Culligan Customer Story: The Gin Family

 Meet Doris and Gerry Gin of Edmonton, Alberta, Culligan customers since 2012.

The Gins’ Water Challenge: Hard Water/Bad-tasting Water

Doris and Gerry Gin lived in a home with both a Culligan water softener and a reverse osmosis drinking water system for more than a decade. When they subsequently moved to an apartment without the water solutions, they had to make frustrating adjustments.

“We loved the water softener because the key is the [home] maintenance,” Doris says. Mineral buildup quickly appeared on her apartment’s kitchen faucet and on the shower tile and glass door. “I had to clean my tile every week to maintain it,” she says.

Also, because the Gins prefer not to drink unfiltered water directly from the tap, they needed to buy cases of bottled water. “It wasn’t even as good as the [RO] drinking water system,” she says.

Their Better Water Solutions

When it came time to move back into a single-family home, the Gins made getting better water a priority. “The very first day we took possession, I called Robin [Chan, water consultant at Culligan Edmonton] to bring someone in to put in a softener and a drinking water system,” Doris says.

The softener has saved her hours of cleaning because she doesn’t have mineral buildup on faucets or tiles, she says. When she inevitably does need to clean the tiles and grout, she doesn’t need to use what she calls “heavy-duty chemicals,” which she worries could hurt her health.

In addition, soft water can make skin and hair feel softer, and Doris felt the difference immediately. “It seems like I don’t even need hair conditioner and [my hair is] smooth when there’s a softener,” she says. In fact, she adds that she can tell when her softener runs out of salt because her hair feels different.

Value Add: Solutions That Protect Other Investments

Doris also sees her Culligan softeners as tools that can reduce damaging mineral buildup in the water heaters she has in her home and in her two vacation properties. The softeners also help her maintain those properties. “If I don’t have calcium buildup around my tile that ages my property, I don’t have to deal with replacing tile sooner,” she says.

What Made the Difference:

• Quality: Although Doris had Culligan equipment in her vacation properties and previous home, she thought it was still important to research her water treatment options before moving into her new house nearly three years ago. “I love Culligan, but I did shop around,” she says. “We went back to Culligan because it seems like [the company has] one of the best systems out there.”
• A brand she can trust: Doris has referred Culligan to her sister and her niece. She is also planning to purchase Culligan solutions for her daughter’s new townhome. “I believe in the systems,” she says.