Any tips on buying a plumbed-in Reverse Osmosis system?

[hailtotheking]

Well, i'm almost at the point of being able to complete the purchase of my new flat with a trusted friend, so we need to start making decisions about adjustments we want done to it. One of our concerns is the in the Water Search our solicitor asked for from Thames Water, it was found a few years back that when the water was tested in the area there were unnaceptably high levels of lead and e. coli bacteria in the water. Therefore, we are going to have a decent water filter fitted. We are looking at a Reverse Osmosis system fitted. We found some good basic guidelines here Choosing a Reverse Osmosis Water Filter- What you need to know , but was wondering if anyone else out there had any other recommendations regarding brands or particular systems.

[Ripped Barbarian]

I havn't got any tips on buying just this about drinking RO water.

-Be sure to re-mineralise the water otherwise it'll actually take minerals away from your body.
Tap water, especially in hard water areas (like mine) is a significant source of various minerals (mg2+, Ca2+ ions)

Pure water does not yet must leave the body at a certain ratio of ions to the plasma/kidney (there is a 'forced' reverse osmosis and reabsorption in the kidney but minimal) so it'll take minerals from your body, you cannot excrete ionically pure water.

You could of course drink a small amount of RO soft water and have a mineral rich diet but as many people drink a lot of water and diets arn't that impressive it is an important consideration.

We evolved always drinking mineral water that had come from the ground, soft 'rain water' (other than the collection of it directly in the desert etc) wasn't an option because still water harboured parasites and certainly the sea was a no go! fresh running water that had passed through rock was the only clean option.

[NU_nutrition_TS]

I was going to say the same thing as RC. RO filtration basically takes most, if not all, of the minerals out of the water making it like distilled or deionised water - which is not healthy in the long term.

If you are willing to spend several hundreds of pounds on a good plumbed-in system you could consider this product (a water filtration/ionisation unit):


The Official Water Ionizer - Home

It was something I had considered for myself but the cost was more than I could afford at the time. They do a 'rent it to try it' scheme with a 'rent to buy' option, where the rental paid reduces the amount required to buy the unit outright. Here's a quote that should address your immediate concerns about filtering out unwanted contaminants and pathogens:

Quote

The Water Ionizer has a superior activated fibrous filter, which instantly filters out contaminants and the water produced is also free from bacteria and chorine. But of course the main purpose of The Water Ionizer is to electrolysis the water, producing effective antioxidant water. A filter jug may stop bacteria but it will not destroy it, the bacteria will harbour within the filter and it only takes a short while before the filter is clogged up. Water filter jugs are better than not having one, but they are not a long-term solution.

By separating the water into both alkaline and acid components it boasts the following health benefits (for drinking the alkaline water fraction):

Quote

The antioxidant water can help so many ailments from within the body due to it helping to reduce acidity within the body and fighting free radicals. There is no need to consume pH or antioxidant supplements anymore, as the antioxidant water seems to be so much more effective.

There is a long list of benefits that follows the above paragraph (too many to copy and paste here!). The acidic water fraction is said to be good for external uses (antiseptic properties).

If you Google 'water filtration/ionisation' you should get quite a few hits for various systems - some that you can plumb into the entire house water supply so that treated water comes out of every tap - even the shower and the loo!

[Ripped Barbarian]

Sorry if this is slightly to a tangent but:

-My water supply is good quality, no fluoride, very hard (the kettle loves it) will be very low in estrogens/reprocessing toxins.

The only negative thing is a small agricultural run off so fertilizers and pesticides to some degree, the water comes from cheddar reservoir. like so http://www.geograph.org.uk/geophotos...2_1f9276f4.jpg fed by waters from the mendips and the famous caves.

Now, RO is expensive and would ruin the benefits of the hard water but i want to get rid of pesiticides etc and of course chlorine etc.
Am i right in thinking a brita filter, as i currently use for all my drinking and cooking water, is the best option? the heavier compounds being readily absorbed by the resins in the filters.

[NU_nutrition_TS]

Most standard home water filters, like Brita, are based on activated carbon (charcoal) blocks and these filter out taste and odour problems caused by Chlorine, Sediments, Volatile Organic Chemicals (VOCs - eg pesticides, herbicides), Chloramines, Trihalomethanes (THMs - carcinogenic chlorine disinfection by-products).

[daffy]

I've been mulling over this for a few months - I'd be interested in hearing your experiences and which installer you eventually go for.

[Gareth83]

Just get a Culligan undersink filter and change the cartridge every year.

RC, as for Brita aren't you meant to change the filter every 7days? false economy if you ask me...

[Ripped Barbarian]

7 days?! not that i've heard, it's usually a month for 'family use'

I go by taste tho, you can tell when the filter starts working less efficiently as the difference between tap water becomes less.

[Gareth83]

well when I bought my Culligan I based it on pence per litre of water and Brita were damn expensive

[hailtotheking]

I'm not impressed with Brita catridges. They are better than nothing, but single-cartidge systems like that:

a) filter out relatively few unwanted substances,

b) Only have about 70% success rate at removing unwanted contaminants,

c) Have to be changed very regularly which can add up very quickly cost-wise over a year.

RO units use multiple filters for catching a wide array of gunk,and actually destroy bacteria rather than just letting it build up around the filter like Brita's do, and have about 95-99% filtration rate. The filters only need replacing every 6-14 months (depending on which filter), and arent actually that expensive.

RO-treated water does not pull minerals from the body - that only happens with distilled water from fractional distiller devices.