BEST old-fashioned service and BEST products from initial contact through post-installation follow up! I have a well and I have very high levels of iron and clay. After my very old, traditional water softener gave up the ghost (and it didn't do the greatest of jobs anyway) I thought my whole house water filter would handle the problem. It did not -- everything was stained, from sinks, showers, outdoor spa, clothes, etc. I can only imagine what it was doing to my pipes and lines. I spent way too much time and money on products like "Iron Out" trying to get rid of them. I had contacted Advanced Water Systems initially via their online form to request that they contact me, thinking I might never hear from them again, especially since they are in Raleigh and I in northern Durham county, and many service providers are reluctant or drag their feet in coming out this way. They responded the NEXT day, and I was immediately able to schedule a visit to the house for them to do the free water test at the time I requested. (I had done the same on the website of one of the big home improvement stores that offer water treatment services -- I only received a call from them 3 months later.) Joanna came out, ran the test, and was promptly given a quote with various options proposed to meet my budget, and without trying to push the most expensive solution since my situation didn't require it. She was a breath of fresh air given that I was expecting "hard sell" tactics. If she didn't have the answer to a particular question, instead of just making something up, she would call folks at the office and get back to me. Follow up while I was deciding was regular (but not annoying) especially since I was distracted with other pressing concerns and travel for work. Once I decided, scheduling was easy, and then installation was even easier. I was dreading a lot of disruption, but when Austin, the installation technician came out, he got right to work and I felt like I didn't need to "hover" to make sure everything was being done properly. He was very professional and upbeat. Once installed, he took the time to explain how the system worked and what I needed to do to run and maintain it. (Before Austin arrived on the scheduled installation date, a text with his picture is sent so you know exactly who you are to expect, which I appreciated.) As for my new "double tank" Kinetico system? It works even better than expected! ZERO staining. Water is noticeably softer and the fact that my dogs and cats now seem to prefer drinking the water in their bowls over puddled water in the garden is a testament to it. Yes, it's a little more pricey than others, but I feel like it was some of the best money I've spent. The post-installation follow up has been wonderful. I plan to use their well services should I have a problem with it. I normally don't write reviews, and never one this long, but I know a lot of people in this part of NC have problems with clay/iron and sorting through all the info about what to do about it, researching various systems (like I did), and dreading a long, drawn out process. I hope this helps. In retrospect, I wasted a lot of time since after doing all of that research, Kinetico consistently proved to be the best. Based on my experience with this company based in it seems to be very well-managed and organized, hiring very good folks and dedicated to customer service. read more
