As someone who doesn’t like to expose myself and my family to unnecessary chemicals, I have been hand-plucking weeds, and doing the old-fashioned hoeing in my yard on a steady diet for years. It’s not a fun exercise, but one that feels “right”.

Then one day I ran into a person who was sold on an organic lawn care company.  It sounded good– I must say! The company came and took care of this person’s lawn with a spray here and a sprinkle there, and wallah!  Their weeds disappeared instantly, and amazingly so.  This person swore to me–it’s all organic!

I was amazed, and curious: What type of organic lawn care was this?  

I had tried so many organic solutions over the years, and nothing compared to this!   I tried corn gluten to suppress weeds with no noticeable result except killing my grass seeds!  I tried vinegar and salt, only to permanently kill my grass all together. I’ve come really close to purchasing a torch–let me tell you, but I don’t think that will fix it either.

So when I saw this magical green lawn appear before my eyes that was once ridden with weeds and glowing yellow in spring, I had to check it out.

What did this company sell because man –it was effective!  And I saw the truck.  It indeed said “organic” lawn care.

I got on the phone and I called the company.  Who wouldn’t want that? If I could banish hours of work each year to a few “organic” sprays?  I’d gladly pay for it!

When I got the guy on the phone who sold the product, I asked him what he did, and what he said was shocking.

He said he used a chemical–I don’t remember the name now–but to make it organic he watered it down dramatically so that it was no longer toxic.

I kid you not!! I questioned him again to make sure I heard it right and I did.

I hope your alarm bells are ringing.  

Hello!

I wrote down the chemical name, and did some reading online.  Sure enough, the chemical he claimed to use was in every nasty chemical bag out there — in the cheapest of products. It was not a “non-toxic chemical” by any means. It was on the contrary–very toxic.

I knew right away the guy was selling me the Brooklyn Bridge, if I was so inclined to buy it.  I said thanks, but no thanks!

If we could water down chemicals to this extreme and call them organic, and they would work this magic — everyone would have done this a long time ago and the person who discovered it would be mighty rich, but I’ve never seen or found that guy.  The story was utter rubbish. 

I was shocked and still am in shock this business continues to thrive today, but few people ask their company what they do to accomplish the task–that I am sure of.  I still see the company continually come to lawns near me and spray this “mixture” which is touted as organic.

I’ve also noticed another thing:  There are little signs put into the lawn (as shown above) identifying that there has been a pesticide application applied–when it is supposedly organic.  If someone is selling you organic lawn care, they should never, ever do this.  And I smell a strong chemical smell. All red flags to consider when you think you are hiring an organic lawn care guy.

I called another organic lawn care company and this guy came and offered me a service which did it the old-fashioned way.  He wanted me to sign up for a service where he tested and nourished my soil, hand-plucked weeds weekly,  and applied grass seed regularly.  Yeah, that makes sense.

There is no quick-fix organic cure that I’ve found to date.  Buyer beware.

My mom told me the story of a friend who has lived in a new house now for seven years.  Her friend called to tell her that her water heater went out for the third time, and she was shopping around for a new one.

The first guy that came to her house. He was from a well known company in town who advertises heavily on the radio. He told her she needed a new water heater, but what he offered was hair-raising.  He offered her a new water heater for $1,400.00, and oddly he said it had no warranty!!

This friend of my mom lives alone so you know she doesn’t need a big water heater, if you think that could justify the price.

I would have told the guy to leave immediately.

Water heaters do not cost that much money, first and foremost.  Always check the price of items that you buy, even if you buy it from a professional and have someone else install it.  I use a rule of thumb that the most it should cost is double if you include a basic swap installation.  More than that, and I immediately ask questions to see if more charges are warranted.

Second, this serviceman was offering this woman no warranty.  As we all know, most products today have some form of warranty, so why wouldn’t this item?   That’s another red flag.

One way to check this is to look at the product the guy is quoting you and to call the manufacturer.  With someone this brazen, I’d love to have called him out on his antics.   I am sure you would find out this product typically comes with a warranty, so he was likely selling a second quality product, for one reason or another–and for three to four times the normal price!

Fast forward: My mom’s friend decided to called another plumber (thank god!) and this man came out and said that the water heater she had was still under warranty and that he’d repair it at no charge to her.

Ah.  Now it all makes sense!! Guy number one was selling people with warranty failed water heaters new ones.  Then he was turning around and taking the old ones, fixing them for free under the warranty terms, and re-selling them to customers–hence why they had no warranty.

Evil little bastard!!!

Life Lessons:  Always know the base price of any item you are buying.  Know your warranty terms, and keep your warranty manuals.  Last, never depend on a service man to tell you what it is!