Gross water - what's the best option? (how much, allergies)

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by Curly Q. Bobalink

The problem with an RO system is that it is wasteful, you are essentially concentrating the minerals from one unit of water into another - for every gallon of drinking water you get out of it, one-to-two gallons (depending on how bad your source water is), goes down the drain. Now, if you could find a use for the discharge water (great for irrigation, flushing commodes, etc.) there would be no waste. I would think that a desert city like Phoenix would have rules in place for RO systems. Also, a well-designed system does not have to take minerals to "zero" (which does affect taste - distilled water tastes lousy), you can reduce the TDS (total dissolved solids) to a level that tastes great - typically 100 or so parts per million. Also note there is some cost to an RO system, the pre-filters and membrane need to be changed periodically, and if you can't do it yourself, well, "servicemen".

I think that most water nowadays here is recycled by municipalities for irrigation or used for groundwater recharge. Still, two flushes of a water saving toilet would use more water than people "waste" on RO in a day. And though I don't have the numbers, I suspect that many, many more gallons are utilized and "wasted" in bottled water processing than would be used in home RO units producing the same volume.

[wase4711]

agree completely with Curly; RO wastes 3 gallons to make 1, plus it removes EVERYTHING, including the healthy minerals your body needs..
Get a whole house water system. NOT a softener, and you can drink from any faucet/refrigerator no slimy feel, or smell, and you only need to change the filter once a year, and the filtration media in the large tank every 5 or 6 years, at the most..

we used this company, many referrals from our friends out here, and couldnt be happier..many other companies out there now install this type of system, cost shold be 1500-2500 depending on the size and the extras you might want..

https://azpipedoctor.com/

[SkyDog77]

Originally Posted by Curly Q. Bobalink

The problem with an RO system is that it is wasteful, you are essentially concentrating the minerals from one unit of water into another - for every gallon of drinking water you get out of it, one-to-two gallons (depending on how bad your source water is), goes down the drain. Now, if you could find a use for the discharge water (great for irrigation, flushing commodes, etc.) there would be no waste. I would think that a desert city like Phoenix would have rules in place for RO systems. Also, a well-designed system does not have to take minerals to "zero" (which does affect taste - distilled water tastes lousy), you can reduce the TDS (total dissolved solids) to a level that tastes great - typically 100 or so parts per million. Also note there is some cost to an RO system, the pre-filters and membrane need to be changed periodically, and if you can't do it yourself, well, "servicemen".

From the waste standpoint, the overall use of RO water per day is very minimal. It’s not as though I’m taking showers and watering my lawn with it. I would guess I use a couple gallons a day. It’s just my drinking water, coffee water, and ice maker.

[DetroitN8V]

Originally Posted by wase4711

agree completely with Curly; RO wastes 3 gallons to make 1, plus it removes EVERYTHING, including the healthy minerals your body needs..
Get a whole house water system. NOT a softener, and you can drink from any faucet/refrigerator no slimy feel, or smell, and you only need to change the filter once a year, and the filtration media in the large tank every 5 or 6 years, at the most..

we used this company, many referrals from our friends out here, and couldnt be happier..many other companies out there now install this type of system, cost shold be 1500-2500 depending on the size and the extras you might want..

https://azpipedoctor.com/

Paying $2k for nothing more than a filter is moronic. When you hear "salt-free" and "whole house" your snake oil detector should go off. Your filter does nothing to soften your water and only may remove some of the impurities improving the taste slightly.

[More Rock]

I learned that 1 in 10 people in the world don't have access to safe water.


Not water that doesn't taste funny, but water that won't make you sick or dead.

[wase4711]

you have no clue about my system, and you conclusions are off base, as usual @DetroitN8V..
What media am I using in the filtration tank? What kind of filter is used in my system?

When you know ALL the facts, then you can express your opinion; until then, you are uniformed and as usual, just trying to troll me

[DetroitN8V]

Originally Posted by wase4711

you have no clue about my system, and you conclusions are off base, as usual @DetroitN8V..
What media am I using in the filtration tank? What kind of filter is used in my system?

When you know ALL the facts, then you can express your opinion; until then, you are uniformed and as usual, just trying to troll me

The facts don’t matter about your filtration media. You don’t have soft water and you’ll realize your mistake when your faucets and appliances are all gunked up in a couple years.

It has nothing to do with “trolling you” as you always resort to claiming when called out on posting bad information. You got sold a bill of goods, and your advice should have this disclaimer for others that may be unsuspecting as well. RO and a softener (using potassium IMO) remains the best overall solution, with the science to back it up.

[SkyDog77]

Originally Posted by wase4711

agree completely with Curly; RO wastes 3 gallons to make 1, plus it removes EVERYTHING, including the healthy minerals your body needs..
Get a whole house water system. NOT a softener, and you can drink from any faucet/refrigerator no slimy feel, or smell, and you only need to change the filter once a year, and the filtration media in the large tank every 5 or 6 years, at the most..

we used this company, many referrals from our friends out here, and couldnt be happier..many other companies out there now install this type of system, cost shold be 1500-2500 depending on the size and the extras you might want..

https://azpipedoctor.com/

My body does not need minerals from tap water. I get them from eating healthy food.

[Tall Traveler]

Reverse Osmosis...we have yucky tasting water and after installing a RO system and adding back in healthy minerals, best water ever.

[locolife]

Originally Posted by SkyDog77

My body does not need minerals from tap water. I get them from eating healthy food.

I’m not a health food nut but the idea that drastically modifying our primary intake source and assuming it’ll somehow get made up elsewhere in our diet seems flawed to me. We use our fridge filter and the water isn’t perfect but tastes just fine, a bit of lemon works charms too.

I also saw the recent concerns about the amount of plastic left in water bottles through the manufacturing process, over the years heavy bottled water drinkers end up consuming huge amounts of plastic.

Everything has its trade off, I still prefer to keep things as natural as possible.