The Disadvantages of Reverse Osmosis Water Purification Systems

By now, most of us have probably heard that we should all be drinking a lot of water to maintain our bodily systems and stay healthy, and by concerns of the true quality of bottled water, we are heeding the call.

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In today's society, most of us are becoming more concerned about, and aware of, ways to improve our overall health, and water is definitely right up there at the top of the list of concerns.

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Not only should we be concerned about how much water we are ingesting, however. We should also be concerned about the quality of that water. As such, may of us are choosing to learn more about water purification and filtering to ensure that the water we drink, cook with, and bathe in is pure and clean.

There are many systems out there, one of which is the reverse osmosis type, which claims to be the best on the market, but there are distinct disadvantages of reverse osmosis (also referred to as ro).

If you are like most of us, cost is a consideration for just about everything, and water purification is no exception. ro systems are incredibly expensive. They are priced in the thousands of dollars, which is one of the biggest disadvantages for most people. They are simply not affordable.

Okay, let's assume that price does not really matter, and tend to the question: Does it make water safe to drink? Well, despite the overwhelming popularity of these systems and the claims made by manufacturers, the answer to that question is no, not really.

These systems are really designed to remove anything that is heavier than the water itself. What is heavier than water? Dirt. So, it's great at removing dirt from the water. The problem is, very few people have water with dirt in it coming out of their kitchen faucets, so what good is that? For most people, the ability to remove sand or dirt is not at all useful.

What else is heavier than water? Lots of minerals are heavier than water. Wait a minute! Minerals? Aren't we supposed to be getting minerals? Yes, our bodies need minerals; in fact, most of us take a daily vitamin and mineral supplement. We actually pay money to add minerals into our diets, and reverse osmosis manufacturers would have us pay thousands of dollars to remove minerals from the water we drink? That defies logic.

What about chlorine, that chemical that bleaches out our swimsuits when we swim in the pool and leaves our water tasting nasty and smelling worse? Does reverse osmosis eliminate chlorine? Well, to be sure, our municipal water treatment plants have been using chlorine for decades, and chlorine is known to kill bacteria; however, chlorine is not natural and not pleasant to drink.

Unfortunately, chlorine remains behind, which is another of the disadvantages of reverse osmosis water systems. Overall, ro systems are too expensive and too ineffective.

Getting cleaner, purer, safer water into our bodies is a top priority and, with a little research, there are better choices for you and your family.

The Disadvantages of Reverse Osmosis Water Purification Systems

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Reverse Osmosis Drinking Water System

What is Reverse Osmosis?

The amount of people that still purchase bottled water for home use never ceases to amaze me. Come on people, it's time to get educated here. You are wasting time and energy, landfill space, and yes, money...Lots of it. 

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Have you ever heard of reverse osmosis? Did you know that most bottled water manufacturers are using reverse osmosis as a means of purifying the bottled water you are drinking? It's a fact that many people are completely unaware of. 

Soon, everyone will know the benefits of reverse osmosis. Reverse Osmosis equipment has only been manufactured for the household consumer for just a few years. Until recently, it was used primarily by major corporations and the U.S. Government for purifying non-potable water supplies throughout the world. It was, and still is, used on large military and commercial ships for purifying seawater, making it suitable for human consumption.

Reverse Osmosis (RO) is often described as filtration, but it is much more complex than that. People sometimes explain it as a filter because it is much easier to visualize using those terms. For instance, the osmosis phenomenon is how our blood feeds each cell in our bodies. As our blood is carried into the smallest of capillaries in our bodies, nutrients actually pass through the cells' wall to sustain its' life.

For example: If you take a jar of water and place a semi-permeable membrane in it, which by its' construction mimics a cell wall, then divide the jar into two sections and place water on both sides of the membrane to an equal level, nothing happens. But, if  you place salt, (or other such dissolved substance), into one side of the jar, you will soon notice that the water level in the salty side begins to rise higher as the unsalted side lowers. This is the natural osmotic pressure at work. The two solutions will continue to try to reach the same level of salt or equilibrium on each side of the membrane by the unsalted water passing through the membrane to dilute the salty water. This will continue until the "head" pressure of the salt water overcomes the "osmotic" pressure created by the differences in the two solutions. 

