12. Beware the Water Filter Scams: How to Avoid Getting Duped

Are you sure your water filtration system is really doing what it promises? In this episode of The Toxic Truth About Water, Drs. Glenn and Ina shed light on common sales tactics—like misleading TDS meters and precipitator demos—plus hidden costs, shady warranties, and pricey service plans that exploit your fears. Learn what to watch out for, how to verify genuine contaminant removal, and why most softeners alone don’t actually filter. This wrap-up episode helps you protect your wallet, your health, and your peace of mind when shopping for a water system.

What You’ll Learn

1. Red Flags in Sales Tactics:
   • How devices like precipitators and TDS meters can trick you into believing your water is worse (or better) than it is.
2. Hidden Costs & Price Gouging:
   • Why many companies start high, then drastically drop their quotes—and the expensive “service plans” that come later.
3. Skepticism vs. Cynicism:
   • Understanding the difference between healthy questioning and giving in to scare tactics.
4. What Really Matters:
   • The importance of third-party testing, real contaminant removal (not just “conditioning”), and safeguarding your entire home’s water supply.

Key Takeaways

1. Separate Fact from Fiction: Don’t let pseudo-science demos mislead you—ask for independent lab results.
2. Softening ≠ Filtering: Removing scale doesn’t remove toxins; ensure you’re actually purifying your water.
3. Beware Bundles & “Deals”: Price drops might be a sign of heavy markups. Check warranties and ongoing costs.
4. Stay Empowered: Research, compare, and use third-party testing to confirm the real performance of any system.

Resources & Links

• Visit Our Website: TheToxicTruth.info
  • Explore the e-book or paperback of The Toxic Truth About Water
• Contact Drs. Glenn & Ina:
  • Call Us Today: (732) 300-1925
  • Instagram: @drsglennandina

Subscribe & Stay Alert
If you’re finding value in The Toxic Truth About Water, hit subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Share with friends or family who might be at risk of water filter scams—because knowledge is the first line of defense for cleaner, safer water!

Check out our website today!

Transcript

Glen: 0:00

Welcome to the Toxic Truth About Water. We're Drs. Glenn and Ina and in this podcast we're uncovering the hidden dangers lurking in your water and how those contaminants impact your health.

Ina: 0:11

After decades of exploring natural health we've learned the importance of clean safe water and we're here to share that knowledge with you. From the effects of toxins and contaminants to the solutions that you need, we've got the inside scoop. So let's dive in.

Glen: 0:27

This is a good one, guys. I'm excited about this because what do we want to avoid? We want to avoid getting taken, right? Yes. Getting duped, getting scammed.

Ina: 0:37

And yes, a thousand percent. And unfortunately, There are bad players in every industry, right? We could say that about, our previous profession. We could say that really with anything. Unfortunately, We've become not so trusting anymore. Hard to trust companies, hard to trust products. There's so much scamming going on.

Glen: 1:03

would say we're healthfully skeptical, and I

Ina: 1:07

feel like I've almost crossed the line of now I'm. Almost cynical and I guess maybe the older we get or what's going on in the world It's just it's hard to trust. It's hard for us to trust. And so we want to Share information with you guys just to prevent you from getting duped we've been in health and wellness for almost 40 years and We've always been concerned, which is why we're doing this podcast, which is why we're doing what we're doing. We've always been concerned about the toxic load. Back in January of 24, is when we got very much involved in water filtration and really understanding, especially moving down to Florida, we had no idea how much worse the water is, but across the board, and as time goes on, it's really getting Bad everywhere. So we do represent a company. We're not going to be talking about that company or that product in the series. We're going to leave it for a bonus episode because some of you are not interested. You are already set. You know what to do. You have a solution that you're very comfortable with. Totally cool. Some of you do still need support. So we're going to leave that for a bonus episode. The point of me sharing that is, we've really gotten to understand how much corruption, deception, scamming, is going on with water filtration, and it's sad that we have to even have an episode devoted to making sure that. so much. You don't get scammed, or at least enlightening you to some of the things that you could get fooled with. Because if you don't know, you don't know. I don't know anything about fixing cars. If I bring my car in, I trust, I have to trust, that the mechanic is going to be honest with me. That the dealership is going to be honest with me. And often times, unfortunately, they're not. You could say the same about going to the dentist. If you have a toothache, maybe you just need a cavity filled, but they might say, Oh no, you need all kinds of other work and this, so we just want to give you the warnings within the water filtration industry and what to look out for.

Glen: 3:21

And so let's start with, we'll call it a list. A list of things that we're going to go over. The first one is what is your system that you're looking at actually doing? And when we say that there's a few things in mind. In general, what you're going to find is most of the systems are similar. The majority of systems out there are similar. The majority come from warehouses that are simply, white labeling tanks for the particular purchaser, for the plumber or the water company that they're representing. And they're simply slapping their label onto, a basic, usually a basic carbon filtration.

