Absolutely Perfect Water

A Costly Lesson in Water Treatment and Customer Support

I delayed writing this review because I genuinely wanted to give Absolutely Perfect Water Heidelberg, Gauteng, every opportunity to resolve our concerns, and because I personally know and like the franchisee. Unfortunately, after more than a year of correspondence, laboratory testing, multiple site visits and ultimately formal dispute resolution, I feel it is important to share our experience. We invested approximately R45,000 in an Absolutely Perfect Water system to treat the borehole water supplying our primary residence and small hospitality business, where protecting plumbing, fixtures and guest facilities, while providing water suitable for household use, is essential. Especially against the backdrop of a failing municipality and severe water supply issues. Shortly after installation, we began experiencing persistent rust staining and accelerated corrosion affecting basins, cutlery, plumbing components and other fixtures. During the course of the investigation, the franchisee acknowledged that water analyses commissioned by the franchise and paid for by us approximately a year before installation had not been taken into account when the system was designed and installed. Concerned by the corrosion, we commissioned a second independent laboratory analysis at our own request and expense. While the results showed a significant reduction in iron, they also showed substantial reductions in hardness and calcium. Based on these findings and the damage we recorded, we became concerned because the treated water had become more aggressive than our untreated borehole water. The franchisee subsequently made changes to the system. However, we repeatedly requested that the treated water be retested to determine whether it was still corrosive. Despite these requests, no follow-up testing was undertaken for many months. During this period, my repeated emails and telephone calls to the franchisor seeking technical support and intervention went unanswered. It was only after I lodged a complaint with the Consumer Goods and Services Ombud that the franchisor contacted us. Even then, the laboratory manager, representing the franchisor, maintained that the matter was between ourselves and the franchisee, while the franchisee asked us not to contact the franchisor directly because he feared losing his business. From our experience, this reflected shortcomings in franchise support, communication and technical oversight. Throughout this period, although our principal concern remained the accelerating corrosion affecting our property, their primary focus appeared to be on eliminating the hydrogen sulphide odour in the water. Between the franchisor and franchisee, we were repeatedly advised to chlorinate our 100-metre-plus boreholes, blow them open, or even consider drilling a new borehole. We were uncomfortable with all these recommendations and ultimately chose instead to chlorinate only our storage tanks. According to subsequent laboratory results from Absolutely Perfect Water, this successfully resolved the bacterial contamination without chlorinating the boreholes themselves. While this addressed the odour issue, it did not resolve our greater concerns about corrosive water. Only much later did the franchisor undertake a comprehensive reassessment of the system. Further adjustments were made, followed by additional testing at their own cost. We were then advised that the treated water was safe for use. However, simultaneously, we were also advised that a further modification to the system was recommended, at our own expense. We found these conclusions difficult to reconcile and were left uncertain as to whether the system, in its existing configuration, was truly fit for purpose. After more than a year of correspondence, testing, considerable time invested, lost opportunities, wasted water and costly corrosion damage that had by then extended into our plumbing system (just as we feared from the onset), we ultimately decided to seek assistance from another supplier. This review reflects our experience, and other customers may have had different outcomes. However, I would strongly encourage anyone considering a significant investment in water treatment to obtain independent water analyses, ask detailed questions about corrosion risk and water stability, and ensure that the expected performance, limitations and intended outcomes of the system are clearly confirmed in writing before proceeding. I sincerely hope our experience is the exception rather than the rule. However, given the size of the investment involved, I believe prospective customers deserve a clear understanding of exactly what a system is designed to achieve, what it is not designed to achieve, and what ongoing support they can reasonably expect should problems arise.