With the quality of municipal drinking water becoming more questionable by the day, more and more people are looking at ways to guarantee themselves safe drinking water at home.

The fear of unsafe drinking water inevitably let to the market being flooded with an array of home water purifiers, one claiming to be more effective than the other. Although one could go into long arguments as to what method of water purification is the best, the bigger concern at present is the methods employed by some companies and agents to sell their products.

The past couple of weeks, travelling salespeople have descended upon Louis Trichardt, trying to convince residents to part with their hard-earned money by investing in their reverse osmosis (RO) water purification products. Although there could be nothing wrong with the product they sell, the test they use to lure customers and the exhorbitant price they charge are questionable.

The salespeople are making use of the so-called “Precipitator” or “Jam Jar” purity test to show that any water except the water produced through their RO purification product, is impure and unsafe to drink.

Readers must not, however, be cheated by this test. The Jam Jar test is nothing more than a very rudimentary scientific experiment whereby an electrical current is passed through water. As all water contains naturally occurring minerals, it will conduct electricity, subsequently causing an electrochemical reaction which discolours the water. On the other hand, water that has passed through a process of reverse osmosis has little or no minerals present, thus the water will not conduct electricity and discolouration will not occur. Salespeople use this discolouration trick to convince potential customers that their water is dirty and unsafe to drink. Fact of the matter is, however, the discolouration is normal and expected and is not an indication of whether or not the water is safe to drink.

Unfortunately, many people are unaware of this and are persuaded to purchase a water purifier from these agents at prices ranging from R5 000 upwards. They are sometimes also forced into signing a contract for the payment and maintenance of the water purifier. This is while similar two- and three-phase RO water purifiers can be bought over the counter at local hardware stores for prices ranging between R900 and R1 800 and spare filters selling for around R150. By the time residents realize they have been “ripped off”, however, they are unable to cancel the contract. Sadly, many of those fooled into buying from these salespeople are the town’s elderly.

But what should a person do when confronted by one of these salespeople? Firstly, tell the person that you would like to find out more about the product. The Internet is a very helpful tool through sites like hellopeter.com. Also do a Google search of the product. In this case, Google the word “Jam Jar Purity Test” and examine the results.

Should the salesperson then try and force you into a corner by playing the classic “special price today only” card, walk away from the transaction immediately. It’s better to buy from established local suppliers of water purification agents.

Most importantly, never sign any contract without thoroughly reading through the paperwork first.