Does reverse osmosis make water safe to drink? If not, why not? These water systems are touted by the companies that sell them as a state of the art solution for obtaining purified water that is safe to drink.
And they sound pretty good from the description.
The physical principle of the device draws only water and molecules smaller than water through a membrane with a fine pore size.
Apparently what you get is perfectly purified water.
But are there disadvantages of these particular systems? Water that has been treated with reverse osmosis systems does not produce water that is safe to drink.
One of the major disadvantages is that it does not remove chlorine and related volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are thought to cause cancer.
Another disadvantage is that other chemicals with a molecular size smaller than water can also get through the membrane and contaminate the treated water.
In fact, a reverse osmosis system is most effective if it is used in conjunction with a carbon filtration system to remove chlorine and other chemicals.
Another of the disadvantages is that it removes all the trace minerals that are naturally found in water.
Some of the minerals that these systems removes from water include calcium, potassium, and magnesium.
These minerals are essential to our health.
Leading experts agree that long-term consumption of de-mineralized water can cause mineral deficiencies, potentially leading to illness or cancer.
No less an authority than the World Health Organization agrees that drinking water should contain a minimum concentration of certain essential minerals.
Yet those minerals are removed by this method.
Because of these disadvantages, the popularity of reverse osmosis water purification systems has been on the decline over the last few decades.
Other purification systems which share the same disadvantages of reverse osmosis, such as distillation systems, have also lost a lot of popularity over the years.
The popularity of other water filtration systems, such as carbon drinking water filters, have gained at their expense.
Carbon drinking water filter systems are effective at removing disease-causing cysts, heavy metals, hazardous chemical compounds, VOCs and other contaminants.
But they leave the trace minerals that are important to your health in the water, where they belong.
Finally, one of the other disadvantages of these filtration systems are their cost.
A reverse osmosis system is significantly more expensive than a simple carbon filtration system.
And yet carbon filter systems produce pure, clean water that is far healthier than water from a reverse osmosis system.
As you can see, they have many disadvantages.
There are far more effective home water filtration systems that remove impurities while retaining important trace minerals, producing water that is safe to drink and moderately priced.
And they sound pretty good from the description.
The physical principle of the device draws only water and molecules smaller than water through a membrane with a fine pore size.
Apparently what you get is perfectly purified water.
But are there disadvantages of these particular systems? Water that has been treated with reverse osmosis systems does not produce water that is safe to drink.
One of the major disadvantages is that it does not remove chlorine and related volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are thought to cause cancer.
Another disadvantage is that other chemicals with a molecular size smaller than water can also get through the membrane and contaminate the treated water.
In fact, a reverse osmosis system is most effective if it is used in conjunction with a carbon filtration system to remove chlorine and other chemicals.
Another of the disadvantages is that it removes all the trace minerals that are naturally found in water.
Some of the minerals that these systems removes from water include calcium, potassium, and magnesium.
These minerals are essential to our health.
Leading experts agree that long-term consumption of de-mineralized water can cause mineral deficiencies, potentially leading to illness or cancer.
No less an authority than the World Health Organization agrees that drinking water should contain a minimum concentration of certain essential minerals.
Yet those minerals are removed by this method.
Because of these disadvantages, the popularity of reverse osmosis water purification systems has been on the decline over the last few decades.
Other purification systems which share the same disadvantages of reverse osmosis, such as distillation systems, have also lost a lot of popularity over the years.
The popularity of other water filtration systems, such as carbon drinking water filters, have gained at their expense.
Carbon drinking water filter systems are effective at removing disease-causing cysts, heavy metals, hazardous chemical compounds, VOCs and other contaminants.
But they leave the trace minerals that are important to your health in the water, where they belong.
Finally, one of the other disadvantages of these filtration systems are their cost.
A reverse osmosis system is significantly more expensive than a simple carbon filtration system.
And yet carbon filter systems produce pure, clean water that is far healthier than water from a reverse osmosis system.
As you can see, they have many disadvantages.
There are far more effective home water filtration systems that remove impurities while retaining important trace minerals, producing water that is safe to drink and moderately priced.