Water Ionizers: Invest Your Time in the Person, not the Brand

Whether it’s kharma, research, or just blind luck, you have found your way here.  I will do my best to make it worth your time.  Hopefully this article will shed some light on your decision process and help clear up some of the confusion that you may be experiencing when it comes to choosing a water ionizer.

My Buying Experience
When my wife first introduced me to ionized water, I was skeptical to say the least.  She insisted that I speak to the Kangen dealer that she visited because he was “so well informed”.  When I spoke to the gentleman, he insisted that Kangen offered the only “good” machine on the market as all the other machines were cheap knockoffs.  I wasn’t convinced.  How could one machine be so much better than all the other machines on the market?  After all, the various brands all have similar parts and they all operate by the simple process of electrolysis.  

To prove my point, and to provide justifications for avoiding spending $4,000 on a water ionizer, I launched into research mode.  After about a week and a ridiculous number of hours of research, I was well armed to face my wife with the reasons why I wanted to purchase a different brand.  Despite my “compelling” argument, she said I was just being “cheap”.  She couldn’t understand how I could take a “risk” on something so important to our health.   Thank goodness the machine we ended up buying was every bit as good as the Kangen, or I would be still hearing about it to this day.

My passion for the water has fueled my ongoing research over the past two years.  While I could write a book about my findings, the  important news is that all the machines work.  The bad news is that the consumer has virtually no chance of finding out the truth about the machines.  Every website claims their brand is the best and that other brands have all kinds of faults.  No wonder people get confused.

Find the Right Person
If I had to give one piece of advice to anyone looking to purchase a water ionizer, it would be to spend your time finding the right person to deal with.  The brand you choose is far less important that the person you choose to deal with.  This advice may come as a shock to you, because the entire industry focuses on machines instead of people.  As usual, the industry has it wrong again, but it is just a matter of time before the industry matures and the good people will rise to the top.

Why do I think that the choice of the right person is more important than the choice of a brand?   Most of players in the industry focus on selling units instead of trying to help their customers.  What people don’t realize is that the machine itself is just part of the equation when it comes to maximizing the performance of your drinking water.  Factors such as source water, filters, and how to operate and adjust your machine are critical to the success of your water experience.  Unfortunately, very few dealers know much or anything about these important factors.

Quality dealers will spend the time required to help you through the entire education and buying process.   They will inform you about your source water and what you need to do about it, if anything.   They will provide you with honest information about the various machines available on the market.  They will help you choose the best machine for your needs.  And then, and believe me when I tell you this, the most important factor takes over, which is the after sales service.  

Service is Important
If you purchase online, don’t expect after sales service.  If you purchase from a company that doesn’t provide a live tech support person and a warranty department, don’t expect  an easy solution to any future problems or well informed answers to your questions.   If you are purchasing a unit from a company that is a dealer, make sure that you can access the the tech support and warranty teams that supply units to the dealer. 

You would think that the services described above would be standard in the industry.  Unfortunately, the industry in North America is in its infancy.  That means the sophistication level of most of the players has not been developed.  Don’t get discouraged.  Spend your time searching for the good people.  Listen to their advice and avoid the brand name game.  You will get the right machine if you find the right person.

6 Responses to Water Ionizers: Invest Your Time in the Person, not the Brand

  1. I have been researching in depth about the benefits of Ionizing water systems. I was delighted when I finally came across your site. I am hoping you can give me some unbiased direction as to which systems I should consider.

    My Homeopath has strongly encouraged me to use a certain system. I have some very serious health issues and she is very convinced that ionized water can help me.

    The benefits of ionized water according to her are 1) creating an alkaline enviornment in my body, 2) the treated water being more readily absorbed in cells due to its smaller size thereby hydrating cells that normal water does not get to, 3) removing impurities (pollutants, chemicals, bacteria, fungus, mold) in drinking water (tap or bottled); 4) making good minerals more available to be used by my body.

    I have never supported the concept of MLM – feel you end up paying much more than necessary. I do now appreciate your perspective regarding the excellent promotion of ionized water that the MLM dealers can provide. I still do not want to pay more than is necessary to get the medical benefits that a good system can provide. But feel inept at discerning which machines are better than others.

    So, can you give me advice as to which units are top of the line equivalent? If you cannot give me names can you give me things to look for in the system that will separate the best from the others? I feel I need to make this decision very quickly as my medical issues are critical.

    Thanks for any help you can provide me and thank you for having this site. There is a lot of “stuff” out there and it is hard to know what to believe.

    • Hi Barbara:

      Thanks for the compliment.

      I’m delighted to hear that your homeopath is a fan of the benefits of ionized water.

      It is not surprising that your homeopath is committed to ionized water. Your homeopath has obviously seen the benefits of the water first hand and from feedback from his/her patients. The loyalty of your homeopath to the Kangen product will be due to the fact that Kangen goes to great lengths to make their dealers believe that the Kangen machine is far superior to other brands. In fact, many Kangen dealers believe that if you don’t buy a Kangen water ionizer, you shouldn’t buy a water ionizer at all. As a result, there are tens of thousands of people that could be drinking ionized water but are not doing so because of the high cost of the Kangen machine and their incorrect belief that anything short of a Kangen unit is a waste of money. This is a travesty in my opinion.

      You don’t have to pay $4,000 to get the benefits of a good water ionizer. There are many units available that can provide the same health benefits as the Kangen SD501 at a fraction of the price.