Many years ago, researchers discovered a means to reverse or exploit this natural osmotic process and use it to purify salty ocean water. They found that if they took that same semi-permeable membrane and fed salty water into it with a sufficient amount of pressure on one side of the membrane, to overcome the natural osmotic pressure of the other side, they could actually "manufacture" clean water on the side of the membrane that has no pressure applied to it!

Depending on a membranes' design, and the material it is made from, the amount of TDS, (salt or total dissolved solids), reduction will range from 80 to over 99 per cent. Different minerals have different rejection rates, for instance, the removal rate for a typical TFC (Thin Film Composite) membrane is 99.5% for Barium and Radium 226/228; but only 85.9% for Fluoride and 94.0% for Mercury. Contamination removal rates are also dependent on proper feed-water pressures.

Is it Reverse Osmosis Water Safe To Drink?  

Reverse osmosis water is perfectly safe to drink.  There is also a scientific explanation as to why this type of purified water is actually better for you than water that contains high mineral (TDS) content. Water with a high TDS count of over 50 ppm, actually becomes electrically charged and can conduct very small amounts of electric current. High TDS water, under the right circumstances, can actually cause a small electric light bulb to become illuminated!  Water with high TDS is typically a solution that is lacking in hydrogen molecules. This type of water often causes de-hydration on the cellular level. Reverse Osmosis water with low TDS on the other hand, has a much lower ability to conduct electrical charges.  Typically, Reverse Osmosis water is slightly acidic and loaded with positively charged hydrogen (H+) molecules.  This type of water has been scientifically proven to provide superior hydration at the cellular level.  

What's the Difference Between Conventional Water Filtration and Reverse Osmosis?

A conventional filtration system, such as that in a refrigerator for instance, will give you nice tasting water, but it will not remove Total Dissolved Solids, such as, SODIUM, MANGANESE, CALCIUM CARBONATE, to name a few, that are present in most municipal tap and well waters.  Residential reverse osmosis systems typically incorporate a combination of conventional filtration to remove sediment and other solids, followed by activated carbon adsorption for the removal of organic compounds, chlorine,  pesticides and VOC's, prior to the reverse osmosis membrane. The end result is as close to distilled water quality as you can get, with virtually no energy consumption. The typical household water line pressure of 40 psi is all the energy that is required to make the RO system work.

The Technology Side

Just as with many new technologies, when reverse osmosis systems first became available to the public sector, they were used almost exclusively in commercial settings and beyond the justifiable financial reach of the average household consumer.  The membranes were very inefficient and wasted a lot of water. The technology has progressed in recent times to the point where it has become an affordable alternative, more efficient and readily available for the average consumer.   A typical residential reverse osmosis system has a recovery rate of 30-35%. What this means is that for every gallon of water fed to the RO system, approximately 1/3 of a gallon of purified water will be produced and 2/3's will be wastewater. Most residential installations simply flush the wastewater to the drain. The very nature of the reverse osmosis process does cause some water wastefulness.  However, if this waste is a big concern, rather than throwing it down the drain, there are numerous ways to use the wastewater, only limited by one's ability to be resourceful.   

Reverse Osmosis Recognized by the United States EPA

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recently released information stating that one in five Americans, supplied by one-quarter of the nation's drinking water systems, consume tap water that violates EPA safety standards under the Clean Water Act! With this in mind, it is safe to assume that no matter where you live in the United States, at any given time, there is likely to be some toxic substance in your tap water.

It's no wonder why so many people buy bottled water but right?... read on you may be surprised. The US EPA has stated that many dangerous contaminants can exist in our public water supplies as well as bottled water. One such contaminant is called a "cyst" and yes they are just as disgusting as they sound! Cysts are tiny microscopic organisms that can cause dangerous health problems to even healthy individuals, let alone persons with weakened immune systems. The kicker here is that you do not have to actually drink the water with these organisms in it to become sick. Cysts can be ingested in a number of ways, including just brushing your teeth. They're more common than you think; the elusive cyst has been found in many public water supplies over the past few years and yes, even some bottled waters have been found to contain cysts! 

