Works just fine with no problems. I use around 80 lbs of salt every 3-4 months depending on our water use. What else can I say? The water is soft..

We had a general Ionics systen in Ohio and loved it. We had Culligan put in our new home in MO it's ok but wish we had a GI system again.
retired teacher in MO

l Ionics instal their system in my house. I also got the service agreement. They didn't show up to service and add salt to my system. They charged me for it though. Then , when I had a prblem, about 6 months after install, they were no where to be found.I stopped paying for the service calls ,that they were not doing any way, and they put a mark on my credit report. I still have a broken system that was supposed to be guarenteed for at least 5 years and didn't last one. Tank leaks and water never was right. I have had it bypassed ever since. Have tried to contact the company at least 25 times with no results. They are a complete rip off in my opinion. Bill Kyne, Seminole Fl.

Jeff, Our General Ionics system is now 20 YEARS old and still functions as good as the day it was installed! We've moved it twice to different locations (the trick is to vacuum out all the water from the tank & make damned sure you don't tip that stainless steel filtration container over at any point during the move... other than that it's a piece of cake & anyone who has even basic plumbing knowledge can reinstall)
We've saved a FORTUNE in laundry soaps, shampoos etc.. I usually use 3/4 teaspoon of Cascade in each of the soap bins in my dishwasher, and about two to three teaspoons of laundry detergent in my front loader washer.

We especially save on buying bottled water.Most of our friends & family stop by w/their gallon jugs & their bags of empty bottles to refill them from our system.
We NEVER have to change the refrigerator filter (Sears charges 49.95 per filter... what a rip off!) Nor do we have to purchase things like InstaPur or Brita water filters which are very expensive for the refills.

One of the reasons our system function so well is we've used ONLY the salt provided by General Ionics. Our system runs perfectly & uses approximately 1 bag of salt a month-which isn't too much. We need to have the bacteriostatic filter changed approximately every year and a half & other than that the system is worry-free. I believe we had one minor repair about a year ago when a part on the valve needed to be replaced.

It's very nice to have an Ionics system when they put out one of those warnings about "boil your water". I had the water checked by a laboratory after one of those 'warnings' & our water was absolutely fine-totally unaffected by whatever it was that was polluting the city water. My neighbors were delighted to come over & get water for cooking and drinking for those three days.

My sister [who has well water sky high in iron) went & bought one of those "other" systems (this was about six years ago) & she paid about $3500 for it. Her system broke down after about the fifth year & it has never worked right since. After putting in 500 bucks in repairs she is now negotiating for an Ionics system because she's seen how good our system works.
It is definitely one of the wisest purchases we've ever made.

We wouldn't trade it for anything.

Hope you enjoy your system... Maralee

This is GREAT !!!...I am a General Ionics employee {Akron ares} and have been for 23 yrs.I did however noticed alot of different things.FYI...Ionics Inc.a Nation-wide,NYSE and BBB Co.. as well,had been around for over 60yrs with both commercial and residental units. In Dec. of 2004 GE aquired the Co. So now they're "ALL" independently owned and operated companies.[So the Co Names,offers,prices and service departments are all different.].... I am a "firm" believer that the technology of a GI system is very unique,there is a diference between a water softener and a conditioner. I've had one for 15yrs and "love it"..If you're interested .. go to www.giwater.com for more information on the Co,history and benifits of the systems...Lauren.."It's nice to be important..but,even more important to be nice"..

When we purchased our Ionics Water Conditioner 5 years ago, we had the same doubts about the sale in spite of the fact that we were extremely pleased with the results of the install. We also got the "free" testing and the "free" soap, but clearly these costs are built into the price you pay. However, I can confirm from having spoken to many companies that Ionics sells a great tank and extremely reliable valves. Beyond that, there are only a few companies that manufacture the control components (e.g., Fleck) that control these units, so the differences in price more often than not are related to the quality of the tank and the primary fittings.

