Have you ever wondered if reverse osmosis water systems make a good choice for protecting your family's health from the contaminants found in the tap water in our homes?
Well this information may be useful to you in making your decision.
Reverse osmosis water systems are used by some large scale treatment facilities and other industries as their primary means of removing minerals, metals and other contaminants that are "heavy". These facilities also use disinfectants like chlorine to protect us from diseases such as cholera.
But you may have heard a number of claims from companies touting these water systems for home use. Can they be trusted or is it advertising hype?
Let's find out by looking at a couple of these common claims made by the manufacturers of reverse osmosis water systems.
1. Reverse osmosis water systems can protect us from the contaminants that treatment facilities cannot. - This is untrue. There is only so much that the reverse osmosis process can do to protect us. It is not a catch all system and in fact in some cases, such as bacterial contamination, reverse osmosis systems must be teamed with other filtration systems to combat the contaminants.
2. Reverse osmosis water systems protect us from chlorine and its by-products (THMs) released when the chemical is used for disinfection. - Again, this is not true. Chlorine and THMs are too small and light to be trapped by the porous membrane. They pass right through, along with the liquid. You would have to have additional steps to block these contaminants, something like a carbon block, for example.
This may seem like an unimportant point to you and you may be asking why should we care about chlorine and THMs? Doesn't the government regulate them? Aren't they safe?
No, they are not safe.
Studies over the years have shown that the consumption of chlorine over a period of time causes long range chronic health problems and increases your risk of cancer. THMs have also been linked to cancer. The allowable "parts per million" content limit is the amount that is deemed safe for one time exposure in a 175 pound adult. No government agency has ever taken into account the fact that many of us weigh less. Nor, have they considered the effect of repeated constant exposure over the course of a lifetime.
When inhaled as vapors in your shower these contaminants aggravate various respiratory problems and can cause asthma attacks. Claims that a whole house reverse osmosis water system will prevent these problems are not true. Only an activated carbon shower head filter will block chlorine and only the best will remove THMs.
For the whole house, some effective units are available to remove these contaminants , but reverse osmosis water systems are not among them.
There are other disadvantages to the reverse osmosis water system. For instance, it is largely inefficient. It works by forcing pressurized liquids through a porous membrane. The size of the pores determines what contaminants will be removed. It is only semi-effective.
Also extra electricity is needed to run the reverse osmosis water system unit and pump. In addition this type of filter system is very wasteful, for every one gallon of water that is cleaned, several gallons end up as wastewater that gets flushed down a waste drain. And "clean" is used loosely, here. Reverse osmosis water systems also reduce the pressure throughout your home because they are inherently slow. It may never be possible for you to take a pulsating shower again.
The last disadvantage of reverse osmosis water systems, but not the least by far, is that the process removes nearly all of the minerals that naturally occur in ground-water. Even if you have the "hardest" water on earth, you do not want to drink de-mineralized water. It does not taste very fresh and is bad for your long term health, causing vitamin deficiencies and stomach ailments.
There are better options for your home than a reverse osmosis water system. The choice is yours; hopefully you'll make the right one.
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