Ina: 3:57

Or a softener. Or a reverse osmosis. Those are the more common things that, that we're seeing out there.

Glen: 4:02

And that brings up a super important point because the majority of people are putting in tanked systems. They're usually like, good four foot tanks, at least, that sit either in your garage or on the side of your house. And they're either a salt system with or without an additional carbon filtration. The biggest thing, and we've talked about it in the past, is remembering that softeners condition your water. They do not filter your water.

Ina: 4:29

They soften your water.

Glen: 4:30

could say condition. And the reason Ina corrected me is they're in the industry. Conditioning has to do with non salt usually. Salt, we call it softening. Both are de, taking away the scaling. They're both anti scale, which is the whole point of why you would use that.

Ina: 4:48

a whole episode on that, so you guys at this point might remember and be familiar with that. But what I think we're getting at here is What is your system actually doing? So a softener doesn't filter and some people think that it does. So we want you to first and foremost know that a softener does nothing to filter. Okay, but the other thing is when we say what is your system actually doing? If somebody that sold you a system, whether you went to Lowe's or Home Depot, or you had a salesman or saleswoman come to your door, or you ordered something online, they may say, we remove, or, what have you, regarding Reduce

Glen: 5:31

is a big word. We reduce, and that's a open umbrella.

Ina: 5:36

And the point is That's fine, but prove it. How do you know that a certain amount of a specific contaminant is being removed? you don't know. until you can have it proven to you. The one thing that we've been really big on is third party testing. Even in the world of supplementation, many of you know I'm a clinical nutritionist, I have my master's degree in nutrition, I'm not practicing anymore, but, even before I became a nutritionist, my parents owned health food stores. So we've been in supplements for a long time. And there's something to be said about third party testing, because you can say that there's X amount of milligrams of magnesium or vitamin C in a supplement. How do you know? How do you know there isn't contaminants like toxic metals in a supplement? How would you know if it weren't third party tested by an independent lab? Not somebody that's, being paid to say certain things to the company to make it look good, but third party independent. So that's really important. You don't know unless you ask. And so what we recommend, if you're looking at a system, Ask for the proof. If they say they're removing 100%, or, they never say 100%, but let's say 99. 999 percent of the forever chemicals, ask for proof. You want to know so that you have peace of mind. So the one thing that we're going to suggest in terms of don't get duped is Make sure that you know what your system that you're investing in is actually doing. What is it actually removing so that you know that's coming out. I'm going to give you a quick example. we represent a company, like I said, we'll get into it in another episode. And for those of you who know us, and some of you, you're just hearing us maybe for the first time in this series, we would never ever. Align ourselves with a company or a product if we weren't 100 percent confident knowing that they are authentic, they have integrity, they have transparency, they care, take care of their customers, they're doing the right thing for people. There's too many bad players in too many industries. So that's, at this stage of our life, that's where we're at. Okay? So check this out. I have a friend. Who was a patient of ours years ago, and we've been in touch through the years, here and there. And she ended up purchasing one of our systems. Loves it, she's happy. She just found out that someone in her neighborhood, who bought a system from another company, and we're not going to mention names of other companies, but it's a very well known water filtration company across the nation. So they purchased from them. They spent 7, 000 for a whole house system. Our opinion? Quite expensive. Not necessary. But they did. Okay, so they bought a 7, 000 system. Now, all of a sudden in their neighborhood, there's this whole scare about a high amount of arsenic in their water. So they just invested seven grand in the system. They called the company to make sure that was already being filtered from the new system that they purchased. And, oh my gosh, they said, the company told them, that no, it does not remove arsenic, that they would need an additional resin attachment to filter the arsenic that is now apparent in their water. 5, 000 more. They just spent seven grand. We're talking about 12, 000. And what if something else comes up in a month and, oh, by the way, that's not handled either. So please just know, you want to know what is your system filtering. Don't trust anything other than third party, independent documentation. I think in this day and age, that's the best we can do. Yeah, a hundred

Glen: 9:53

percent. And the biggest issue out there is, there's major, as Ina just mentioned, it's just horrible price gouging. You want to make sure that. You get what you need to

Ina: 10:05

and just like we shared, it's a right. It start out at a high price and then drop it down thousands of dollars. Kind of like buying a used car.

Glen: 10:14

Exactly.

Ina: 10:14

The other thing I want to just mention before we go into some of those other things is the biological contaminants that are in the water. The large majority of filtration technology that your people are buying do not filter down to the biological level.

Glen: 10:34

So therefore what Ina is saying there is should you have a boil alert, let's say, which comes out very popular. You cannot ignore that with those systems. That's important. Here you spent this money on a system, and yet if they find there's some, breach in the line, that's placed bacteria into the water, and so they'll make an announcement out there, until we fix this, you have to boil your water.

