Not all water treatment systems are created equally. Just as you can buy a great automobile from an authorized dealer, you can also buy a cheaper car from some shady guy who doesn’t have any legit paperwork showing the cars history of repairs or maintenance, and chances are it is going to give you nothing but headaches and pains in your wallet.
Certified water treatment equipment will have system details readily available straight from the manufacturer website. Your system should have a manual and information on what kind of filter media is being used in the system, what kind of maintenance it will need, what kind of water quality output is to be expected, what kind of impacts you will notice with water flow/ psi, etc. Most reputable manufacturers have certifications from the Water Quality Association (WQA) website where systems are tested and approved. On the WQA website, you can search for the exact model of the equipment and ensure that it is of acceptable quality standard and feel the peace of mind knowing that it has been tested and certified. All water softeners should have the ANSI 44 certification for water softening, and other certifications will include NSF, EPA, and WQA Gold Seal certifications.