We took the Ionics IQ1030B with us when we moved from the city (municipal water) to the country (well water). It took a while to find someone willing to reinstall the unit, and several unscrupulous dealers tried to convince us the conditioner we had was "no good" and tried to sell us the same device under a different name, not to mention a higher capacity than we needed and add ons like pH filtering that we didn't even need. In the end, we had to re-bed the unit (new ion-enhanced resin beads, a more resilient substitute for traditional zeolite softeners). We also added a 3 micron pre-filter to keep sediment out of the head unit (to prolong component life by preventing friction buildup) and a post-conditioning carbon filter (for organic contaminants). I also installed a UV filter after all these other components to address microorganisms present in non-municipal (chlorine-free) water sources (wells, ponds, etc.).

Bottom line is top-grade household water better than anything I could buy bottled. However, it took a lot of work to find a reputable company to deal with in this business, as there are a LOT of slick willies who will baffle you with terminology and fake test results.

Recommendation: Have your water tested independently so you know what you need before you start shopping for a water conditioning/filtration system. If possible, also know how much water you use in a given week/month so you know how much capacity is needed. Then choose the system that meets your needs and your budget. And a company you trust will be there to service your needs moving forward. Good luck!

We bought our General Ionics system around 12 yrs ago in Indiana. It was wonderful! We brought it with us to Arkansas and was terribly upset to hear that they did not have any service personel near us to reinstall the unit at our new house. A very qualified plummer followed directions from the company, but I would like for the unit to be serived by a person who knows the General Ionics system. Be careful in purchasing you unit if you are one who moves frequently and plan to take it with you. I'm very diagruntled that we were assured when we bought the unit that we would have NO PROBLRMS in having it properly serviced, no matter where we lived. Famous last words!!!

We bought our General Ionics reverse osmosis system in 1993 and have moved it 4 times since from the midwest to finally New York City. My stepfather is an aerospace engineer with mutiple patents on NASA equipment among others and we bought it on a tip from him. I can assure you that it's not a fad or a fake. It's been a great investment and we will continue to service it yearly and have it for another 15+ years.

My water turns black to brown every couple of months. I have to leave it running for hours to clear that up. If I had to purchase all over again, I would pass on the offer. I do not recommend the ionics water purification system. If you get a call from them ignore it. It cost way too much money. They did not tell me water would run from the thing at a preset time each day for nearly 30 minutes. O well you leave and learn. I feel I should have known better.

We bought ours in Sept of 1995. We have had some problems and we can't find anyone in our area to get it serviced. We were happy with it for several years, but feel like we own boat anchor now. I think all the free soap was questionable. We ended up giving a bunch of ours away. We like the soap products we are used to using.

These people are completely fake. If they have silver in their tanks maybe you should ask your denist why they remove it from your mouth. Silver is a cancer causing metal. These people sell a typical 1 Cuft softener and call it a a treatment system. They throw in some cheap soap and make it sound like a steal. Save your money and use a local respected company who you can get references on and service from. If someone doesn't have a business location near your home with reliable service people they are usually just chasing your wallet. Trying to sell equipment by lying and fear tatics is not good business. We are proud to show our licenses and bond. Be smart if you don't know us check us out. Use your BBB, check references locally, not paid testimonials.

Make sure you check your high end stainless steel tank on a regular basis.Just noticed our tank is RUSTING at bottom. We purchased this expensive system not even four years ago. I will let you know how Ionics handles this warranty issue, since the company we purchased from is no longer around.

BEWARE... When you buy a General Ionics system, they strap you over the barrel on service costs. Has anyone else experienced this?

Yes, the product is great. Yes, it has a lifetime warranty. But, in order to maintain the system and the warranty, you need to have it serviced every 2 years. This includes having the filtration media changed. What they don't tell you when you're buying is the following: The service of your system is not a competitive industry. You can only have it serviced by them. This monopoly allows them to jack up the price. And, you have to pay it or else your system won't work and they'll void your warranty!

I bought a system in 2000. My first service in 2002 was $116. Now the same service only 6 years later is $220! That's a price jump of 90% in 6 years.

