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People who live on a property plagued with water sources infiltrated with salt cannot give enough praise in their reverse osmosis reviews. Anyone would have to concede to RO systems’ ability to clean up such water. For people who do not have that problem, however, the bulky, expensive RO systems are difficult to justify. In this article we want to make a reverse osmosis water treatment comparison with today’s more modern technology.

In the area where I live we don’t have the salt water problem, however, a lot of folks have well water with high iron or sulfate content. In some cases, either the taste or smell makes it almost impossible to drink. Some of my friends are using RO systems and they think the filtered water tastes great and, compared to what they had been drinking, it does. But, I find it very ‘flat’ or stale tasting.

Compared to the unfiltered water the stale water is much better, but it does point to another problem. The funky taste came from the lack of minerals in the filtered water because the RO system completely removed them. Minerals such as calcium and potassium give water its pleasant taste, and these minerals are essential to good health. But, water without any minerals is a little acidic and, if consumed, it will rob calcium from our bodies in order to get back to a neutral state. Those suffering from osteoporosis may want to consider mineral supplements if they are drinking water from a RO system.

Cancer specialists have weighed in on this also, saying they also believe such water is potentially dangerous since it creates a slightly acidic state in the body and cancer is believed to thrive only in a slightly acidic environment.

The RO filter consists of a semi-permeable membrane that filters out any matter larger than a water molecule. This is done by forcing the water through the membrane and sometimes, if there is not adequate water pressure, a booster pump may be needed.

The pores of the membranes are so small that even with sufficient pressure much of the water cannot be forced thru the RO membrane and is simply flushed. This adds to the operating costs.

Since about 1900, chlorine has been the poison of choice to clean up the bacteria in our water systems and you do not want to drink it, or its byproducts. However, RO systems will not remove chlorine, or any other of the synthetic organic chemicals (SOCs) we have in our water, as their molecules are too small and will go right through the membrane. The RO systems must be used together with an activated charcoal filter.

Any filter system will somewhat reduce your water pressure, but, as you might expect, RO systems are very slow producers. In order to have an adequate supply of water for bathing or doing laundry you will need a storage tank complete with a diaphram to maintain pressure.

These units are bulky, comparatively, and with the extra pumps, storage tanks, etc., they generally will require the assistance of a plumber to install and, even then, will often lead to maintenance issues. These extra components also make them prone to higher initial costs and higher operating costs, which are two of the leading gripes that come up in reverse osmosis reviews.

Most of us get our chlorinated water from a water utility or a well that doesn’t have a salt water problem. If this is true for you, I would recommend you take a look at a selective filtration system, which is also called a mult-stage system.

In multi-stage filtration the water flows through activated carbon that has been blended with a filter resin and compressed into a solid block. This modern technology filters out the chemicals with the carbon, the minerals leave through ion-exchange, and the rest of the bad guys get trapped with the tiny submicron filter pores. All you get is clean, healthy water with all the healthy minerals still there (by choice).

Kiss the extra pumps, pressurized tanks, extra maintenance and operating costs, and, even the need for calcium tablets good bye. If connected right these systems work almost maintenance free, giving you the best tasting, healthiest water you could ask for.