Ina: 10:56

with whole house system, most other systems, because they're not filtering down to the biological level, you're still going to have to boil your water. So keep that in mind. And while we're talking about biological contaminants, many systems will have, and we've talked about it throughout the series, what's called biofouling. So within the system itself. There's going to be microorganisms, bacteria, mold growing. And so you want to be aware of that because you don't think about it, right? But where there's water and air, there's potential growth. And so there are technologies that. prevent that, but for the majority of things out there, they're not. So the biological contaminants are either getting in or they're being created within the system.

Glen: 11:42

Okay. So again, you really want to know what your system is doing, how effective it is, and where maybe it falls short, and where you have to, keep your eyes open. Absolutely. Now the other thing. That goes on is this dog and pony show that we see all the time with sales and people in this industry, unfortunately, and there's a lot of I actually think they're misinformed themselves. I actually think some of these salesmen actually believe What they're showing their customers even though like they fell for the dupe themselves.

Ina: 12:18

Yeah they probably got trained to prove to a customer and we're gonna get into this a little bit And so yeah, I would imagine most of them believe that what they're sharing is the truth But if you peel it back, they're pretty much spreading a scare tactic,

Glen: 12:32

And most of it has to do with the classic sales of usually a softener and or especially reverse osmosis for your drinking water. So what they'll do is there are two different avenues that are usually used in the sales process for them.

Ina: 12:48

when they come to your home. We're talking about like in home, when you have a salesperson come to your home to sell you.

Glen: 12:53

there's a device called a precipitator and it's an electronic device. It has four rods that hang down from an electrical device that plugs in and what they're going to do is put two of those rods in your water and two of your rods. To the other two rods rather in their water.

Ina: 13:11

they come with a sample with water that has No minerals in it, but they're bringing either distilled or reverse osmosis water to your home So just want to get the picture right

Glen: 13:22

so then what they do is they run electricity through it and what they're gonna show you Is that magically your water starts to bubble a little bit? It turns like a brownish color and their water remains perfectly clear. It doesn't make any change at all. And of course, the obvious would be like, I don't want to drink the brown water, however, you really have to understand what is happening there. It's simply a chemical reaction when electricity is introduced to minerals in water. And so the minerals will actually cause that. It's harmless. It's completely harmless. It does nothing negative to the body. However, why does the other one not show any brown or anything? Because there's simply no minerals whatsoever. It's dead water. That water doesn't even conduct electricity, so there's not even enough mineral content in there to conduct electricity. So that's one thing. And so that's where, what I want to say about that one really is just a visual stunt.

Ina: 14:21

And by the way, if you take a little pinch of salt and put it in the clean water,

Glen: 14:26

you

Ina: 14:27

salesperson's mind because it's going to turn brown and yuck and they're going to lose the sale because then you realize So a little

Glen: 14:36

bit of healthy salt, just a drop of healthy salt added to my water produced the same reaction. Obviously, it's ridiculous. It holds no credibility whatsoever. You cannot even buy those devices in this country. So anybody who owns one and comes to your house, they're getting it from China. They've been outlawed. It's just a complete failure. another one that's really gotten through. Oh my god, and it is still apparent and popular out there is the TDS meter. It's a little meter TDS

Ina: 15:05

stands for total dissolve solids TDS,

Glen: 15:09

which is a really broad term, meaning basically anything that produces a particulate matter in your water. It doesn't tell you what it is. It doesn't discern whether something's harmful or beneficial. It just says there's stuff in your water, right? So that's another thing when a salesman introduces distilled or reverse osmosis water or even deionized water, he's going to show. that it's going to come up with a zero TDS reading.

Ina: 15:39

of the zero, we talked about this on a previous episode, the zero picture filters, which will also take everything out, including the minerals. So when you use their little TDS meter, it's going to show zero because the contaminants are out, but the minerals are out.

Glen: 15:54

so TDS isn't a valid. discernment of what's in the water. It just shows that there's something in the water. So to give you an idea, if you bought mineral water from the store by law, it has to be over 300 TDS.

Ina: 16:08

In order to be considered mineral water.