When I called to complain, they coddled me with, "All prices go up. That's inflation. Ford couldn't possibly sell cars for the same price as 50 years ago." Are you kidding me? Six years, not 50! And, 90% is a tad out of step with standard inflation indexes. Imagine the Ford Focus costing 90% more in 6 years, with no change in the quality of product. I don’t think they’d be moving to many Foci (the correct plural of Focus).

So, then they said that I bought the "Cadillac" and it costs “Cadillac prices” to maintain it. That’s when I started thinking how ironic it is that they sound like car salesmen. But, I'm not comparing the cost of maintaining a Cadillac to maintaining a Ford. I'm comparing the cost of maintaining a Cadillac now to the cost only six years ago. And, it's gone up 90%! Imagine if cost of your oil change at your Cadillac dealer nearly doubled in 6 years.

Then, they griped about the cost of gas because it is a service industry – they come to our home, instead of our taking the filter in to them. Yes, during this period, gas has gone up approximately $2.70/gallon. But, it's only a 20 mile round trip to my house (which I assume is fairly average). Assuming their vehicle gets only 15 mi/gal (fairly conservative), that only explains an increase of $3.60 over the last 6 years. Not, an increase of $104!

Next, they whined that the cost of silver has gone up. After all, General Ionics uses silver impregnated carbon. Yes, after holding steady around $5/oz for a long time, silver increased to a high of $20/oz in March of 2008. Now it has settled back down to around $10/oz. That’s a net change of $5/oz. Do you really think there is a pound and a quarter of silver in there?! That’s how much it would take to explain a $100 price increase due to silver.

Finally, after blowing through their crap, talking to three GI reps in two states (including the national director of sales), a regional director of sales admitted that the problem was that the company used to intentionally depress the service cost in order to make sales. Bull. Nobody does that because it doesn’t work. If you want to increase sales, you depress the sales cost and make it up by increasing your service cost, not the visa-versa. That is, unless they are admitting that they needed the service figures low to support their sales scam of showing you how much less expensive it is to have their product versus buying bottled water.

Nonetheless, he was admitting that the company roped me into buying with lower than sustainable service costs. Then, once they got many customers over the barrel, they jacked the costs up. Sounds a bit like the sub-prime mortgage scam, doesn’t it? Now, they’re basically saying, “Sucks to be you. Sorry. But that’s the way it is. Either pay the price we dictate, or your filter won’t work and you’ll void the warranty.” I’m stuck over the barrel. So, the only thing I can do is warn their potential customers…

Simple bottom line: Don’t buy a General Ionics water filter.

Life lesson: If buying a product that requires regular maintenance, ask if the maintenance is a competitive industry. If not, then realize the seller controls a monopoly on your required maintenance. That’s not good. So, if that’s the case, ask for price guarantees on future maintenance. If they won’t give it, don’t buy their product.

I've had a ionics system installed a year ago and have orange water most of that time. I dont't drink the water and they've been to my house about six or seven times. Who cares about all the free stuff if nothing gets clean!!!

We bought a water softening system 5 years and it has been on bypass from day 1. It turned our water black with black chunks in it. I tried it again a few weeks ago and it is alwasy the same thing. The day after it cycles I have to let the water run for at least 20 min to clean the lines. We ended up sselling the soap at a garage sale for $.50 a gallon. The whole system sucks and is a big scam. Go to Home Depot or Lowe's and buy their $400.00 system even if you have to replace it every 6 to 7 years you'll be money ahead.

Silver does not cause cancer - that's nonsense. Some silver salts can be dangerous, and colloidal silver is another scam, but that has nothing to do with water conditioning.

I have had a GI water system since 1995, and I have had little trouble with it. I have well water and trust me it doesn't matter if you have city water or well water there are things in ALL raw water. After looking at several water filtration systems, the GI stood out over the rest in my opinion. My system is still working after 13+ years and after having this system, I don't know anyone could not have water equipment, unless you like drinking minerals, impurities, nitrates,etc. Long story short it is a good water purification system and you should enjoy good water for years to come.

