Reverse Osmosis Water Benefits & Disadvantages

May 18, 2012

Whole House Water Filter Systems offers up information for homeowners

The senior writer on the Whole House Water Filter Systems website announced the publication of information on the advantages and disadvantages of a reverse osmosis water filtration system for the home. Reverse osmosis water filter systems come in many varieties from a number of manufacturers and some offer benefits for homeowners.

Taking a look at a few of the different types of RO water filters and reading about the pros and cons and the output of the filters will help homeowners make the best decision for their unique water-filtering needs. Reverse osmosis water filter systems are one of the most popular forms of filtering water, and with good reason-they are one of the most effective forms of water purification available today.

However, when compared to whole-house water filters, they do have some serious drawbacks. The advantages of RO systems can only be found in the government and commercial sectors as they were designed to provide desalination for naval ships and provide clean drinking water for the crew. The printing industry also uses reverse osmosis to supply clean water to its machines to help them perform at optimal levels.

RELATED: What is Reverse Osmosis (RO)?

What are the Disadvantages of Reverse Osmosis (RO)?

One of the major disadvantages of RO systems for the home is that they remove most of the minerals from the water leaving it with an acidic pH. Also, during the purification process, up to 20 gal of water is flushed down the drain for every gallon of filtered water produced.

Another disadvantage of reverse osmosis systems is they take too long to filter water when they’re compared to a whole-house water filter system. In fact, an RO system can take anywhere from 2 to 4 hours to filter nearly 3 gallons of water, which means it would take all day to be able to filter enough water for everyone in the home.

Reverse osmosis can also be very costly as some whole-home units can cost thousands of dollars including installation. The high price does speed up the water filtration process but at the same time the amount of water wasted is significant.

Source: Whole House Water Filter Systems

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