4 Disadvantages of Using Reverse Osmosis Units to Purify Water

Reverse osmosis (RO) is one of the popular technologies used in water filter systems. In fact, a lot of water filters you know might use this technology to filter water. We see this term used in television commercials and newspapers often. Just what is it? It is a method of filtering water by passing it through a fine pored semi permeable membrane. Since the structure is very finely pored, a lot of chemicals and other harmful substances are blocked and you get pure water as a result. Or so you think. If you take a good look at the process, you can actually find out that it is not the best method out there to filter water. How? Let us take a look at the disadvantages of reverse osmosis. 

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Reverse osmosis is based on the principle that since most contaminants and chemicals present in water have a larger molecular size than water, they get blocked by the semi permeable membrane and as a result you get filtered water. While it's true to a large extent, there are some loopholes in it. 

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1. First and foremost, reverse osmosis wastes a heck of a lot of water. A reverse osmosis unit will only recover around 5% of the total amount of water passes through the unit. The rest, all 95% of it, will go down the drain literally. To be more specific, a reverse osmosis unit will waste 2 to 3 gallons of water for every gallon filtered. At a time when people are struggling to get water for their daily use, it is simply insane to waste so much of water.

2. It takes a lot of time. You need to be really patient if you want to use a reverse osmosis unit. A typical RO unit produces less than one gallon water in an hour. And that is a lot of time.

3. Perhaps the most important question is - does reverse osmosis make water safe to drink? The answer is not really. An RO unit blocks harmful substances based on their molecular size. Unfortunately, substances like pesticides have smaller molecular size than water and they pass through the system. As a result, the water you drink is not completely pure.

4. One of the most notable disadvantages of reverse osmosis is that an RO unit can become a breeding house for bacteria if left unchecked. You need to disinfect the storage unit regularly or else it will be completely infected by various bacteria. So, if you forget to disinfect it from time to time, you will be getting your daily serve of bacteria right from your reverse osmosis unit.

The disadvantages of reverse osmosis are now no longer a secret and you now know it is not the best method out there to get filtered water. So, it is always best to go for a water filter system which uses a technology which can completely get rid of all the harmful substances and yet retain the natural goodness of water.

4 Disadvantages of Using Reverse Osmosis Units to Purify Water

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What Does Reverse Osmosis Do to Purify Water?

The question: what does reverse osmosis do is not a simple one to answer. Neither, is the question; what is reverse osmosis? But, I'll make an effort to explain.

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Basically, it is a separation process. It can be used for many different purposes. It is the opposite of "osmosis" or diffusion, which is a process that occurs throughout nature and is related to cellular or molecular activity. Reverse osmosis or RO is a man-made process.

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What is reverse osmosis used for?

It can be used to remove salt from seawater and to de-mineralize waters for industrial applications. It is used in the maple syrup industry, at car washes, in the food industry and in kidney dialysis machines. It is used by wastewater treatment facilities and is often included as a step for drinking water treatment.

What does reverse osmosis do to maple syrup?

I thought you might find that interesting. When producers process sap to make syrup, they boil it down to reduce the liquid content and thicken it. The high temperatures need for thickening often resulted in ruined batches due to burning. This of course affected the taste.

In the 1970s, they learned that they could use RO to remove 75-80% of the water from the sap, so less boiling was needed and they were able to increase production. As with other applications, the semi-porous membranes must be closely monitored for bacterial contamination and damage.

What is reverse osmosis used for in other food industries?

Primarily, the process is used to concentrate beverages. For example, frozen concentrated orange juice manufacturers often use RO to reduce the liquid content of the juice. When you get it home, you add the amount of water that was removed by the process.

In the dairy industry, it is used to create concentrated milk and in the production of powdered milk. Although it cannot completely dehydrate a substance, it can typically reduce the liquid content by 70-80% making further steps less time consuming and extensive.

What does reverse osmosis do for car washes and other industries?

By removing the naturally occurring minerals present in surface and groundwater, cars dry without spots and manufacturing equipment is subject to less corrosion.

What is reverse osmosis used for in the home?

Some home purifiers make use of the step, but since the process removes all naturally occurring minerals, but not traces of chemical contaminants, such as chlorine, it is not a preferred system.

What does reverse osmosis do to drinking water?

It removes lead and other metals, which can be done with ion exchange. It removes minerals, which is not a desirable step; unless you have hard water and ion exchange can be used for softening. It removes cysts, which can be done with a micron filter. It's basically an expensive and unnecessary system for home purification.

I doubt if that completely answers the question of; what is reverse osmosis, as the whole thing is difficult to explain. But, for those of you who wondered what does reverse osmosis do, because you were looking for a home purification device, now you know there are better options.

What Does Reverse Osmosis Do to Purify Water?

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