Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Residential Reverse Osmosis Systems Are Great - NOT

Who needs residential reverse osmosis systems? That's a good question. So, far, I'm having trouble finding the answer.

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Most of the new reverse osmosis systems residential units were designed for use on publicly treated water. But, people with publicly treated water don't need to use reverse osmosis. There is simply no reason for it.

OSMOSIS

I know that it can be confusing, because there's a lot of different information and varying opinions. But, if you read the Environmental Protection Agency's recommendations, you will see that residential reverse osmosis systems are only suggested as one option for cyst removal.

Cysts are microscopic organisms that cause diarrhea, stomach cramping, vomiting, loss of appetite and other unpleasant symptoms. A strong person may only be sick for a few days, but a person with a weakened immune system or a small child can die from the infection.

The EPA states that cysts may be present in any publicly treated supply and even in bottled waters. Cysts may be ingested by drinking, brushing teeth or washing fresh fruits and vegetables with contaminated water.

The EPA recommends that "at-risk" individuals should use a residential RO system unit OR a purifier that includes submicron particle filtration. Submicron particle filtration costs a lot less than reverse osmosis systems residential units and they are just as effective.

For chlorine removal, the EPA recommends activated carbon. Now, some residential reverse osmosis systems include a carbon granule step, but many do not. It is typically an "additional option." So, if you do decide to use RO, you need to make sure that you add the step.

There are a number of contaminants that the EPA is not particularly concerned with, primarily, because they don't cause "immediate" illness. If you want to protect your long term health, however, you should be concerned about those contaminants.

Consider the heavy metal lead, for example. The EPA has created a "federal action level" for lead content, which simply means that if a facility determines that the levels have risen above the action level, steps must be taken to correct the problem.

Reverse osmosis systems residential products only reduce lead to the federal action level, but there is really no safe level for lead consumption. The metal builds up in the body overtime, causing heart disease, high blood pressure, osteoporosis and other long term health problems. Not to mention the affect that it has on the human brain.

Instead of choosing residential reverse osmosis systems for lead reduction, you should choose ion exchange. Home purifiers that include ion exchange, submicron filtration and carbon blocks will reduce all of the contaminants mentioned here by at least 99%.

There are other reasons to avoid reverse osmosis systems. The units break down easily and require extensive maintenance. They create gallons of wastewater when functioning properly and provide no protection when they are dysfunctional.

The cheaper residential reverse osmosis systems are simply not a worthwhile investment. Multi-stage, selective filtration is the right answer for most of us. That's what you need to look for.

Residential Reverse Osmosis Systems Are Great - NOT

OSMOSIS

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