Homeowners complain of door-to-door water treatment sales

Some Minnesota water treatment companies are using false claims and deceptive sales tactics to sell their water treatment systems, according to the Minnesota Department of Health.

Public water systems are tested frequently and are generally very safe, said Stew Thornley, with the department's Drinking Water Protection unit. But he said some door-to-door salespeople are telling homeowners that they have a contamination problem when they may only have harmless, naturally occurring minerals in their water.

"And these people will come back after having supposedly analyzed it trying to scare the people into thinking the water isn't safe and that they may need some treatment equipment that could run thousands of dollars," Thornley said.

He said one Richfield homeowner received a visit from a salesman pitching a $6,000 water treatment system. The resident reportedly had difficulty getting the salesman to leave.

"[Homeowners] can make their own decision, but we don't want them to be making decisions out of fear, out of being scared, out of being pressured," Thornley said. "It can be a big investment and if somebody wants to do it either to get a softener to reduce hardness or something like that, to make a careful decision just like you would on anything else."

Falcon Heights officials have asked residents to call 911 if they see anyone dropping off water testing kits at doorsteps.