Glen: 16:11

Again, now the reality is none of that has anything to do with toxicity or impurities in the water. It's simply mineral content. So again, don't fall for the TDS meter. It doesn't hold enough information to tell you anything. And our opinion is you want minerals in the water. That's what water is naturally. Designed to have

Ina: 16:33

That's right. The only way to really know what's in your water So when salespeople come to your home and they're testing your water They're not going to be able to determine the contaminants that are in there Unless it's sent to a lab Reputable lab, which is gonna cost two three hundred dollars or more. So when they come and they're doing those It's scare tactics and it's deception. It's deceiving the potential buyer to think one thing when it's not true. That really irritates us, right? When we go into someone's home that are local, we actually just check for chlorine and chlorine type compounds. Now we know it's going to be in there. If you have city water, it's been disinfected. If you're on well water, chlorine is not going to show up. But for people that are on city water, what we do is we take something called OTO, which is something you can get in a pool store, it checks for chlorine in your pool, we'll take some of their tap water, obviously if it's not filtered, some of their tap water, we'll put a few drops of the OTO in, and if there's chlorine, it will show yellow, it will turn into a yellow color like urine. then we'll take another little bit of the tap water without, we don't put the drops in yet, and we'll have the person put that water in their mouth. Don't swallow, but just swish, swish that water around. Like they were brushing

Glen: 17:58

their teeth.

Ina: 17:59

four seconds and then spit it back into the glass. Then we put the drops in. And what's fascinating is it won't turn yellow at that point because the chlorine was already absorbed into the membranes of the mouth. We could do that same test with rice, pasta, oatmeal, apple slices, our fingers, and it's not going to show up because that's how quickly our body absorbs that.

Glen: 18:25

the food you're eating. Just as you said, so your body, the food. So when you're

Ina: 18:29

cooking with the water, you can buy beautiful produce, wash it with that nasty contaminated water, and you're defeating the purpose. So we only test for that to prove the point of how important it is for whole house filtration, so that every tap, brushing your teeth, washing your face, your hands, all of that water is filtered. So just be aware of those. Tactics, we call it the dog and pony show, with TDS meters with precipitators. It's very misleading now. Glenn talked about price gouging, so let's just go back to that for a moment. Because there are a lot of companies like buying a used car, or even a new car, where they come with one price, and then when you're not budging, they're going to start reducing the price, and reducing the price. You know what? That's awful. What if you're not that person that's going to try to get the best price? And then you find out your neighbor spent 2, 000 less than you did because you didn't push a little further. That's not okay, right? That's something that really makes it

Glen: 19:34

just shows me how little

Ina: 19:37

integrity,

Glen: 19:38

That's the word. Yeah. How little integrity they really have. If there's that much play in their pricing, then they're already playing a game with the person.

Ina: 19:46

Correct. That's right.

Glen: 19:47

we're here to give you information, but we're also like we own a system, so that's what started this.

Ina: 19:51

also represent a system. And if we would never do any of these things cause it's wrong. It's like, how can people sleep at night knowing that they are not really, Coming from the right place and that's you know, that's why we were sharing this information with you So the price gauging thing that happens a gouging rather. Yeah, that happens a lot Also, you know a lot of companies will sell you a warranty. Why that's a big one The warranty should be included, right? Why do you have to buy a warranty, right? And then also there's, and this is very common, expensive service plans. And so you want to be careful because you can buy a cheaper system sometimes and in the long run, every year, they're going to be servicing you and it's going to add up to a lot of money down the road. Or sometimes you're spending a lot from the beginning and also doing the service plan. So these are just things that you want to look at, you want to be aware of, and hopefully avoid. We just don't want you guys to get duped.

Glen: 20:53

Yeah, so again, avoid the precipitator, the TDS meter, crazy pricing, all that kind of thing. Extended warranties and service contracts that you don't need. Those are the things to look out for in an upcoming episode We're going to show you what we found and how excited we are how affordable yet amazingly Effective, the most effective.

Ina: 21:19

So this is actually the last episode of our series, but again, we have a couple bonuses coming up. So stay with us.

Glen: 21:26

to miss those.

Ina: 21:27

And we're also, like I said before, we'll be adding different topics down the road as we feel is going to be valuable for you guys. We are just so thankful for all of you for tuning in each episode with us. Please know that we're available. Reach out to us. Our website, the toxic truth dot info. You can get our contact information. You can follow us on Facebook. You can connect with us, message us. We want to be available to you guys. We really appreciate you just, being open to learning and being aware and conscious of yourself. What's going on out there in our world, in our environment, and as health professionals, being healthy, staying healthy, doing the best regarding our health is really the most important thing. My grandmother, God rest her soul, always said, without your health, you really have nothing. And I always say, you could have all the friends. And all the money and all the other things that we all want to have, but if you don't have your health, it's really just not the same.

Glen: 22:34

So guys, thanks again for tuning in, for watching this and learning and educating yourself. It's so important. Water is one of the main things that we are surrounded with, that we need. 70 percent of our body is made out of water. So again, we really appreciate that. You took the time to educate yourself. And remember, we're in this together, everybody. So keep questioning, keep learning, stay healthy, stay informed. And again, look forward to these upcoming bonus episodes that we're having, because they're going to be really good.

Ina: 23:05

I think you'll find value in those, but meanwhile, much love to all you guys and please stay connected. We appreciate that.

Glen: 23:12

Ciao.