We all need water to survive. But how do you know if the water in your home is safe? If you have well water, there may be contaminants in your water.
How can you determine if your tap water has contaminants? The simple answer is to have your water tested. Testing isn’t costly, and is often free of charge. Knowing that your water is clean and safe for you and your family is a fundamental to your comfort and confidence in your home.
What Is Reverse Osmosis?
Reverse Osmosis is a process that removes contaminants from your tap water. This process pushes water with pressure through a semipermeable membrane. The membrane traps the contaminants and only allows clean, purified water to pass through.
Additionally, reverse osmosis can remove microorganisms, cleaning the water at the molecular level.
How Does Reverse Osmosis Work?
Osmosis is when water passes through a semipermeable membrane into a more concentrated form.
A reverse osmosis membrane is a semi-permeable membrane that allows the passage of water molecules but not the majority of dissolved salts, organics, bacteria and other contaminants. This pushes the water through the reverse osmosis membrane by applying pressure that is greater than the naturally occurring osmotic pressure in order to desalinate water in the process, allowing pure water through while holding back a majority of contaminants.
There are four stages through this filtration process. The stages include a sediment filter, a pre-carbon block, a reverse osmosis membrane, and a post-carbon filter.
Stage 1: Sediment Filter
A sediment filter blocks the largest particles, so they do not clog up the system and the process. In addition, this filter removes substances such as dirt, sand, and rust.
Stage 2: Pre-Carbon Block
The pre-carbon filter has activated carbon to catch anything larger than a speck. This filter stops the next level of particles from passing through. The pre-carbon filter also attracts and binds positively charged ions to prevent the formation of chemical compounds.
Stage 3: Reverse Osmosis Membrane
The reverse osmosis membrane is the third stage and removes substances such as salt, lead, minerals, and fluoride.
Stage 4: Post-Carbon Filter
The post-carbon filter is the final stage, and it polishes the water, readying it for drinking.
Why Is Reverse Osmosis Helpful?
Most people are familiar with carbon filters, but reverse osmosis differs and removes almost all contaminants, removing up to 99.9% of all of the particles as small as .001 microns.
Carbon filters can only remove much larger particles. Even when water is not from a well, it can still pick up contaminants while traveling from the plant to your home. A reverse osmosis filtration system will allow you to be sure that your water is contaminated free.
Reverse osmosis is the most consistent way to remove contaminants from your drinking water. Additionally, filtration helps to improve the taste, removes any odors, and enhances the appearance of your water.
Reverse Osmosis And Your Health
A reverse osmosis filter removes 99.9% of the contaminants in your water. These contaminants can include settlement, certain minerals, microorganisms, and more. This filtering process will remove most of the minerals from your water.
These minerals are inorganic, and our bodies cannot digest them. Therefore removing these minerals does not impact your health. Food will continue to be your primary source of minerals that are digestible by your body.
What Is A Whole-House Reverse Osmosis System?
A whole house reverse osmosis system is a water filtration system that filters the entirety of your home’s water through a reverse osmosis membrane.
A whole house reverse osmosis system is installed at the point where water enters your home. All of the water entering your household plumbing is treated by the reverse osmosis membrane, no matter what tap it flows through. Whole house reverse osmosis (RO) systems ensure that your entire home is free from any traces of water hardness, salts, chemicals, and other contaminants.
While there is often an up-front cost to installing a reverse osmosis system, the benefits are far reaching and give you and your family the peace of mind that your water is pure and safe for drinking, bathing, and cleaning.
It’s Time to Purify Your Water
If you found yourself having any of the above problems, Independent Water Service, Inc can help. We offer free water analysis so that you know exactly what is in your water. Then, using the water test data, we can build a custom water solution for you and your family. Contact us today to schedule your free water quality test and reset assured your water is pure.