The Pros And (Mostly) Cons Of Reverse Osmosis Filtration

Reverse osmosis or an RO system is a process used to purify water. It’s good at removing contaminants from the water…too good in fact.RO systems create dead water which is bad for our health and our plumbing. RO systems are also costly and difficult to maintain, so much so, that your purchase will likely to you into a costly service agreement.

All you need to do is pick up a Use and Car Manual for an RO System. 

How Does an RO System Work?

A reverse osmosis system forces water molecules through a partially permeable membrane. The openings in the membrane are small enough to let the water molecules through, but stop dissolved inorganic solids like salts, minerals, and contaminants.

RO systems are highly effective, removing up to 99% of contaminants. 

Pros

Almost all contaminants are removed from the water.

Reverse osmosis systems eliminate around 99% of everything in the water, including heavy metals and other potentially harmful contaminants. Unfortunately, RO systems also remove the vital minerals we need to survive. 

It meets the need for mineral-less water.

As noted above, the water produced is free from minerals. This is great for using it in home aquariums, where aquatic pets benefit from water completely free of added minerals and contaminants.

It cuts down on the plastic waste associated with bottled water.

Reverse osmosis reduces or eliminates the need to buy bottled water, which significantly reduces vast amounts of plastic waste.

Cons

Water from a reverse osmosis system does not taste very good.

We are accustomed to the taster of water containing minerals. Totally demineralized water from an RO system tastes quite “flat” in comparison.

M reverse osmosis systems include a remineralization stage in which you add inorganic minerals to try and make it taste better. 

Water with no minerals is not good for our health.

Water from reverse osmosis systems is demineralized, i.e., it contains no minerals at all. 

Health experts indicate that water is an important source of minerals in our diets. For example, we get between 5% and 10% of our calcium from water. Some RO Systems try to get around this buy requiring users to ad a minerization system. However, these systems use inorganic minerals which may improve the taste, but are uselss to our bodies, since we cannot digest them. 

A report from the World Health Organization, however, concluded that:

“Demineralised water that has not been remineralized, or low-mineral content water – in the light of the absence or substantial lack of essential minerals in it – is not considered ideal drinking water, and therefore, its regular consumption may not be providing adequate levels of some beneficial nutrients.”

Reverse osmosis systems are expensive to own and difficult to maintain

Reverse osmosis technology was originally designed for use on a large scale – for military or commercial use, for example. Use on this scale justified the cost of installing and maintaining such systems. 

For the domestic consumer, however, reverse osmosis filtration is expensive. 

Don’t take our word, pick up any manual to a reverse osmosis system. The points made below about RO systems are taken directly from the most popular RO systems. 

First, there are the obvious costs of the initial installation. Installing an RO system requires electricity and cutting into your sewer line (more on why below).  You also need to add an extra faucet, which requires drilling into your counter top:

IMPORTANT: Drilling holes into countertops and sinks should only be performed by an installer who is qualified for drilling such materials. Drilling of surfaces made of stone or solid surface materials such as granite, marble, Corian™ or other plastic resun products or sinks made of porcelain or stainless steel may cause permanent, irreparable damage to the sink or counter-top surface.

Depending on your system, you need to replace the filters, some as often as every 6 months and at least annually. 

And from another RO Manual:

NOTE: It is recommended to replace the battery, pre-filter and post-filter cartridges at least every 6 months of product water use. Replace more often if they begin to plug with sediment.