Reverse osmosis is recognized by the EPA as an effective means to remove cysts. The US EPA has even recommended the use of point of use reverse osmosis for the removal of certain contaminants such as cysts found in many water supplies, public or otherwise.  In addition, reverse osmosis has been scientifically proven over conventional filtration, to be one of the most effective means of removing the widest spectrum of all other water contaminants.   

Chances are your neighbor or someone you know already has a residential reverse osmosis drinking water system installed in their home. It is becoming a popular choice for many educated consumers to have a reliable pure water source at their fingertips. After using the RO system for a while, most people find themselves wondering how they ever did without it.        

Reverse Osmosis Drinking Water System

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Residential Reverse Osmosis Systems Exposed

Residential reverse osmosis systems were all the rage at one time, but there popularity has waned over the years. Industries are successful with reverse osmosis systems residential homes, however, are not so successful.

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Companies that sell reverse osmosis systems claim that they are the latest technology. They have actually been in use for over 50 years. They are a common component of public filtration plants. They are the only choice for desalination facilities. But, in they are only one step in the process. In other words, additional steps are needed to make the water safe and drinkable.

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In most cases, reverse osmosis systems residential customers are buying something that they do not need. Some wells that are brackish may require RO, but once again, it alone does not make it safe to drink.

There are many contaminants that reverse type systems will not remove. Most of them are chemicals, but bacterial organisms pass through the membranes, as well. For well-water, a disinfection process is still required, typically involving the use of chlorine. Then a carbon filter must be used to remove the chlorine and another type must be used to remove by-products of chlorination called THMs.

Bacterial removal protects your immediate health. Chemicals, chlorine and THMs are threats to your future health. Many of them are known to cause cancer, either in animals or humans or both. Continuous exposure throughout one's life increases the risk of cancer by several hundred times, according to scientific research.

Osmosis systems will neither protect your immediate or your future health. But, one of the biggest reasons for their decrease in popularity is the fact that they de-mineralize. Several books have been published about the health giving qualities of pure water, but all of them mention that drinking distilled or de-mineralized is bad for your digestion and can lead to mineral deficiencies, over time.

Industries that need demineralization rely on reverse osmosis systems residential units, on the other hand, are now offering to put the minerals back in, a process that was developed for use in desalination plants. Before, being sent to homes, it is re-mineralized.

Residential reverse osmosis systems are calling this "revitalization". I suppose it works in theory, but still seems illogical. Why would you pay extra for a system that does something you do not want and then "undoes" it?

The point is that there are some situations that benefit from reverse osmosis systems residential settings, however, are not on the list. Unless you require desalination, you can get a more effective, less expensive system for your home. The latest technology includes multi-media block, carbon filtration, micron removal and ion exchange. The result is safe, clean, perfectly balanced pH level and mineral content.

Micron removal blocks microscopic bacterial cysts and spores. Carbon filtration, as mentioned above removes chlorine and improves taste and smell. Multi-media blocks trap any chemical contaminants. Ion exchange balances, but does not destroy mineral content. Residential reverse osmosis systems start at ,000 and I haven't even covered all of the disadvantages. Suffice to say, it is not the right choice for most of us. For more information, please see my website listed below. Larry L. Taylor

Residential Reverse Osmosis Systems Exposed

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Just What is a Reverse Osmosis Station?

What is reverse osmosis? Well the word osmosis means that the liquid will actually seek in a living cell and the concentration tends to become one. It would be like placing a straw in a newly open can of soda. The pressure will push some of the soda into the straw without even having to take a drink. That's why sometimes your soda will leak from the straw; the osmosis pressure is making the level in the straw increase. It's the same reason why you can't drink seawater.

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What the salt does in reverse osmosis

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The salt in the water will actually draw out all the moisture in your cells and you become extremely dehydrated and can die from it. Reverse osmosis is a way to filter out salt and other contaminates from the water to make it drinkable for others. The process of reverse osmosis needs a lot of pressure for the salt to separate from the water and it can take a lot of time to do so.

