Does Reverse Osmosis Make Water Safe to Drink? the Disadvantages of Reverse Osmosis

The disadvantages of reverse osmosis include excessive waste, excessive cost, ineffective filtration of chemical contaminants, no removal of bacterial contaminants, and excessive removal of healthy minerals.  Many times we have been asked the question, "Does reverse osmosis make water safe to drink?"  Does it sound like it?

Reverse osmosis systems are used in large treatment facilities and desalination plants as one step in their complete purification process.  It is not the final, nor the only step used.

They are also used in industrial applications where de-mineralized water is necessary to prevent corrosion of sensitive equipment.  The disadvantages of reverse osmosis do not apply in industrial settings because:

* It is less expensive than replacing equipment,
* The wastewater is less of an issue, and
* chemical or bacterial contaminants are unimportant.

Our fear is that many people ask does reverse osmosis make water safe to drink, because they are considering a home unit and wonder if they can rely on it alone. 

Our answer? Only if you have additional steps, would your tap water be safe.

In most homes, it is simply an unnecessary expense.  The only homeowners that might need it are those with salty or brackish private wells.  And, even then, a method of disinfection must be used.  A carbon filter, a multi-media block, a micron filter and a re-mineralization step should all be added to make their water healthy.

If their use becomes common in the United State, the disadvantages of reverse osmosis will have an environmental impact.  For every gallon cleaned, five gallons of wastewaters with high mineral content and an alkaline pH level are created.

Some companies recommend that you use the wastewater for watering the garden or the lawn, but any gardener will tell you that it would eventually kill sensitive plants.  Plus, the heavy metals that are removed simply go back into the groundwater, which creates bigger problems for all of us.

With other home systems, heavy metals like lead are blocked and trapped within the unit, instead of being dumped back on the ground.  You should be able to see how the disadvantages of reverse osmosis make it a poor choice for anyone in this day and age.

Very briefly here, we have answered the question does reverse osmosis make water safe to drink.  We could have gone into greater detail about all of the prevalent chemicals that are not blocked by this system, such as chlorine and by-products of chlorination like THMs and TCE. 

We could have mentioned how dangerous these chemicals are and how many of them cause cancer.

We were purposely brief so that you would get the message right away, with no misunderstanding.  The system should never be considered a purifier.  It may be one step in the process, if that step is at all needed, but for the majority of the houses across America and perhaps throughout the world, the disadvantages of reverse osmosis simply make it the wrong choice.  Other systems cost less and do more.