subject: Are Reverse Osmosis Water Units Effective For Residential Use? [print this page] Are Reverse Osmosis Water Units Effective For Residential Use?
Reverse Osmosis water units are used mainly for removing salt and other substances from sea water. This is in contrast to the conventional form of osmosis when a solvent moves from one place with a low solute concentration to another place with a high solute concentration. This is achieved through a membrane.When external pressure is used to reverse the flow of a pure solvent, this is known as Reverse Osmosis (RO). The process resembles membrane filtration but there are major differences between this and reverse osmosis. These are far too technical to discuss. However, what does need discussing is the practicality of RO for use by homeowners.The process is very effective for certain commercial operations, but is has a number of drawbacks when used in the home. The quality of drinking water has come under great scrutiny in recent years. Just because you receive water from a municipality, this does not necessarily mean it is free of impurities.Consumers have rightly become alarmed at information revealed by studies done on the quality of drinking water. As such, many homeowners are installing filtration systems to ensure that their water is safe to drink. The studies confirmed that there are definite links between some illnesses and tap water.Many municipalities around the world add chlorine to water that is piped to residential areas. The purpose is to kill off any potentially harmful biological contaminants. While it may indeed serve this purpose, chlorinated water is dangerous for human consumption. Being such a strong disinfectant, it is not surprising to learn that chlorine can upset the human body's natural bacterial defenses and result in illness.From the practical side, reverse osmosis has other disadvantages. Because the units work off low back pressure, they need a lot of water. Only 5 to 15 percent of water that enters the unit is filtered. The rest is discharged as waste. To obtain five gallons of treated water in a day, a RO unit will empty up to 90 gallons of waste water. From an environmental point of view, this is unacceptable.Because the waste water contains contaminants it cannot be recycled for other uses in the home. Another major disadvantage with reverse osmosis water units is that, during the filtration process, many healthy minerals are eliminated along with the harmful elements. For example, trace minerals that have many health benefits are completely lost. If you want to install a filtration system in your home, there are many other more feasible options.