When it comes to using the reverse osmosis system to clean your water for drinking, it is among four or five stages in which your water has to go through to be cleaned. Some homes have a portable reverse osmosis system that does not run on electricity, but gravity. The gravity will push the water through many filters so that it can be cleaned.

The filter will last about seven or so years until they may need replaced.

Most people who use this system like in rural areas where they live away from the city and public water systems. Usually the water that is filtered comes from well, rivers, or ocean waters. You may need to have a reverse osmosis processor in your home if your local water is polluted or not up to par.

Clean neighborhood water
When reverse osmosis systems are used to clean neighborhood water, they will remove even the smallest organisms that will cause sickness and harm to others. However, they don't always get the bacteria or organisms out and that is why you will find that a UV light will follow many reverse osmosis systems.

The reverse osmosis system has saved many lives. Recently, nations where fresh water is rare other than from the ocean, the reverse osmosis has allowed them to use the ocean water by taking out the salt and other imperfections of the water so that it can be used for drinking, bathing, and farming while preserving the country's energy.

Just What is a Reverse Osmosis Station?

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How Does Reverse Osmosis Work? Five Methods of Reverse Osmosis From Water Purification to Dialysis

Here we have some frequently asked questions about how does reverse osmosis work. In my experience the answer depends on the application, so let's have a little Q&A.

How does reverse osmosis work in dialysis machines?

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They mimic the function of the kidneys by removing waste products, such as urea, from blood. The blood passes from a patient's body through a catheter and is run across an osmotic filter and then returned to the body.

How does it work in the food industry?

The systems are used to "concentrate" liquids. By removing water from fruit juices, for example, the food distributor can package and sell a concentrated juice. When the consumer purchases such a product, he adds a specific amount of water to reconstitute the beverage and make it drinkable. It is also used to create powdered foods, such as milk and dehydrated products used in cooking.

How does reverse osmosis work for car washes?

Because of its lower mineral content, the water is used during the "final rinse" phase at car washes. This reduces spotting and cars dry more quickly and easily. So, the demands on vehicle drying equipment, such as air blowers, are lower.

How does reverse osmosis work in maple syrup production?

Since the 1970s, maple syrup producers have been using RO to remove water from sap, before it is boiled down to syrup. Before the use of RO, the sap had to be boiled at very high temperatures to accomplish the same task. Often the boiling could cause the sap to burn and ruin the batch. So, while normally RO is too expensive and requires too much energy for most industries and home applications, for syrup producers, it allows them to use less energy for boiling and they avoid losing money due to a ruined batch. The only drawback is that the membranes must be monitored carefully for bacterial contamination and degradation.

How does reverse osmosis work in terms of water purification?

As you can see, by reading about the many applications of the systems, they are most effective at separating one liquid from another. In the case of water purification, they are used by public treatment facilities, desalination plants and private homeowners as one step in a complete purification process.

It works by forcing water under high pressure through a porous membrane or a series of membranes. The size of the pores determines what contaminants will be removed. The smaller pored membranes remove many of the common pollutants, but only things heavier than a water molecule will be removed. Others will pass threw, thus it is only one step in a complete process.

Some of the necessary additional steps include disinfection to remove bacteria, parasites and other microbes that cause waterborne illnesses. If chemical disinfection is performed, carbon filtration must be used to remove the chemicals. This is typically accomplished at the home or point-of-use. Although some facilities do use carbon blocks to remove some other chemical contaminants, they typically add chlorine at the end of treatment to prevent bacterial contamination and algae growth in the pipes.

Hopefully this answers most of your questions about how does reverse osmosis work. It's a bit of a long story and I may have only covered some points for consideration. If you are considering the purchase of a home unit, you should read more about the disadvantages.

How Does Reverse Osmosis Work? Five Methods of Reverse Osmosis From Water Purification to Dialysis

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Reverse Osmosis Water Treatment Comparison - Make No Mistake

Are you planning to buy a water purification system for your home? Looking for some facts revealing reverse osmosis water treatment comparison with other purifiers? Your quest ends here.

Most of the reverse osmosis reviews will only mention about the advantages that such a water treatment system has to offer. The other side of these systems is seldom talked about. This article will primarily focus on those less talked about facts about RO based systems. It will also present a reverse osmosis water treatment comparison analysis.

