What is the Truth About Ge Reverse Osmosis Filters? - a Review

The GE reverse osmosis water filter may be said to “bring good things to living”, but that’s just marketing.  GE reverse osmosis filters are expensive to replace and their lifespan is much shorter than other better systems.

Currently, the manufacturer’s suggested retail price for a GE reverse osmosis replacement filter is $799.99.  Of course, through different outlets, you may be able to get a better price than that, but for comparison’s sake it’s a starting point.

All RO systems are expensive to use and maintain.  GE reverse osmosis filters are no different.  And, depending on where you live, it may be an unnecessary expense.

Alone, RO does not purify.  Additional steps must be used to guarantee purity.
 Depending on the quality of your source, you might need to disinfect, since the GE reverse osmosis water treatment does not remove bacterial contaminants or anything that is lighter, dissolved in or molecularly smaller than the liquid itself.

The system includes GE reverse osmosis filters and a carbon filtration step.  That’s an improvement over most RO units.  Carbon removes many chemical contaminants.  Multi-media blocks remove even more, but that is not included with General Electric’s latest product.

If you have access to public treatment, you own a well or a spring, you probably do not need GE reverse osmosis filters.  If your well is brackish, then the step is needed.  But, springs and publicly treated supplies need some filtration, just not RO.

You need to remember that GE reverse osmosis water will be de-mineralized.  Studies have shown that drinking de-mineralized on a regular basis is bad for your digestive health and could cause nutritional deficiencies.  If you have hard-water, a better choice is ion exchange to “soften” it. 

If you must use GE reverse osmosis filters, then you must have a re-mineralization step.  That’s an expensive step.  It is mostly used in desalinization plants.

For this purpose, the new mineral revitalization system would be a better choice, since it includes numerous steps including RO.  Of course, it is quite expensive, but if your source requires it, that’s really your only choice.

The prices of GE reverse osmosis water filtration systems vary from dealer to dealer.  It is not available, at this time, direct from the manufacturer, so of course you are paying dealer mark-up.  Depending on where you go, you may be able to negotiate a better price, but you will pay between five and ten thousand dollars for the product.

You also have to remember to factor in the cost of use.  Additional electricity is required.  Installation requires a plumber and typically an electrician.  At the rates they charge, that could be very expensive.  From an environmental standpoint GE reverse osmosis filters are wasteful, both because of the need for electric and because of wastewater created.

The bottom line is that for most of us GE reverse osmosis water will not bring good things to our lives.  Regardless of what the commercials say.