Thursday, May 29, 2008

Why Aren't Reverse Osmosis Water Systems The Right Choice For Tap Water?

If you're looking for a good quality water purification system for your home, a reverse osmosis water system is probably not the right choice for you. Although many public utilities use reverse osmosis water systems, you would be very surprised to learn what is in that clear tap water of yours!

The list of chemicals and other compounds found in tap water processed by public utilities is long and dangerous. Chlorine, lead, hormones, medications, herbicides, pesticides, acanthamoeba, bacteria and other single celled organisms that can cause serious illnesses, are just a few of the things you may find in your water, even after it has been processed by your local utility company.

A reverse osmosis water system was not designed to remove these types of contaminants. Most of these microscopic contaminants are smaller than a molecule of water. Reverse osmosis water systems were designed to let water pass through, while removing large particulates of contaminants. Yet common sense tells you, if the contaminant molecules are smaller than water, and water can pass through, so can all the other nasty stuff.

Reverse osmosis water systems simply were not designed to tackle the chemical contamination that we now have in our tap water. People traveling to third world countries or living in rural areas use mobile reverse osmosis units successfully. They work best when cleaning river water or well water. However, even in these instances, boiling the water is recommended prior to drinking.

Companies that sell reverse osmosis water systems for home use are not giving you the whole story. They generally fail to mention why most systems are sold along with an additional filtering system. Which begs the question, if you need to use a filtering system even after processing your water through a reverse osmosis water system, then why not use a filtering system altogether?

Until recently, reverse osmosis was only used in industrial applications, where it's removal of minerals and larger contaminants is a benefit. Certain industries require demineralized water because the trace minerals naturally present in water, which are good for human health, cause rust and damage to delicate equipment.

Plus, reverse osmosis water systems are needed for cooling in power plants and for laser equipment. The system simply was not designed for drinking water.

Some water treatment facilities use a reverse osmosis water system as a single step of their cleaning process for removing large particulates of dirt and debris from the water. Otherwise, it isn't practical, because reverse osmosis wastes more water than it cleans. About 5 gallons for every one gallon cleaned ends up as waste water. Naturally, some companies reclaim this waste water, but generally a home system is not designed to do this.

The whole story is that reverse osmosis water systems do not have a practical application in the home environment. They are more costly than other systems that do a better job and they leach healthy minerals from tap water, while leaving chemicals and contaminants behind.

Which is exactly the opposite of what you want to accomplish. What you want is for your drinking water to taste good, smell good, be chemical and contaminant free, yet still contain the trace minerals that are good for your health.

The best system for purifying tap water is a multi-stage unit that includes activated carbon and micron filters, as well as an ion exchange function. So, mark the reverse osmosis water system off your shopping list and buy a less expensive better quality product.

Mark Hegge - Dedicated to researching and improving the quality of the water we consume. For more information on multiple filtration Home Water Purifiers visit the following website: http://www.purified-and-clean-water.com/

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