Most ionizer home demos are about 90 minutes long. The salesperson controls 85 minutes of that — TDS demos, pH reagent drops, anecdotes about their cousin's eczema, "limited offer expires tonight." These seven questions claim the other five minutes for you. Each one is designed so the right answer can be given in one sentence, and a salesperson without the right answer will visibly struggle.
This is the same checklist we use when sales reps walk us through their own products. You'll be amazed how often someone selling a $5,000 machine doesn't know question #4.
"What's the exact plate count, plate material, and plate coating — and what's printed on the unit itself?"
Plate count is the most-faked spec in the industry. "11 plates" sometimes means 9 working plates plus 2 dummy spacers. Plate material is almost always titanium, but the coating is what matters — pure platinum, platinum-mesh, or "platinum-alloy" all behave differently.
"What does this cost over 5 years — unit + every filter + every service visit?"
Sticker price is a fiction. A $3,000 machine with $800/year filters costs more than a $5,000 machine with $200/year filters. You want one number: total cost of ownership over 60 months.
"What's the warranty in writing — and what specifically is excluded?"
"Lifetime warranty" is almost always a marketing line for the electrolysis cell only, with everything else (motherboard, display, valves, filters) at 1–2 years. Get the exclusions in writing. The exclusions are where the real warranty lives.
"Where is the service centre, and how long does a repair typically take?"
If the brand is a one-person reseller, "service" means shipping your unit overseas for a month. Real service infrastructure looks like: physical address, registered local entity, a phone line that picks up, and a typical 1–3 week turnaround. This question alone disqualifies ~8 of the 36 brands sold in SG.
"What independent certifications does this unit hold — and can I see the original certificate?"
"WQA Gold Seal," "KFDA," "NSF/ANSI 372," "ISO 9001" — these are real and verifiable. They each test a specific thing (lead-free materials, manufacturing quality, etc.). Ask which standard the cert covers, not just the acronym. Then verify the cert number on the issuer's website.
"What's the H₂ dissolved output in ppm — measured at room temperature, kitchen flow rate?"
If the value of an ionizer is the hydrogen, the salesperson should know its hydrogen output in parts-per-million (ppm) — not just pH. Anything below 0.5 ppm is barely a hydrogen product. 0.8–1.2 ppm is the meaningful range. The research showing health effects mostly uses 1.0+ ppm.
"What's your business structure — direct, dealer, or MLM? And what's your commission on this sale?"
The most uncomfortable but most diagnostic question. Direct importers price lean (margin 30–40%). Authorised dealers add a 20–30% layer. MLM brands have 4–7 layers of upline commission baked into the price, easily 2× the cost of an equivalent direct-import unit. You deserve to know which one you're talking to.
What to do with the answers
Score each answer 0 / 1 / 2 (bad / partial / good) as you go. By the end you'll have a number out of 14. Here's how to read it:
| Score | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 12 – 14 | Honest seller, real product, real infrastructure | Get the quote in writing. Compare to 1-2 others. Then decide. |
| 8 – 11 | Decent product but some weak spots | Push on the weak answers. Ask for proof. Sleep on it. |
| 4 – 7 | More marketing than substance | Walk. There are 36 brands in SG. You can do better. |
| 0 – 3 | Pure pitch, no engineering behind it | Walk now. Don't leave a deposit. Don't sign anything. |
The "I'll think about it" rule
No matter how good the demo went, no matter how attractive the limited-time offer is, do not sign anything on the day of the demo. Every legitimate brand in SG will hold their price for 7–14 days. Anyone who says "this price expires when I walk out the door" is using artificial urgency — which is itself a red flag (see our marketing tactics guide).
Sleep on it. Compare against the 12-question recommender and the 5-year cost calculator. If after 3–5 days the brand still feels right and you've verified everything in writing — then sign.
Bring this to your demo · printable comparison sheet
Print this section. Fill it in during the demo. Walk out with paper proof of what was promised.
DEMO RECORD · Brand: ______________________ Date: __________ Salesperson: ______________________
1. Plate count / material / coating: ___________________________________________________
2. 5-year total cost (unit + filters + service): $______________
3. Full warranty in writing? ☐ Yes ☐ No · Years on unit: ______ · Excludes: ____________________
4. SG service centre address: _____________________________________ · Repair turnaround: _______ days
5. Independent certs (with numbers): _______________________________________________________
6. H₂ output in ppm at typical flow: _______ ppm at _______ L/min
7. Business structure: ☐ Direct ☐ Dealer ☐ MLM · Salesperson's commission: ______%
Quoted price: $______________ · Valid until: __________ · Signed by salesperson: ______________________
If the salesperson refuses to sign the comparison sheet at the end — that's question 8 in disguise. You learned everything you needed.
Further reading
- 10 ionizer marketing red flags — the sales tactics every buyer should know
- Alkaline water science — so you can spot pseudoscience in the pitch
- Plate count, explained — to back up Question 1
- 5-year cost calculator — to back up Question 2
- 12-question recommender — to cross-check what they told you