With more than 30 years’ experience in the residential and commercial water treatment industry, Mark Nelson is a Class 1 Drinking-Water Operator and a CBWA (Canadian Bottled Water Association) Certified Plant Operator. As founder and president of Nelson Water in Ottawa, Mark focuses on dealing with challenging water treatment system designs for problem water. He also heads the largest water bottling plant in the city of Ottawa with a delivery network throughout the Valley.
To Buy or Rent Water Treatment Equipment…? That is the QUESTION.
Whenever you’re making a decision about the purchase of water treatment equipment, it’s a good practice to consider all the options before you. Good residential, as well as light commercial, water treatment costs money and as a result you may have the option of renting or buying.
Let’s take a look at these two options and see which one might make more sense for you.
The Rental Option
There are some good reasons you may want to consider renting equipment rather than outright purchasing. The primary benefit of renting equipment is that you don’t own it and aren’t necessarily responsible for all of the maintenance expenses associated with it. This can be advantageous for those who are living somewhere temporarily or not OWNING their dwelling.
If you plan to move a lot, or you know from the outset that you’re buying a home simply so that you can improve it and sell it again, renting might be a better option for you.
Another reason you may want to consider renting is if you have particularly bad water in your area, which essentially means that the equipment is going to go through a lot of “heavy lifting” and needs a great deal of maintenance over time. Other than that, for most, purchasing the equipment outright, is usually a better option.
The Purchasing Option
If you don’t move very often or if you know you’re not going to move again within the space of your lifetime, you very well may want to purchase your water treatment equipment. This gives you the advantage of not continuously paying for something that, in the long run, will be cheaper if bought. You simply make the purchase, the transaction is complete and the only thing you have to pay for is the occasional maintenance the unit may require.
Purchasing the equipment quite often allows you to make exhaustive decisions about exactly what you buy. A qualified water treatment specialist will be able to sit down with you, help you assess your needs and help you assess how much is sensible for you to spend on water treatment. They can come up with plenty of different solutions and, in some cases, it may end up costing you a lot less than you imagine.
What to Expect
No matter what, if you have water treatment equipment, there will be some expenses. You will have to have filters changed from time to time, the unit will likely need to be monitored so that a water treatment professional can ensure that it is performing the way it’s supposed to and, as a result, the technician will have to add materials to the water filtration equipment. Changing filters and media can apply to high-end gear as much as it does to simple tap water filters.
Whether you want to rent or purchase is an individual call, based on individual circumstances. Reputable water treatment companies will generally offer both options. Put some thought into this however. If you really don’t plan on moving anytime soon, purchasing is usually the best option. If you know that you’re not going to be there for long, renting a system is probably a more sensible choice.