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Knowing the fact that the water supplied to our homes is highly impure and is contaminated with various pollutants like pesticides, cysts, chlorine, lead, metal traces etc., I assume you understand the need to purify it. After all clean drinking water is an essential requirement of our body.

The RO based water purifiers are one of the popular choices. All thanks to the reverse osmosis reviews which mention only half of the story. If you do a fair reverse osmosis water treatment comparison, you will find the following truth:-

- An RO based water purifier is very effective against organic and chemical contaminants. But as compared to the other multi stage water purifiers, it is not able to filter chlorine and pharmaceutical drugs. Unlike RO systems, a multi stage water purifier uses carbon filtration and sub micron filtration techniques which can efficiently filter out virtually all impurities from the water.

- An RO based water system de-mineralizes the water. As opposed to the multi-stage water purifiers which do not tamper the natural form of the water, the RO based filters strip off the minerals from water. These minerals like sodium, calcium, magnesium, iodine etc are present in the natural water. They are good for our health and consuming water lacking in these minerals can lead to deficiencies and other health problems.

- An RO based water system wastes a lot of water. The ratio of the filtered water to the water actually consumed for this filtration process is roughly 1:3. This implies 3 gallons of water will be wasted to produce 1 gallon of filtered water. In contrast to this, multi-stage water purifiers do not waste water. They are economical to maintain too.

- In contrast to the multi stage water purifiers which are customizable and can be easily installed over the counter or under the counter; the RO based units are not easily configurable. They need an additional outlet pipe and need explicit plumbing to provide this outlet near the drainage.

- The cost of the RO based units is unreasonably high as compared to the other multi stage water purifier units.

Now that we have discussed the less talked about side of the RO based units; this completes the reverse osmosis water treatment comparison with other multi-stage purifiers.

Make no mistake about it. Do not simply believe reverse osmosis reviews - do a comparison, find out the truth and make the right choice.

Reverse Osmosis Water Treatment Comparison - Make No Mistake

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Reverse Osmosis Water Can Deprive You of Minerals

Warning; reverse osmosis home systems may be bad for your health. Manufacturers are touting reverse osmosis water filters as the latest technology. But, the truth is the design has been around for over fifty years.

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They are really re-vamping old technology and trying to jump on the band wagon that has been caused by reports of lead and other unsafe chemicals in drinking water. Chlorine, for example, has been linked to several types of cancer. Reverse osmosis water filters alone are not enough to protect you from the harmful affects.

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Reverse osmosis home systems produce de-mineralized water with an acidic pH, similar to the water that comes from a home distiller. Research suggests that prolonged consumption of distilled or de-mineralized water can lead to some degree of mineral deficiency.

The water on our planet naturally contains traces of minerals like calcium, magnesium and potassium. De-mineralized water does not occur naturally. It was designed by humans to prolong the life of metallic components sensitive to rust. Reverse osmosis water works well to rinse your car, because it spots less, but it's not good for your body.

When minerals are stripped out through reverse osmosis home systems, the water naturally becomes more acidic. It's not good for your plants and would probably kill your fish. Basically, it's just not good for living things.

When we drink de-mineralized reverse osmosis water, the experts say that it will "pull" minerals from your body, further depriving you of calcium and other minerals necessary for good health. The need to "balance" itself is a basic law of nature. Reverse osmosis home systems go against nature. Osmosis is a natural occurrence. Reverse osmosis was man-made.

It is obvious that the manufactures of reverse osmosis water filters understand their shortcomings. Because, now some of them have added an additional carbon filtration stage to remove chlorine and other chemicals. The fact is, you can buy activated carbon filters for far less. If your tap water comes from a public supply, that's the main thing that you need.

The latest technology is a multi-stage system that filters out microscopic particles, as well as chemicals, while balancing the mineral content with an ion exchange system. It will not produce de-mineralized water, but it will produce the best tasting, healthiest drinking water.

One of the biggest complaints that people have with reverse osmosis home systems is the waste. They waste two or three times as much water as they clean. The better systems waste none. It should be easy for you to make the right choice.

Reverse Osmosis Water Can Deprive You of Minerals

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