24 Jun Reverse Osmosis Technology Process
Water is essential to all homes and life. It’s in everything you eat and drink and can be detrimental to your health if not treated properly. Untreated water can sometimes lead to undesirable results in your body. Water with the right filtration process and is drinkable for your family is of absolute importance. Taking the time to understand the process that reverse osmosis technology gives to the water in your home is a process worth noting.
When a home has a reverse osmosis system in their home, the water not only tastes pure and refreshing, but is better for your health! Living in Canada, a 1st world country, it’s easy to assume we can get by on tap water but there are some interesting facts to know about the water you drink on a daily basis.
Water from the tap is generally clean but can contain contaminates from sources unknown to the common homeowner. Often times, water can be soiled by a variety of things such as industrial waste dumped in a nearby river or fertilizers or cleaning products mixed in with your drinking water.
Water can also be tainted through the salt in your water reservoir that hasn’t properly been processed that will result in murky water that can be a cause for disease.
Often times, there will be treatment options that include chemicals which can contribute to the odor, taste and even color of the water you are drinking. For example, chlorine can sometimes be added to water to control the amount of microbes. Technology like a reverse osmosis system can help eliminate the cause for chemical use and give you and your family healthy, pure drinking water.
By installing a reverse osmosis system, you give your family the purest form of water, the way it was intended by nature.
What is Reverse Osmosis?
Now that we know about the effects poor water can have on your system, it’s important to get a handle on how reverse osmosis works and how it can drastically change the water you drink.
Osmosis in nature is the process of the roots from plants drawing water from the soil beneath. Reverse osmosis is essentially the opposite.
What will happen is that the water molecules will be forced through a semi-permeable membrane to create a less-concentrated water solution. The membrane will effectively act as a filter and has minuscule contaminates from the drinking water and will strain out those contaminates you drink.
With a reverse osmosis system, the semi-permeable membrane will only allow the water molecules through while the other contaminates collected are flushed away.
How does a Reverse Osmosis Filtration System Work?
In every reverse osmosis system, there are four parts: a prefilter, the reverse osmosis membrane, a storage tank and a filter. To understand all of those parts, let’s dive a little deeper.
Pre-Filtration
The first step in the purifying water process through a reverse osmosis system is to remove the larger sediment build-up, like dissolved solids that will help reduce chlorine in the water. This is often referred to as the sediment filter or the carbon block filter. Often there will be an excess sediment buildup which can lead to damage from too much chlorine which is very common in city water.
When using a reverse osmosis system, it’s most effective when turning good water into great water. We recommend that the water be under 10 grains per gallon, as hard water won’t be as effective after going through the reverse osmosis process. If it’s above 10 grains, we recommend using a water softener to alleviate the hard water buildup in your system. If the water is too hard, it can lead to damage on your home appliances and plumbing system.
Reverse Osmosis Membrane
After the first step comes the real operational function of a reverse osmosis system.
After the water is pushed through the semi-permeable membrane, which is a synthetic plastic material that allows water molecules, to pass through with a lot of pressure. With it, elements such as chlorine, sodium and calcium and many larger molecules like bacteria, viruses and glucose won’t be able to pass through the system.
The reverse osmosis system can test for and are certified to reduce build-up of other substances such as lead, copper, arsenic, nitrates, radium, fluoride, selenium and cadmium.
The membrane has a high resistance to bacteria and a rejection rate of up to 97 percent on average.
Post Filtration
Before the water in your home is drinkable there will be a second carbon filter that will remove any contaminates that would unlikely find its way through the membrane. The water will then fill up the storage tank, awaiting use.
One last measure that is put in place is an in-line filter on your faucet. This will help remove any remaining odors or tastes that might come from the tank or hoses in your home. This is an added measure to ensure your water will taste as fresh as possible.
Once you do reverse osmosis on your drinking water, is that enough?
Soft water helps keep your appliance and dishes clean of the build-up, but may not be enough for drinking water. Depending on how hard your water is, there can still be amounts of dissolved solids which will vastly but adversely affect the water taste. Because the minerals are being replaced by sodium and the fact there are other pollutants in the water that a common water softener wouldn’t remove, it’s best to take larger measures.
However, with a reverse osmosis system, all of the contaminants in the water as well as the sodium build-up will all be removed.
With a proper reverse osmosis installation, everything that requires water will smell and taste better – from coffee to ice cubes to the water straight from your kitchen faucet.
The installation will commonly happen under the sink in your kitchen or basement and will be of little impediment to your personal space.
Ask a Tri-Aqua water systems technician about all the great things a reverse osmosis system can do for your home!
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