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I have an under sink reverse osmosis system that came with the house I bought a couple years ago. I used it for a few months, then found I can drink the tap water just fine (I'm on a well), and started filling a couple gallon jugs and tossing them in the fridge..because, well..I was too lazy to make ice
My new GF apparently has the heebie-jeebies over drinking tap water (I know..I just look at it as a choose your battle kind of thing), but is OK with the RO water. Except that I haven't ran any water through this thing for at least 18 months.
I've looked at a bunch of pages of how to periodically clean and sanitize these systems, but nothing on what to do with a connected, but long unused system, that has had water sitting in it for those 18 months. Am I still OK with the normal clean/sanitize procedure, or should I be fully tearing this thing down, replacing all the filters, etc or even just trashing it and putting a whole new system in? (I actually wouldn't mind an excuse to install a whole house RO system)
Personally, I'd take it apart & replace all the filters - and I'd do it when the gf wasn't present if she's the sensitive type - there will be munge & slime on the filters. That's normal, even if you change the filters every few months. Any water in the tank *should* be fine to drink, the holes in an osmosis membrane are too small for bacteria or even viruses to pass through. Theoretically, you could hook an osmosis Up to swamp water & not have a problem drinking it.. Sanitize everything as you reassemble it..
Personally, I'd take it apart & replace all the filters - and I'd do it when the gf wasn't present if she's the sensitive type - there will be munge & slime on the filters. That's normal, even if you change the filters every few months. Any water in the tank *should* be fine to drink, the holes in an osmosis membrane are too small for bacteria or even viruses to pass through. Theoretically, you could hook an osmosis Up to swamp water & not have a problem drinking it.. Sanitize everything as you reassemble it..
Agree. Assuming the well water going IN to the system is safe to drink on its own, you are not likely to get anything dangerous in the lines even if the water sits unused because it isn't exposed to the elements or air. Once you change out all the filter elements you should be fine. By the time you get everything connected and flushed, the water that was sitting in the lines should have been flushed down the sink. The water in the holding tank that IS filtered will be OK. It is very very clean.
After sitting for 18 months and if you have never changed the filters, I would agree that it's time to change the filters out. It is pretty easy and you can find the right size filters on Amazon or eBay. Once you changed the filters, just run the water to get rid of the black carbon residue and you should be fine to drink the water.
One more thing.. Drain the storage tank & see how heavy it is..(close the petcock,unhook the line, put it over the sink & open the petcock so it will drain). The rubber bladder inside will fail over time & the tank will fill with water (on the wrong side of the bladder). In my area, a tank is good for about five years or so.
One more thing.. Drain the storage tank & see how heavy it is..(close the petcock,unhook the line, put it over the sink & open the petcock so it will drain). The rubber bladder inside will fail over time & the tank will fill with water (on the wrong side of the bladder). In my area, a tank is good for about five years or so.
Good info on the storage tank. Mine lasted about 7-8 years, but it was always drawing water so after investigating, found out the bladder was bad. Replaced the tank and it was working good as new.
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