Can You Achieve Better Health Through Reverse Osmosis?

If you want to improve your health through reverse osmosis, you need some information. Home reverse osmosis systems have been suggested to remove the hazards in the public water supplies, but they are only so effective and there are numerous disadvantages that you should consider, before you buy.

The first consideration is the source of your drinking water. If you live in a rural area, not serviced by a public utility, you can protect your health through reverse osmosis. Home reverse osmosis systems remove many contaminants, as long as the membranes are in place and functioning properly.

Maintaining the membranes is one of the disadvantages, but if your source is visibly dirty, you need this step. But, additional steps will be needed, as well.

You see, you cannot completely protect your health through reverse osmosis. There are many contaminants that home reverse osmosis systems will not remove. Some of them are biological. Some of them are chemical.

Some microorganisms are not removed. The membranes can become contaminated by them and algae can also grow on the membranes. A disinfection step is required, along with sub-micron filtration, in order to completely purify.

Those of you who are have a medical condition that affects the function of your immune system need to be particularly careful. The Environmental Protection Agency suggests sub-micron filtration or bottled water with verifiable quality. In other words, either buy a point-of-use system with a sub-micron filter or call the bottling company to be sure that they use one.

There are so many things in the groundwater today that no one purification step can protect you. There may be some better health through reverse osmosis, but the treatment facilities already use this step. So, if you are serviced by a public utility, the idea of home reverse osmosis systems is redundant.

Assuming that you are serviced by a public utility, you may have many problems. Chlorine and THMs (the by-products of chlorination) are the two must common. Researchers estimate that more than 700 cancer cases per year are due to THM exposure, and that's just in Canada.

When it comes to increased cancer risk from THM exposure, you cannot protect your health through reverse osmosis. You need an adsorption step to block THMs, along with carbon filtration to block chlorine.

In many areas, the problem is lead. Lead contamination occurs after the water leaves the treatment facility. Home reverse osmosis systems will remove this threat, but the less expensive ion exchange process will also accomplish the task, while balancing the pH level and the mineral content. These are things that home reverse osmosis systems cannot do.

If you do decide on RO, you should be aware that they are expensive to purchase, install and maintain. They require electricity, so they will increase your electric bill. They create gallons of wastewater that will tax your septic system. If you pay a water bill, they will cause that bill to rise, because of increased usage and increased sewage.

If you can achieve better absolute-pure-water.com health through reverse osmosis, then by all means, go ahead and buy one. But, for most of us, they are unnecessary and impractical.

William Manning has spent the last 3 years completing his PhD in Nutritional Science. His thesis focused on the deteriorating condition of the water supply and how that affects human health and well-being. Visit his water purification blog at absolute-pure-water.com absolute-pure-water.com to discover which water purification system he uses and recommends.