When Maggie Lamb bought her brand new home two years ago, she was inundated with cold calls and visits from water purification companies. She said a salesman convinced her she had bad water.

Lamb said, "He told me that I had hard water because it came out black and sludgy."

Lamb spent $6,700 on a water treatment system only to regret the purchase, feeling she'd been taken in by high pressure sales tactics.

Are salesmen pressuring consumers to buy expensive water purification systems they may not need?

5 Investigates tested water purification companies to hear their pitches, placing hidden cameras in a Tempe home to see how far the salesmen would go to close the deal.

The salesmen claimed the systems would remove hazardous chemicals, improve skin complexion, save thousands in soap and detergent, and in one case, prevent cancer.

The first appointment was with Pristene Water. The salesman who arrived at the house was the same person who sold Lamb her system a year ago.

He pulled out what looked like a chemistry set, ran a quick water test and said he could tell that the water was hard. He also implied it was dangerous, showing the customer a chart that said the water was a potential health hazard.

The next appointment was with Hague Quality Water. The salesman walked a fine line when talking about water and its health effects, but seemed to have no problem telling the customer that the chlorine in her water could cause cancer.

"Yeah, you have lots of chlorine in your water," he said. "Harvard University and the Medical College of Wisconsin found that it's the direct cause of 9 percent of all bladder cancers and 15 percent of all rectal cancers in the U.S. It's a direct cause of chlorine in the water."

5 Investigates had the water in that Tempe home tested by Aerotech Environmental Laboratories and asked Arizona State University water expert James Elser to interpret the test results.

Elser said the chlorine levels were "a thousand times lower than any concentrations that are thought to be a risk for human health according to the EPA."

He said the level of chlorine was not dangerous.

The third sales appointment was with Water Resources International. That salesman had an approach all his own.

He asked the customer to let him wash her hands.

When he was finished, he said, "You drink a lot of water. I can tell just by looking at your skin. It's got to be good. You can't put junk in that little Ferrari engine."

He then told her, "We don't have time and I don't know you well enough. But when I get with single gals I try and wash their hair for them. It's remarkable. It's a huge difference. It gives you that shower experience without going there."

Questioning Tactics

5 Investigates' Tammy Leitner decided to ask the companies about their pitches, so she called them back out to the house.

Leitner asked the salesman from Water Resources International if it was a common sales practice to offer to wash customers' hands and hair.

He said, "Oh, absolutely."

Leitner said, "Do you think that's appropriate?"

"Absolutely," he said. "They need to feel what the difference in water feels like."

Leitner then asked if he remembered telling the customer her body was like a Ferrari engine.

"Do you think that's the right thing to say to a single woman living alone in a home who invites a salesman in to possibly sell her something?" she asked.

He said, "Probably not."

The salesman from Pristene, when confronted by Leitner about his tactics, denied that he was scaring consumers with his sales pitch.

The salesman from Hague said he didn't actually tell the customer that the chlorine in her water would cause cancer.

"Really, I didn't," he said. "I just gave her third party information on that."

To Buy or Not to Buy?

The question is not whether water filtration systems work. 5 Investigates had Maggie's water tested and it came back OK.

The bottom line is whether Valley water is safe to drink, a question to which salesmen often say, "no."

Choosing to use a water filter is a matter of preference -- whether the customer likes the taste and smell of the water, as well as the way it feels.

A family of four can buy a system that cleans and softens the water in an entire house for about $1,500 including installation.