It depends, if you have brackish water laced with salt, then yes, one of the residential reverse osmosis systems is a good solution. But, if you are on a chlorinated water system, with no salt problems, there are simpler and far less expensive systems available. In this article we will look at why one of these systems, selective filtration, might be a better choice for you than reverse osmosis.
The increase of chemical toxins in our environment has led to a lot of discussion about our "body burden", the term for the total amount of these toxins in our bodies at any given time.
In the past, we worried a lot about the quality of the water we consumed and how it was affecting our bodies, and rightly so, but now scientists are discovering the quality of the air in our home poses an even greater load on our bodies. One of the largest offenders is chloroform, a byproduct of the chlorine in our water.
The EPA said, "Every home in America has an elevated level of chloroform gas (in the air) due to the vaporization of chlorine from tap and shower water." (Also, while the shower produces the most chloroform in the air, the dishwasher and the washing machine aren't far behind).
By removing the chemical toxins at the point of entry into our homes, using whole house purification units, we significantly improve both the quality of the water and the quality of the air.
The main reason to look at RO and SF systems before you buy is the difference between their initial costs and operating costs, especially in whole house systems.
Good quality residential reverse osmosis systems are around $10,000. Good quality residential selective filtration systems come in at about $800. For most of us that difference might determine whether or not we can even get a whole house unit.
Why the big difference in price?
There are areas of our country where the ground water has been infiltrated with salt water and RO was developed to solve that problem years ago, when both water and electricity were cheap. But, this is a very expensive technology today and here's why.
RO systems use the home's water pressure to force water through a membrane having pores so small only molecules the size of water molecules, or smaller, can pass through, leaving contaminants with larger molecules behind.
Not all contaminants are stopped by the membrane. Chlorine, its byproducts and many other chemical compounds have small molecules that allow them to pass through easily. Carbon filters are added to remove them and to protect the membrane.
The small RO systems are very slow, taking two or three hours to produce a single gallon of filtered water. Whole house units, on the other hand, can filter upwards of 2,000 gallons per day. Large or small units require a pressurized tank in order to be able to deliver a larger quantity water quickly.
The minimum pressure required to operate most of the smaller countertop units is 40 psi (pounds per square inch) and older homes, or some well water systems, may need to add booster pumps. Since more pressure is required to operate the whole house systems, booster pumps are usually included with the unit.
Even with adequate pressure, a large quantity of water will not pass through the membrane and is wasted; often it is just dumped along with the filtered contaminants. These systems discharge anywhere from 2 to 5 gallons of wasted water for every gallon filtered.
There are some systems that do recycle this water but, recycling, electricity requirements, storage tanks and, possibly, extra pumps are what cause the high initial costs and some of the higher operating costs. Then too, the more things in a system that can go wrong, the more chances there are for additional maintenance issues to further increase the operating costs.
If you are on a chlorinated water system (95% of us are), a good option for consideration is selective filtration.
Selective filtration on the whole house level uses an innovative multistage filtration process consisting of mechanical filtration, redox and adsorptive filtration to rapidly process the water.
The relatively new redox filter uses a chemical exchange process to remove toxic metals, such as dissolved mercury or lead, from water. RO and distillation can also remove lead, but redox filters uses the first technology capable to remove these toxic metals by simple filtration methods.
Chlorine and its byproducts, along with other organic chemicals, are 99 percent (plus) removed by the activated charcoal. And, the total process treats water somewhat like a water softener, with no sodium added, and the odors, bad tastes and sediment are also removed.
All of this is done quickly, producing up to seven gallons of filtered water per minute, and install easily, without electricity, booster pumps or storage tanks.
So, if you are considering a whole house filter system to clean up the air and water in your home, you may want to give selective filtration a look.
The increase of chemical toxins in our environment has led to a lot of discussion about our "body burden", the term for the total amount of these toxins in our bodies at any given time.
In the past, we worried a lot about the quality of the water we consumed and how it was affecting our bodies, and rightly so, but now scientists are discovering the quality of the air in our home poses an even greater load on our bodies. One of the largest offenders is chloroform, a byproduct of the chlorine in our water.
The EPA said, "Every home in America has an elevated level of chloroform gas (in the air) due to the vaporization of chlorine from tap and shower water." (Also, while the shower produces the most chloroform in the air, the dishwasher and the washing machine aren't far behind).
By removing the chemical toxins at the point of entry into our homes, using whole house purification units, we significantly improve both the quality of the water and the quality of the air.
The main reason to look at RO and SF systems before you buy is the difference between their initial costs and operating costs, especially in whole house systems.
Good quality residential reverse osmosis systems are around $10,000. Good quality residential selective filtration systems come in at about $800. For most of us that difference might determine whether or not we can even get a whole house unit.
Why the big difference in price?
There are areas of our country where the ground water has been infiltrated with salt water and RO was developed to solve that problem years ago, when both water and electricity were cheap. But, this is a very expensive technology today and here's why.
RO systems use the home's water pressure to force water through a membrane having pores so small only molecules the size of water molecules, or smaller, can pass through, leaving contaminants with larger molecules behind.
Not all contaminants are stopped by the membrane. Chlorine, its byproducts and many other chemical compounds have small molecules that allow them to pass through easily. Carbon filters are added to remove them and to protect the membrane.
The small RO systems are very slow, taking two or three hours to produce a single gallon of filtered water. Whole house units, on the other hand, can filter upwards of 2,000 gallons per day. Large or small units require a pressurized tank in order to be able to deliver a larger quantity water quickly.
The minimum pressure required to operate most of the smaller countertop units is 40 psi (pounds per square inch) and older homes, or some well water systems, may need to add booster pumps. Since more pressure is required to operate the whole house systems, booster pumps are usually included with the unit.
Even with adequate pressure, a large quantity of water will not pass through the membrane and is wasted; often it is just dumped along with the filtered contaminants. These systems discharge anywhere from 2 to 5 gallons of wasted water for every gallon filtered.
There are some systems that do recycle this water but, recycling, electricity requirements, storage tanks and, possibly, extra pumps are what cause the high initial costs and some of the higher operating costs. Then too, the more things in a system that can go wrong, the more chances there are for additional maintenance issues to further increase the operating costs.
If you are on a chlorinated water system (95% of us are), a good option for consideration is selective filtration.
Selective filtration on the whole house level uses an innovative multistage filtration process consisting of mechanical filtration, redox and adsorptive filtration to rapidly process the water.
The relatively new redox filter uses a chemical exchange process to remove toxic metals, such as dissolved mercury or lead, from water. RO and distillation can also remove lead, but redox filters uses the first technology capable to remove these toxic metals by simple filtration methods.
Chlorine and its byproducts, along with other organic chemicals, are 99 percent (plus) removed by the activated charcoal. And, the total process treats water somewhat like a water softener, with no sodium added, and the odors, bad tastes and sediment are also removed.
All of this is done quickly, producing up to seven gallons of filtered water per minute, and install easily, without electricity, booster pumps or storage tanks.
So, if you are considering a whole house filter system to clean up the air and water in your home, you may want to give selective filtration a look.
About the Author:
David Eastham has done extensive research on such topics as selective filtration to discover the best way to provide good, clean drinking water. Follow him for his choices as the best dollar for dollar buys, and the best products overall, in water filtration systems
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