Culligan water softeners or conditioners

The reports, as CPSC published them

1. Seen by a doctor or nurse

   Made Dec 7, 2013 · , sent to the company Jan 8, 2014 · , published by CPSC Jan 31, 2014

   The product, in the report: Culligan whole house potassium water softener installed & maintained by “culligan” Culligan International Company (Export Department) Serial number VP100001810

   In Sept. 2010, We had a whole house water conditioning/softener unit installed & maintained by culligan. About eight weeks after the installation, my 12yo daughter I began to experience health issues. Professional Water analysis showed that the culligan -treated water was high in acetone and more than 10-fold the EPA safe levels for copper sulfate. The untreated household water (city water) analysis was within normal limits. Our symptoms went away after we stopped drinking the contaminated culligan-treated water. To this day, culligan cannot locate this faulty unit which poisoned our water. We attempted to sue Culligan, but they refused to take any accountability for their negligent actions which poisoned our family, and we could not afford to continue litigation.

   Here is our story...

   Keep in mind that in 2009 - Our daughter was treated for benign kidney tumors. Part of her diagnostic testing included a colonoscopy, which was negative. .

   In 2010 We had a whole house water treatment system installed & maintained by Culligan.

   Because of Our daughter’s kidney condition, she drinks 2L of water per day (I do too).

   Very shortly after the install, it was apparent that the system was not functioning properly & culligan made repeated service calls.

   Within a few weeks of the installation of this whole house water treatment unit, my daughter & I both started exhibiting various symptoms, including headaches, diarrhea, stomach aches, fatigue, eczema, dizziness, , nausea, vomiting, unexplained thyroiditis - symptoms were daily & we had never had these symptoms before. We both started seeing doctors for treatment.

   We never considered that our drinking water could be the cause of our problems.

   My daughter’s diarrhea started to have mucous & blood in it. We saw several doctors & tried elimination diets, stress management, low fiber, high fiber, lactose free, etc.

   Eventually, we noticed that our shower heads were caked with a greenish/blue salty substance, and that there was spotting & cloudiness on our dishes & shower glass.

   I had “Associated Labs” come out & do water testing of our culligan-treated tap water (the water we had been drinking for the past 8 mos.). The results showed that the copper was 14.9mg/L. This is more than 10-fold higher than the U.S. EPA Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) of 1.3mg/L. Acetone was also present, and the total hardness was 423mg/L(way above normal).

   I ordered a new water treatment unit & had it professionally installed by Culligan. After 2 weeks, I had Associated Labs retest our treated tap water. Copper levels were below EPA guidelines (0.068mg/L), there was no acetone, and the hardness level was 6.0 mg/L. - this proves that the original unit was faulty & culligan later admitted this.

   This is the very first time that we considered that this water that we had been consuming over the last 8 months (2L/day - 30mg/day of copper) could possibly be a cause for our abnormal symptoms. Up to this point they could not be explained.

   We attempted many times to have the system repaired by Culligan. It had been making weird noises & didn’t seem to be working properly, ever since the day it was installed. The company admitted that they did not install a regulator valve (which I had paid for) & that not doing this could damage the system.

   To this day, Culligan cannot tell us where this faulty/damaged system is and that it could be in someone else’s home right now.

   Once we took the system out, our symptoms started getting better and eventually completely went away.

   My daughter was treated by GI doctors at CHOC (Children’s Hospital of Orange County) Her symptoms improved, but she still had some bloody diarrhea. Once she started medication, her bloody diarrhea completely went away. Her current diagnosis is “Proctosigmoiditis, copper sulfate in water”.

   Dr [REDACTED] (the toxicologist at UCI) said that my daughter’s symptoms were consistent with that of copper poisoning, including the bloody diarrhea. She supported copper in the water as causation of her GI symptoms, anemia, headaches, nausea, fatigue, and most notably the bloody diarrhea.

   After we found out that our water was so high in copper & acetone, we were told to get some blood work done. I asked Culligan to pay for this & they refused. We also asked them to locate the faulty unit & they refused to do so. This made us really mad. This is when we consulted with an attorney.

   My daughter and I have been completely symptom free for 2yrs now, since we stopped ingesting culligan-treated & contaminated water. My unexplained thyroiditis completely went away without treatment. My daugter’s GI symptoms have also gone away. Although, now because of this exposure, she is at an increased risk of developing colon cancer and will need increased diagnostic screening. Her GI doctor is keeping her on a low dose medication for preventative measure.

   My husband and I have both worked in healthcare our entire adult lives, and it seemed logical to us, after doing a ton of research and looking at the whole picture, that there was a correlation between the treated water and all of the unusual symptoms that started to appear.

   After two years of attempting to get Culligan to take accountability, we have exhausted our resources. Culligan remains unchanged in their policies and their practices. And, is likely putting others in harms way or at risk today.

   Our hope is to educate the public about the possible dangers of chemically treated water; the lack of regulations to ensure the safety of chemically treated water; and in this case, Culligan’s woeful negligence.

   Thank you for taking the time to read this.

   Model

   Potassium whole house water softener

   UPC

   I don’t know

   Serial number

   VP100001810

   Where

   Laguna Niguel, California: Home/Apartment/Condominium

   Who was involved

   Age 12, Female

   The reporter’s relation to them

   Unspecified

   As this report names them

   Brand Culligan, made or sold by CULLIGAN INTERNATIONAL COMPANY

   How badly, in CPSC’s words

   Injury, Seen by Medical Professional

CPSC’s disclaimer

Sources