Residential reverse osmosis systems are one of the best systems, if you are fighting a salt water battle. If you don't have a salt water issue, then you have options with the newer technologies that are much less expensive to buy and to operate. We will compare one of these options with reverse osmosis in this article.
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.
For a long time now the quality of the water we drink and bathe in has been a concern, but today scientists are telling us a greater concern is the body burden being imposed by the poor air quality in our homes. Chloroform, one of the toxic byproducts of chlorine in our water, is one of the worst offenders.
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).
The quality of the air and the quality of the water in our homes can both be enhanced greatly by whole house water purification units, since they remove the toxins as soon as the water enters the home.
And, there is a compelling reason to look at RO and SF technologies before you buy, because they differ significantly in initial costs and the cost to operate.
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?
Reverse osmosis and distillation systems were developed years ago to remove salt from brackish water and, at that time, water and electricity were very cheap. But, in today's world this technology has become very expensive.
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.
Smaller RO systems are very slow producers and typically take two to three hours to deliver one gallon of water. Whole house units are much faster, producing in the area of 1,800 gallons per day. Both large and small units require pressurized storage tanks to provide any quantity of filtered water.
To operate efficiently the home's water pressure must be a minimum of 40 psi (pounds per square inch) for the smaller units. Booster pumps that increase the water pressure are usually included in whole house units and are sometimes required for smaller units as well.
A lot of water is wasted, even with adequate pressure in the system, because for every gallon filtered, often 2 to 5 gallons of water cannot be pushed through the membrane. This water is then flushed, along with the filtered contaminants.
This waste water is recycled in some systems, however, the need for electricity, recycling, storage tanks and (maybe) booster pumps are the cause of the increased up front costs and they add to the higher cost to operate as well. And, all the extra equipment means it is more likely there are going to be additional maintenance costs too.
About 95 percent of us are on a chlorinated water system, and that means a good option to consider is selective filtration.
In these systems, redox (reduction/oxidation), mechanical filtration and activated charcoal are integrated into a multistage filtering process that will quickly process the water at the whole house level.
Redox, which is a chemical exchange process, is a new kind of filter media that was developed to remove dissolved lead and other toxic metals from water. Prior to this simple filtration process, only RO or distillation was capable of taking toxic metals from water.
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.
These systems produce filtered water rapidly (over seven gallons per minute), without electricity, storage tanks, or booster pumps. Their simplicity also makes for simpler installations.
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.
For a long time now the quality of the water we drink and bathe in has been a concern, but today scientists are telling us a greater concern is the body burden being imposed by the poor air quality in our homes. Chloroform, one of the toxic byproducts of chlorine in our water, is one of the worst offenders.
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).
The quality of the air and the quality of the water in our homes can both be enhanced greatly by whole house water purification units, since they remove the toxins as soon as the water enters the home.
And, there is a compelling reason to look at RO and SF technologies before you buy, because they differ significantly in initial costs and the cost to operate.
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?
Reverse osmosis and distillation systems were developed years ago to remove salt from brackish water and, at that time, water and electricity were very cheap. But, in today's world this technology has become very expensive.
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.
Smaller RO systems are very slow producers and typically take two to three hours to deliver one gallon of water. Whole house units are much faster, producing in the area of 1,800 gallons per day. Both large and small units require pressurized storage tanks to provide any quantity of filtered water.
To operate efficiently the home's water pressure must be a minimum of 40 psi (pounds per square inch) for the smaller units. Booster pumps that increase the water pressure are usually included in whole house units and are sometimes required for smaller units as well.
A lot of water is wasted, even with adequate pressure in the system, because for every gallon filtered, often 2 to 5 gallons of water cannot be pushed through the membrane. This water is then flushed, along with the filtered contaminants.
This waste water is recycled in some systems, however, the need for electricity, recycling, storage tanks and (maybe) booster pumps are the cause of the increased up front costs and they add to the higher cost to operate as well. And, all the extra equipment means it is more likely there are going to be additional maintenance costs too.
About 95 percent of us are on a chlorinated water system, and that means a good option to consider is selective filtration.
In these systems, redox (reduction/oxidation), mechanical filtration and activated charcoal are integrated into a multistage filtering process that will quickly process the water at the whole house level.
Redox, which is a chemical exchange process, is a new kind of filter media that was developed to remove dissolved lead and other toxic metals from water. Prior to this simple filtration process, only RO or distillation was capable of taking toxic metals from water.
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.
These systems produce filtered water rapidly (over seven gallons per minute), without electricity, storage tanks, or booster pumps. Their simplicity also makes for simpler installations.
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 reverse osmosis to find the best way to produce good, clean drinking water. Here are his picks as the best dollar for dollar buys, and the best products overall, in water filtration systems
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