I had first-hand experience with a reverse osmosis water treatment system recently.
I've done a lot of reading (and a lot of writing) about reverse osmosis water treatment systems, but I had never stayed in a house that had one, because I knew that it wasn't the right choice for my home.
But, on our last vacation, we stayed in a house on an island in a remote area, without access to a public waterline.
The owners had installed a reverse osmosis water treatment system, but it was not functioning properly.
The tiny membranes that reverse osmosis water treatment systems rely on to filter out sediments and other impurities are prone to tear.
When they do, you end up with something that is undrinkable and not even pleasant to shower in.
I had read that.
Now, I have first hand experience with it.
We had to resort to drinking bottled water and giving it to our dogs.
We had to cook with bottled water and use it for making coffee.
During that week, we must have gone through a half dozen cases of bottled water and I am generally NOT a fan of the bottling industry.
But, when reverse osmosis water treatment systems are not functioning properly, there is little else that you can do.
I would have probably showered in it, if I could have.
The sandy salty sediment in the shower was, in a word, nasty.
Even when a reverse osmosis water treatment system is working properly, there are lots of contaminants that are not removed.
They cannot filter out anything smaller than the size of the pores in the membrane, so things like chlorine and other chemicals commonly present in publicly treated supplies will not be removed.
That's why I always say these things to people who are on a public waterline.
You need a home purifier that includes granular carbon, resins and other filtering media to trap chlorine and chemicals that increase your risk of cancer.
You need submicron filtration to remove cryptosporidium and giardia cysts that sometimes cause serious illnesses.
You need ion exchange to remove more than 99% of all traces of lead in your water.
But, you do not need reverse osmosis water treatment systems.
If you do not have access to a public supply, I would suggest that you consider all of your options before you buy a reverse osmosis water treatment system.
With the technological advancements that have been made with ion exchange and other purification methods, there are likely to be less expensive and more effective alternatives.
If you do buy a reverse osmosis water treatment system and you have a high sediment or sodium count, you will need a pre-filtration step or the membranes will only last a short time.
Also, you need to know that a reverse osmosis water treatment system will not remove bacteria, so you could need a disinfection step, as well.
It pays to do your research if you want effective purification in your home.
I've done a lot of reading (and a lot of writing) about reverse osmosis water treatment systems, but I had never stayed in a house that had one, because I knew that it wasn't the right choice for my home.
But, on our last vacation, we stayed in a house on an island in a remote area, without access to a public waterline.
The owners had installed a reverse osmosis water treatment system, but it was not functioning properly.
The tiny membranes that reverse osmosis water treatment systems rely on to filter out sediments and other impurities are prone to tear.
When they do, you end up with something that is undrinkable and not even pleasant to shower in.
I had read that.
Now, I have first hand experience with it.
We had to resort to drinking bottled water and giving it to our dogs.
We had to cook with bottled water and use it for making coffee.
During that week, we must have gone through a half dozen cases of bottled water and I am generally NOT a fan of the bottling industry.
But, when reverse osmosis water treatment systems are not functioning properly, there is little else that you can do.
I would have probably showered in it, if I could have.
The sandy salty sediment in the shower was, in a word, nasty.
Even when a reverse osmosis water treatment system is working properly, there are lots of contaminants that are not removed.
They cannot filter out anything smaller than the size of the pores in the membrane, so things like chlorine and other chemicals commonly present in publicly treated supplies will not be removed.
That's why I always say these things to people who are on a public waterline.
You need a home purifier that includes granular carbon, resins and other filtering media to trap chlorine and chemicals that increase your risk of cancer.
You need submicron filtration to remove cryptosporidium and giardia cysts that sometimes cause serious illnesses.
You need ion exchange to remove more than 99% of all traces of lead in your water.
But, you do not need reverse osmosis water treatment systems.
If you do not have access to a public supply, I would suggest that you consider all of your options before you buy a reverse osmosis water treatment system.
With the technological advancements that have been made with ion exchange and other purification methods, there are likely to be less expensive and more effective alternatives.
If you do buy a reverse osmosis water treatment system and you have a high sediment or sodium count, you will need a pre-filtration step or the membranes will only last a short time.
Also, you need to know that a reverse osmosis water treatment system will not remove bacteria, so you could need a disinfection step, as well.
It pays to do your research if you want effective purification in your home.