It has been the best of times. It has been the worst of times. We bought a cottage on a well in October 2016. I was delighted to find a water treatment business so close to us. Having never owned a well water system before, I asked them to come and check out my system to make sure it was working correctly and help me understand how to maintain it. I expected that the very first step would be to test what was in our well water so they could determine what should be removed from it. Otherwise, how would they know what equipment we need or which settings to use??
They sent a guy named Dan or Stan--an older guy with glasses--who told me that the previous owners of our cottage had been very frugal (whatever that means); that I should add liquid chlorine to my chlorinator tank at 50% water + 50% x 12% liquid Cl; and that he had serviced our chlorinator in July of that year. Then he charged me $130 for this advice, several half answers, many shrugs, and 2 bags of salt. He told me that they can NOT test water at all, no matter what!
A month later in November, our chlorinator backed up and flooded our basement with strong bleach from the chlorinator tank. I took it upon myself to service it this time as The Water Stop was clearly useless. My calculations based on recent water tests (see below), internet research and the specifications manual for my chlorinator pump tell me that I need to add 12% liCl to my tank at 1:100, so 700ml 12% liquid chlorine to 70 L water (not 1:1 !!), and to set my pump at 50% capacity, not full blast like Dan said. So, he was telling me (without testing my water) to use 200 times more chlorine than necessary.
I have since been trying to get my softeners set properly (part of the reason for my initial service call). I emailed them but never got a response. I went in to get some advice and found this Dan guy again offering nothing more than shrugs, smiles and half answers. Talking to him feels like trying to get advice from a lawyer who is off the clock. He either doesn't care of doesn't understand what he's doing.
Another time I visited the shop to buy more liquid chlorine (because Canadian Tire doesn't sell it) and there was a woman working at The Water Stop who's only answer to every question is "you'll have to talk to a technician", except for one useful piece of information: they DO test water after all! Facepalm.
On my most recent visit I encountered a different employee for the first time, Don, who was the most helpful and courteous person I've encountered in a long time anywhere. He tested my water, answered my questions, gave me some excellent advice and made my day. Thanks again, Don!
So, if you visit The Water Stop, deal with Don or never mind. read more
