How to Choose a Water Treatment Company? A 6-Step Guide

The right water treatment service company should have technical expertise/experience, reasonable prices, and reliable punctuality. To accomplish this, do not take their word; research and evaluate the prospective companies. Cooling towers, boilers, loops, and other commercial heating and cooling equipment have several waterside issues if not treated properly. Additionally, it is important to find a company that will prevent and fix these issues while factoring in energy and water efficiency.

Here are the steps to finding the best water treatment company:

1) Solicit On-Site Facility Surveys

Invite prospective companies to perform an on-site survey. Evaluate how inquisitive each company representative is. If they are not willing to take the time to visit on-site, that is a red flag. Here is a useful checklist to use after the site survey has taken place:

• Are they finding visible issues such as scale and corrosion?
• Have they made note of outdated or broken equipment?
• Does it feel rushed, or are they asking questions and being thorough?
• Do they demonstrate expertise in your specific industry and application

Schedule a free on-site water treatment survey. This can help evaluate the current condition of your facility.

2) Compare Water Treatment Proposals

There are two important aspects to compare in water treatment service proposals.

• The price that they are proposing. Compare them apples to apples- which means you should request they price the same amount of labor, chemicals, and equipment. This way, you can clearly see how expensive or cheap their price really is.
• The thoroughness of their proposal. This is an extension of how inquisitive they were in the survey. Are they showing pictures of issues, recommending tailored treatment for your industry, or replacing specific equipment (rather than everything)? This is where you can find more value, even if it is the same type of service. An annual water treatment plan that is monthly and includes regular reporting is superior to a quarterly barebones plan.

3) Consider the Age of the Company

Without proper experience, it is difficult to diagnose issues and choose the right way to prevent/fix them. You will want a company that has been established for many years. A new startup cannot be expected to deal with unique problems or niche industries. You do not want a company to be learning for the first time from the mistakes it makes on your expensive equipment…

4) Evaluate Technical Expertise

Ask if they have training or certifications. There is technical training that can provide peace of mind for your valuable equipment being cared for properly. The associations that award certifications educate the company on the industry’s best practices. Furthermore, many water treatment websites provide technical content. This demonstrates knowledge of important procedures. If you are still unsure, ask to speak with someone responsible for the service.

Additionally, you should ask questions that they should know to make sure they are experienced. Good questions to ask include: “How many cycles of concentration should I have for my cooling tower?” “What levels of bacteria are cause for concern from a Legionella test?” “How quickly can scale be removed from boiler lines?” Good answers should match a Google search. They also should ask you for more specifics, for instance, the time it will take to remove scales from boiler lines will depend on how thick the scale is.

5) Seek Word of Mouth and Reviews

Word of mouth is one of the best ways to pick a water treatment company. The customer will be unbiased as a third party and will tell you the good and the bad. Gather a short list of customers from the water treatment companies. Call or email them and ask for their experience, with specifics. If possible, look up the company and find contracts they were awarded and call upon these customers; this way, the company cannot cherry-pick their happiest customers. Additionally, read reviews to evaluate the consensus on the c company. Especially low reviews are cause for concern, as well as obviously fake reviews.

In summary, word of mouth > company-picked customer testimonials > online reviews.

6) Consider Company Size

Large, medium, and small water treatment companies each come with pros and cons:

Large Size

Pros:

• Bulk chemical and equipment pricing due to established relationships with suppliers.
• With corporate experience, you will be working with a company that has standardized procedures. This can speed up W9 and SDS requests, contract renewal, and other necessary aspects of a customer-contractor relationship.
• Legal protection is due to them being more likely to have insurance and being an established entity (making it less likely to run off with the money in case of disputes).

Cons:

• With larger overhead, your bill may reflect excessive expenses related to a large company.
• Expertise is spread too thin by trying to do everything. Can they juggle being experts at water treatment for commercial heating/cooling equipment, wastewater, drinking water, plumbing, environmental consulting, etc? Essentially, does their website look like an encyclopedia where they claim to do everything?
• Small business customers- beware. It is not uncommon for a corporate takeover to double or triple the service contract prices of a small business. They need to answer stockholders, and the profitability of working with a small business cannot come in the way.

Medium Size

Pros:

• Reasonable overhead, it is big enough to provide services quickly while also not being overwhelmed with operating expenses.
• Expertise will be beyond startups, but not spread too thin.
• Responsiveness will be higher than in large or small businesses. You will not be directed to a mass-managed customer service company or be unable to reach one of the essential people from a small company.

Cons:

• When they position themselves too much as a company, larger or smaller than they are. They should own the fact that they are a mid-sized company. They should not say they have no overhead or that they can provide nationwide service in all 50 states.

Small Size

Pros:

• With the lowest overhead, their price should be the lowest of all of the options. They do not have the types of business expenses associated with larger companies.
• Personal relationships should allow you to know who is working on your system, rather than companies hiring and firing service technicians.

Cons:

• Accountability is scarce in a small business; there could only be one boss. Additionally, the threat of legal action is less as there is less to lose. They could just start the same business with a different name if things went wrong.
• Expertise is limited to a single person or a few people responsible for your account. There is likely not a heavily established method for all the important water treatment procedures, like testing, reporting, and preventing issues.

Chardon Labs Value Proposition

Chardon Labs provides free surveys and proposals. We aim to provide all of the details necessary for your specific situation. This means that the issues your system is currently facing (that you tell us or which we diagnose), your specific industry, and the long-term reliability of your system are all considered.

Founded in 1965, Chardon Labs organically grew in part due to the word of mouth of our service expertise. In 1996, we became 100% employee-owned, aiming to treat our employees with the mutually kind of relationship that we have with our customers. This also explains why our customers stay with us longer than the industry average- we are in it for the long run, not making a quick buck at their expense.

Our ISO-9000 certification ensures that we meet a high standard of customer and regulatory compliance. Our professionalism is important to our customers, and we wanted to exceed what is necessary. All of our service managers are ASSE 12080 certified- this is for Legionella Water Safety and Management. Additionally, we are properly insured for customer peace of mind.

Our customer, Aluminum Die, described us as a “Great company to work with. Very responsive to customer concerns.” In fact, one of the most important values that we teach in service technician training is showing up. If a service technician is not showing up and is skipping service calls, it is the cooling tower, boiler, or other equipment that suffers.

As a medium-sized, regional company, we believe we have a good balance of price, efficiency, and expertise. As a 1965 business, we have been around for longer than many of the larger companies. By providing services in 13 states, we can efficiently manage operations while knowing the specific challenges each one faces. For instance, the makeup water quality is vastly different in Indianapolis when compared to Washington, D.C., and our programs are tailored specifically for each one.

We hope that our insight as a water treatment company has provided valuable steps to help you pick a water treatment company to service your commercial heating and cooling equipment. Feel free to reach out via a quick message for us to help with your situation or answer any questions. You can also reach us via sales@chardonlabs.com.

Matt Welsh

Matt Welsh is the Vice President and Water Consultant at Chardon Labs. He helps consult a wide range of customers utilizing various methods of water treatment, from chemical to chemical-free approaches, large and small applications, and across a wide range of geographical influences. With 20 years of water treatment experience, including a wide range of troubleshooting and service in potable water and non-potable HVAC and industrial applications, he is an expert in water treatment chemistry for cooling towers, boilers, and closed-loop systems.