In most areas of the United States, water comes into the house from a public utility. It is typically stored at a reservoir and piped to a treatment facility, many of which use a reverse osmosis water filter as one step of their complete system.
One of the problems is that in order to provide “safe” drinking water, treatment facilities must disinfect water that has been sitting in their tanks or reservoirs. The most commonly used disinfectant is chlorine. Chlorine is also added to the water to protect the membrane or the reverse osmosis filter from rot.
Chlorine is a chemical that at one time was believed to be safe for human drinking water, but more and more studies are linking the chemical to cancer and other health conditions. Chlorine is not the only contaminant in the water, but it is one that a reverse osmosis water filter cannot block.
It makes your water smell bad and taste bad. It’s not safe to breathe the vapors that build up in the bathroom during a shower and, of course, it’s not safe to drink.
Whether you have a reverse osmosis filter for the kitchen tap, the shower or the whole house, you are not protecting your family from the immediate and future health risks associated with chlorine exposure.
Another problem with the reverse osmosis water filter is that it de-mineralizes the water. The system was originally designed for industries that needed mineral free water. Film developing, for example, requires de-mineralized or distilled water.
Studies have shown that drinking water without the minerals is bad for the digestive system and can cause mineral deficiencies. One of the best sources of potassium and other less common trace minerals is drinking water. But, there are even more disadvantages to a reverse osmosis filter in the home.
Reverse osmosis water filter systems are expensive and inefficient. They cost more initially and they cost more to maintain. They waste more water than they clean.
The amount of water wasted will depend on which reverse osmosis filter you choose. But, the most effective ones waste the most water. On the average, about 5 gallons are wasted for every one gallon that is cleaned. If your water is free, then maybe that’s okay, but for most of us, that’s not the case.
Reverse osmosis water filter systems work by forcing water under high pressure through a porous membrane. The membranes are difficult to replace and prone to manufacturing defects. They also reduce the pressure of the water coming into your home.
The size of the pores determines what contaminants will be blocked. The molecular size of chlorine, for example, is small enough to pass right through the pores. Microscopic bacteria referred to as cysts will also pass through.
Instead of a reverse osmosis filter you need activated carbon to block chlorine and a micron filter to remove cysts, if you want the safest and best tasting drinking water. An ion exchange stage is also nice, because it balances the mineral content, so water is not too “hard”, but still has a healthy level of minerals.
Unless your only source of water is a river or the ocean, a reverse osmosis water filter is not the right choice. And, even then you would want additional filters to block more contaminants before you actually drank the water.