Brackish Water
Brackish Water
Are Reverse Osmosis Water Filter Systems Really The Best Choice?
I've written a number of articles about the disadvantages of reverse osmosis water filter systems, but recently, I had a real-life experience that has further convinced me that reverse osmosis treatment could not be the best option for anyone.
We vacationed in a home on an island with a brackish well. The homeowners had installed reverse osmosis water filter systems to address the problem. For many years, that was the only option, but today, thankfully, there are choices.
The water in the kitchen was undrinkable, unsuitable for making coffee and the "visible" sediment content was too high for even the dogs to drink. We spent about a hundred dollars that week on cases of bottled water for cooking and drinking.
The reverse osmosis treatment process went on in the basement of the house, but obviously, it wasn't functioning properly. It was close enough to the bedrooms to be "heard". It made the loudest noises that you could imagine and from the "outside" it looked like a relatively new system.
Those are some of the common complaints with reverse osmosis treatment. They are noisy and they break down easily. They rely on a porous membrane, which is delicate and easily torn. A system that effectively removes "salt" must contain numerous membranes and a prefiltration step, in order to protect the membrane and prevent it from tearing.
Obviously, this homeowner had chosen one of the less expensive reverse osmosis water filter systems, with inadequate pretreatment sediment filtration. In cases where RO is necessary, other steps are always necessary.
The membranes do not remove chemical contaminants or anything "dissolved" in the water. They do not kill bacteria; in fact they can be a source of bacterial contamination, because they grow in the pores of the membrane. You need to "design" a complete system based on the contaminants you have to deal with. But, if you are serviced by a public treatment facility, reverse osmosis treatment is unnecessary.
The new products by GE and Ever-pure were designed for homeowners serviced by a public facility. I find that very annoying, because everyone knows that publicly supplied water does not require reverse osmosis water filter systems in the home. The step has already been performed at the facility.
What you do need is sub-micron filtration to remove parasites (cysts) resistant to chemical disinfectants. What you do need is granular carbon to remove those chemicals and a multi-media adsorptive block to remove by products of chemicals disinfection.
Reverse osmosis treatment is often recommended for lead reduction, but the system will only reduce the heavy metal to the "Federal Action Level". That's not enough. An ion exchange removes more than 99% of all traces of lead and protects you from the chronic health problems that consumption causes.
Affordable devices that include all of these steps are available. You just need to review product performance data for cost and contaminant removal, before you buy. You do not need reverse osmosis water filter systems and I would recommend that you choose another option.
About the Author
Derek Reeve runs an informational website that provides details of the best water purifiers. If you're serious about improving the quality of water you use visit water purification systems for home to find the most effective, efficient and affordable products available.
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