Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Disadvantages of Reverse Osmosis Explained

Are there any disadvantages of reverse osmosis that you should know about? If you're considering the purchase of an RO system then you'd better wait for the answer to the next question. Does reverse osmosis make water safe to drink? It's safer than drinking out of a river yes, but not really safe. Let me explain.

osmosis water filter

The disadvantages of reverse osmosis are far, far greater than the advantages. Unless you're drawing your drinking water from a brackish or saltwater source, there is really no good reason to even consider an RO system purchase. If you're hooked up to the main water system in your town or city, an RO system has already processed your water.

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The standard design of an RO system make it ideal for many industrial purposes, but the attempt to transfer it into a device that will effectively purify your home drinking water has failed. The RO system is simply not qualified to be used, maybe even by the treatment facilities, to clean water. Does reverse osmosis make water safe to drink? It simply can't.

One of the things that it does for industry so well, but is one of the disadvantages of reverse osmosis for drinking water treatment is that it totally de-mineralizes the water. Good for an industrial boiler unit, bad for a human being. De-mineralized water leads to nutritional deficiencies in people who drink it often without taking supplements.

Studies using distilled water, which is also de-mineralized, showed that the lack of normal mineral content caused many to develop stomach problems on top of their mineral deficiencies. So does reverse osmosis make water safe to drink? RO makes water safe in relative terms, but it certainly doesn't make it good for you.

One of the major disadvantages of reverse osmosis comes from the amount of waste product discarded during the process. About five gallons of waste water are turned out for every fresh gallon produced, so RO is a complete disaster from an environmental standpoint.

Home RO systems run on electricity, and lots of it. Your home electricity bill is going to take a considerable upward leap when you install and run one of these in your home. There are two resources being wasted on this one, power and money. Does reverse osmosis make water safe to drink in my home? Not in your home or anywhere else.

Ro units do not have the ability to remove chemicals, metals, bacteria and spores or anything else in the water that could potentially harm you and your family. Another of the disadvantages of reverse osmosis is that it is incapable of effectively blocking these deadly contaminants without additional steps being taken.

The addition of activated granular carbon filters plus a multi media block are necessary in order to stop chlorine and other chemical contaminants, along with the help of micron filtration to manage the bacteria are necessary. If an ion exchange filter is fitted to pick up metals and achieve mineral balance and you've got it.

Does reverse osmosis make water safe to drink? Absolutely not, at least not alone, and that is the most notable of the disadvantages of reverse osmosis.

Disadvantages of Reverse Osmosis Explained

OSMOSIS

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