Are there many disadvantages of reverse osmosis, also known as, RO? Does reverse osmosis make water safe to drink for everyone? The answer to the first is yes, to the second, the answer would be it makes it "safer", but without additional steps, not really safe. Greater detail follows. Some people say the disadvantages of reverse osmosis outweigh the advantages. In some cases, it is a good choice. It is really the attempt to make it acceptable for home use that has failed, unless your source is questionable or you have a salt-water well.
De-mineralization is one of the disadvantages of reverse osmosis, when you look at it from a health standpoint. It has industrial applications, but for drinking purposes it is not the best choice. Studies have shown that drinking distilled water, which also de-mineralizes, leads to nutritional deficiencies and stomach problems. So if you think about it, the answer to does reverse osmosis make water safe to drink, might be, maybe safer depending on your source, but not healthy for drinking. Waste is another of the disadvantages of reverse osmosis. This is shown by the fact that for every one gallon that is cleaned, anywhere from half a gallon to five gallons are wasted.
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This is one of the biggest disadvantages of reverse osmosis, when you think of it from an environmental or financial standpoint. It is also a waste of electricity, which runs up the financial cost. Installation, maintenance and operation costs are all higher than other more efficient systems. Let's get back to does reverse osmosis make water safe to drink, for a moment. What are the problems that exist in our world today? What toxins are we faced with? We have created an arsenal of synthetic chemical compounds that, after being put into use, were found to cause cancer. Everything in the environment eventually ends up in the groundwater. RO units do not have the ability to remove most chemical contaminants. If you have a problem with lead or other heavy metals, then it will block those.
If the mineral content in your area creates an alkaline pH or hard water problems, then RO may help. But, when it comes to chemicals, the answer to does reverse osmosis make water safe to drink, is no. Additional steps, such as carbon filtration, must be used to remove chemicals and improve safety. When it comes to hard-water or improper pH levels, RO removes all of the minerals, so yes, water is softer. However, additional steps must be taken to balance pH and typically to re-mineralize. There are better solutions for hardness. Ion exchange, for example, exchanges some of the harder minerals for softer ones and balances the pH level in a single step. It requires no electricity and there is little, if any, waste. Another of the disadvantages of reverse osmosis has to do with contamination with bacteria and cysts. The answer to does reverse osmosis make water safe to drink by removing bacteria and cysts is a simple "no".
The system does not disinfect, so either chemical or UV treatment must be used to kill bacteria. A cyst is a bacterium during the spore stage of development. It is very light and cannot be blocked by RO membranes. Only micron filtration will remove cysts. If ingested, they can grow inside the intestinal tract and become full blown parasites. Cryptosporidium is one such parasite that has caused illness and, in some cases, death, in this country. The treatment facilities can't get rid of them. Efforts have been made to protect reservoirs from farm run-off, which is prone to contain the parasites, but there is still no guarantee. So you see, the answer to does reverse osmosis make water safe to drink, is not for the most part. There are some particles that it can remove and it's good for desalinizing, but other than that, the disadvantages of reverse osmosis are too many to make it a good choice for your home.
Six Disadvantages of Reverse Osmosis OSMOSIS
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