I'm a representative of a Hague Dealership and i will let you know that General Ionics does not use stainless steel tanks, they are plastic all the way around them except the bottom. Oh btw, Hague Quality Water In'tl doesn't use filters on our system, all you do is put salt in it. Which you can buy at Lowe's or Home Depot or even Wal-Mart.

We purchased our Ionics in 1995. I have had the same complaint I have read in the comments above. Although it has worked great...they have you over a barrel as far as their service goes. You need this-you need that-and we will be happy to install it for $$$$. Did you know it takes 2 hours to empty the salt canister??? Are they going to use a teaspoon???? How STUPID!!! I am so ticked with their SERVICE. If I had it to do over-I would NEVER have purchased their product and I warn everyone I know about their cheating ways!!!!!

OP - since posting this, do you have any feedback? We just got one installed 2 weeks ago from the Akron, OH company mentioned on here.

I've had my Ionics softener for over 20 YEARS! We love it and wouldn't be without it. As you read these posts, keep in mind what the lady from Akron said - the sales companies are independantly owned. I wish more people said where they live so we'd all know if they're talking about a company in our area. My local dealer has been here for over 25 years and they say they're owned by ther parent company. They do great service and I'm happy with all aspects of my water softener and the company. I'm in Columbus, Ohio. Paula

Does anyone know if there was a recall on model #IQ0820B. Mine is leaking like crazy and making a mess. My water is black every morning. What causes this. I can't seem to find anyone at the company that sold this product to me.

I've owned a GI system since 1991. For the most part the unit has been reliable. I am however extremely disappointed with the increase in service charges. I would like to know where I could pick up 'O' rings for the overflow tube. I can't see spending another $109.00 + parts to change an 'O' ring that was replaced in April 09 during the normal maintenance visit (a $200 charge). Oh by the way, if you don't have a problem within 30 days of the service visit it isn't warranted. If you buy the unit for the free soap you might as well not buy it. There isn't enough soap to make up for the inflated service costs. I've heard it is the cost of gas or the cost of silver when all it is is they CAN.

I have had a General Ionics system for 5 years and so far am very pleased. I do know that you do not have to use their salt that is more expensive. I use a different brand and find no difference. I do know that to change the filters can be pricy. I just spent 384.00 on new filters and did the work myself. And yes the tank is all stainless steel. Not part plastic as someone mentioned earlier. I like the company but the price can make or break the deal.

"I'm a representative of a Hague Dealership and i will let you know that General Ionics does not use stainless steel tanks"

You are absolutely wrong!! The IQ-1240B & IQ-1030B systems are 100% stainless steel not fiberglass or stainless steel wrapped fiberglass like most systems.

If you want to know the bottom line read this (long) post!

The system basically does 2 things; softens and filters the water. The system uses cation resin beads to remove the hardness or soften the water. The resin beads can only hold so much hardness so the system must be flushed out with either a salt or potassium solution to “recharge” the resin beads periodically. For more info Google “Ion-exchange resin.” To filter the water the system uses bacteriostatic silver impregnated (activated) carbon. Carbon will remove a lot of impurities in the water, mostly things that will make the water taste or smell bad. This is a lot like a Brita water filter for your whole house. The silver in the carbon is supposed to inhibited the growth of bacteria…this is debatable.

