Have you been considering the addition of a reverse osmosis water filter to your home? With so many concerns about contaminants and forever chemicals in our drinking water, many families are turning to in-home solutions for peace of mind.
While carbon-filtered pitchers and point-of-use carbon faucet filters vastly improve the taste of tap water, they aren’t the comprehensive solution required to tackle perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) such as polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), nor are they capable of removing harmful bacteria or dissolved solids.
Reverse osmosis systems can remove all of those contaminants and more without harmful chemicals, leaving you with water you’ll feel good about using in your cooking, your next pitcher of iced tea or your child’s bedside water glass. In this article we’ll covered the basics of this powerful system so you can make an informed decision.
What is Reverse Osmosis Water Filtration?
Before we dive into the reasons to use a reverse osmosis filtration system, let’s take a look at how the method works. A reverse osmosis filtration system uses a semipermeable membrane, carbon filter and sediment filter to remove contaminants.
- Water first passes through the sediment and carbon filters to remove sediment and chlorine. (Chlorine can damage the membrane.) Your individual system may use more than one carbon filter. Alternatively, three-step filtration may combine the carbon and sediment filters.
- After the water has cleared the carbon and sediment filters, it is forced through the semipermeable membrane under high pressure. This is the key step in the system because it tackles dissolved solids and materials that are too small to be captured by regular filtration methods. The water molecules themselves are separated, allowing only clean water to pass through.
- After the water leaves the membrane, it passes through one final “polishing filter,” a carbon filter that gives your water an extra boost of clarity and clean
- Sediment and waste collected during the filtration process is flushed out of the system. You can even hear the system process and remove the contaminants.
How a Reverse Osmosis Filter Can Benefit Your Home
1. Reverse Osmosis Removes Contaminants
Reverse osmosis offers some of the most powerful filtration capabilities available in water purification. The success of the system depends on the semi-permeable membrane, which filters water at the molecular level for the cleanest possible outcomes.
A Reverse Osmosis Filter Can Remove:
- Sodium, chloride
- Copper
- Lead
- Fluoride
- Arsenic
- Nitrate
- Phosphorus
- Perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) such as polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)
- Bacteria
- Viruses
2. Reverse Osmosis Water Systems Improve Flavor and Quality of Drinking Water
Have you ever poured a glass of water and gotten a flashback to the days of hanging out at the community pool from the chlorine taste? Does your water taste metallic or dirty or appear cloudy or gritty? A reverse osmosis water filter can remove the contaminants that make your drinking water taste less than refreshing.
- Sulfur
- Heavy metals
- Harmful minerals
- Chlorine
- Bacteria
- Other contamination
3. RO Can Reduce Concentrated Minerals
A healthy mineral is only healthy in the right concentration. When certain beneficial minerals become too abundant in our drinking water, they can cause health issues — and household issues. Residents who live on wells, or who live in areas with high mineral concentration in the water table and surface water (such as Pueblo or Manitou Springs), may experience mineral build-up on their fixtures and health problems like damage to teeth.
The multi-filter approach used by reverse osmosis filters pulls those minerals out and safely flushes them out of your system. You may notice a serious reduction in limescale and build-up in your appliances and fixtures after a few weeks of installation.
4. Advance Filtration Helps the Environment and Your Wallet
When residents become concerned about water quality, the first step they take is to purchase a surplus of bottled water — understandably so. However, relying on bottled water is not a sustainable solution to the problem of contaminated drinking water. It is expensive, generates a massive amount of waste and makes you reliant on store availability — something we all learned is not as reliable as we would like during the pandemic. Additionally, it doesn’t solve the problem of contaminated water running through all of your taps. You don’t want to have to use bottled water to brush your teeth or worry about your health because you swallowed a mouthful of water in the shower.
Installing a whole-house reverse osmosis system, or even point-of-use RO filters on your main taps can immediately eliminate the need for single-use plastic water bottles. Instead of purchasing a case of water every week from the grocery store, you can rely on clean water straight from your tap in a reusable water bottle.
Purified Water and Peace of Mind with Reverse Osmosis Filtration
Reverse osmosis filtration will protect and purify your drinking water better than any other system available to home and business owners. If you are considering boosting the purity and safety of your drinking water, this system provides the filtration, flavor and environmental benefits you’ve been looking for. Give Flow Right a call if you’re interested in learning more about upgrading your water filtration. We’ll help you find the best reverse osmosis system for your water purification needs.