      I understand your concerns about trying to “figure out which brand(s) to choose” because the information presented on the internet confuses most of us. Unfortunately, the average consumer has virtually zero chance to discover what is real and what is fiction when it comes to actual brands. The marketing people in the water ionizer industry are smart and they do a great job of making a sales pitch apppear like “independent” research.

      I don’t want to “promote” any specific brands or companies on this blog. I also don’t want to put recommendations in writing, because there are people in the industry who will use my efforts to promote their own business. However, if you provide me with your phone number and a convenient time for you to chat, I will call you and we can discuss your situation. I now have a Magic Jack that allows me to call anyone in the USA or Canada for free. Boy, are they going to be sorry I can do that, as I spend a lot of time on the phone helping people. Once we have figured out what your specific needs and your source water conditions, we can determine which unit will best suit your needs. You can then lsearch for the best deal available on the internet, or I can provide you with the names of some great dealers that have earned my respect.

  2. Just like everyone else i want to know which ionizer is just as good as Enagic. I was introduced to Enagics machine through a friend this july but couldn’t really get a peace about it because I knew about the money making part of it so I knew it could be sold for cheaper. So that’s when I started searching the internet. I have found a company called Chanson and even talked to their technician which really didn’t blast enagic but said all the things you did. I would like to know if you have researched this company. The CEO company does not really bash either to me. I was really impressed with their website. The plates was really an issue with me but i’m understanding better now since you said what you said about them. Because i have hard water they recommend a filter they have which i uderstand to. Price again is another issue so will a 5plate do just as good of a job as a 7plate? I was considering buying the Miracle angel from Chanson. I would appreciate your respone. for your recommendations. I’m glad i just happened to get on your website or was it by chance. I always pray about everything. I am anxious to get one as I realize the what alkaline water can do.

    • Hi Abigail:

      Thanks for the commments about Enagic and Chanson.

      I have covered the Enagic story a couple of times and answered many comments so I don’t really have anything to add about Enagic other than to say their machine works, it is antiquated, and way way way overpriced. Their dealers are awesome and deserve a better machine at a better price!

      I’m very familar with the Chanson company. I know the CEO of Chanson very well through many conversations and I have met him in person. I personally own a Chanson VS70 under counter machine as one of the 11 different brands that I have at my house…..yes, my wife also keeps asking me why I have 11 different brands of machines….my only defence is that I play with them and test them so that I can comment about them on the blog…..she doesn’t buy the arguement either!

      I like the Chanson site as well, with the exception of the blatant bias provided by the CEO when he compares Chanson machines to other machines on the market. He just can’t help himself, as he is in love with his own products. Unfortunately, his bias towards the Chanson products when comparing to other machines is far off the mark and detracts from the website in my opinion. At least he isn’t pretending that his opinions are not biased.

      I believe that the Chanson VS70 ($2,195 on special…and why would anyone buy a machine for the retail price if it can be purchased for less) offers the best value in the industry for a true under counter machine. The major downfall of the machine is that it, along with all the other Chanson machines, has a tiny and inexpensive coconut shell charcoal filter that removes chlorine, but nothing else. Chanson has responded to the shortfall by promoting a pre-filter system which is a good thing in my opinion.

      I have also tested the Chanson Eden (3 plate above counter at $895) and the Chanson Miracle (7 plate above counter at $1,845) machines. I like the Eden for the money as it performed well for a 3 plate machine. I didn’t test Chanson’s five plate machine as it doesn’t seem make sense to me. If money is the over-riding issue, buy the $895 machine. I like the 7 plate Miracle other than the filter issue and the fact that it turns on with the tap instead of having a solenoid which allows the user to turn the water flow on and off with the machine. To be blunt, there are better 7 plate machines available than the Miracle for less money. Oh oh… I can feel another threat coming from the CEO of Chanson, as he is big on threats. Don’t get me wrong, the Miracle is a good machine, but to be the best value, the retail price of the Miracle should be lowered by several hundred dollars.

      In many situations, a 5 plate machine will do the job. In hard water conditions, 7 plate machines perform better than 5 plate machines. I don’t know exactly why this is true, but my test results, and the findings of the people that I talk to in the industry indicate that in hard water conditions, the 7 plates perform up to about 20% better. The difference in price between a 5 plate and a 7 plate machine is usually substantial, but it shouldn’t be. The only difference is two plates and the plates are not expensive despite what people will tell you. For example, when Tyent moved from the 5 plate model to the 7 plate model, the retail price didn’t change.

  3. Hi,
    I was the first employee with IonLife when they moved thier operations from Maui to Reno Nevada 5 years ago. I helped build the company into what now is the largest distributor of water ionizers in the non Asian world, exporting into 30 countries now.
    We created a second company called IonWays which is now three years old, and in my opinion offers the best technology, service and quality in the industry.
    I work full time at this business, and my ex wife Coretta is my partner and also works full time. We are a great team, and are probably more knowledeable than most people in the business. There are several companies out there who will basically say and do anything to get your business. Our company does not resort to deceptive and dishonest practices, and is 100% ethical.
    I personally know the owners of most of the competitive companies, as they all used to sell our brand (exept Enagic/Kangen).
    I will be glad to answer questions and contribute to the honest dissemination of information in our industry. I also have a site about the lack of integrity in the industry, called ionizerintegrity.com where you can read my thoughts and comments about this.

    • Hi Gavin:

      Great to have you join the blog. Your presence hear is a great addition. You are one of the originals and I look forward to hearing your stories. I hope you will share the hundreds of testimonials that you must have encountered over the years.

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