I was the service manger for one of the largest dealers in the USA for 10 years and here is what I can tell you. Keep in mind that this is a list of about everything that (minus extremely rare situations) could go wrong. The tanks can rust and leak…even more than a fiberglass tank in my experience. Most of the tanks that leak are caused by improper installation, the system needs to be installed on “feet” to keep the bottom of the system off the ground. Also if you have very high water pressure the bottom of the tank can buldge. The tank is covered by the lifetime warrantee but that is for parts only…you still must pay for shipping and labor…this can be expensive…we used to charge $256 to do this. The system requires that the carbon be changed on a maintenance schedule to maintain the warrantee…basically every 2 years…we would charge about $200 to do this. Not changing the carbon out regularly or properly will (in time) ruin the system. Since the resin and the carbon are in the same chamber (there is no barrier, the carbon sits on top of the resin) the carbon will begin to sink to the bottom of the system and eventually cause brown or yellow water. Again this only happens when the carbon is not changed out regularly or is not changed properly. Other than that the system is very reliable we had customers that had the system for 20+ years and still going strong. We also had customers that had buyer’s remorse and hated the systems from day one. Bottom line these are great systems…but you MUST buy from a reputable dealer…IONICS does not sell direct to consumers…the dealer MUST be checked out this is the MOST important thing you can do. FYI we would pay $700-$1000 wholesale for the systems and sell them for around $5000…I would not pay that much for on of these systems!! I own one and paid $1000 installed…employees discount plus catching the owner on a good day. If you own one I bet you paid too much…but if your dealer is reputable you have a top notch system. We serviced all makes and models and if I were to make a similar post outlining the issue I commonly saw with other (hague, rainsoft, culligan) system is would be much longer….IONICS makes the best system on the market….but what is a fair price….I don’t know the answer to that one…

***also to continue my post above removing the chlorine from your water is a good thing but....potentially bacteria can begin to grow in your pipes (remember the system removes all the chlorine) so it is my recommendation that you put the system in bypass every so often and all turn on all faucets for about 8-20mins....this will introduce chlorine to the pipes again.

********Also if you have brown or yellow water the only thing that will make this top is a complete resin, carbon and gravel change. Everything on the inside of the system must be replaced….if you have a good dealer the parts should be covered (if you kept up on the maintenance) but the labor could be pricy it takes 2+ hours to do this…I can promise you that nothing else will work…don’t let the dealer do anything else…and demand to see the bags of carbon and resin and look for the IONICS logo….so many dealer do not even use IONICS products and this causes problems. Good luck...

Possibly the people who say they are from Hague should actually examine a General Ionics system! My tank is SOLID stainless steel. Hague obviously is looking to 'bash the competition', which is no way to do busines. They don't know their facts. Sign me.... a very happy General Ionics customer.

I have to agree with the above comment. I've owned a GI system for almost 10 years now and love it. We've moved it from our first house to our second because we loved it so much. It's made our family into water snobs because of the purity and quality of the water that comes from the system.
It sounds like there were installation issues or incompetent installation personnel working on some of your systems. If installed correctly the only time you should see brown water water is during regeneration which if the timer is set correctly only occurs in the wee hours of the morning maybe once a week (depending on usage). My tank is definitely stainless also

I have one
I just removed my General Ionics bacteriostatic system and feel relived. THE GOOD: It is extremely well built and will literally last a lifetime. All stainless steel and real brass. Easy to get hooked on this one.
THE BAD: You have to have an overpriced filter changed annually using their service. THE UGLY: They have never heard of or considered customer service. They will only scheduld a filter change on the day they happen to be in your area. They will not tell you when during the day. My last staw was taking the day off waiting for them to show. Never did, never called, never apologized. I only had to get over the idea of removing a very costly piece of equipment. Now I am at peace!

OMG! It just doesn't end with the company that installed and maintains my unit. The water is great! But seriously, The salt is up to $18 a bag. And the exact same salt can be bought about anywhere. Every 6 months they charge me like a $35 fee to some maintance on the machine. Then 1 a year they charge me like $125 to replace some core or something. If I don't have that done I threaten that my warranty would be obsolved. Now I have a broken part that I can mearly remove with 4 screws. They refused to only replace that part and will Charge me $290 to replace the entire meter. The part that broke is not on the warranty. They really can't tell me what actually is under the warranty. It cost me about $411 a year to maintain this system. This year about $711. I've given up. I've spent about $1600 over the last 4 years. Plus the several thousand dollars for the initial unit. I can buy a lot of bottled water for $4-5000 I've paid out in the Last 4 years.