Reverse Osmosis Water Treatment

There are two main differences between the systems we sell at Aquatell. First, some of the systems we sell have a 3rd party certification. This means the performance of the system has been validated by a laboratory. This is important if you’ll be relying on the R.O. system to remove a dangerous contaminant (like lead or nitrate) that is known to be in the water. If you’re looking for general water improvement, the certification is not as important. The second way our systems differ is whether or not they have “quick change” cartridges or not. Quick change cartridges make the annual maintenance of the system easier and less messy.

Reverse Osmosis systems use water to make pure water. So for every quantity of purified water this is created, a quantity of water is sent to drain in the process. The efficiency of an R.O. system is the ratio of pure water to waster water. The highest efficiency systems have a 1:1 ratio. Less efficient systems will be more like 1:3 or 1:5. Aquatell systems that use the GRO membrane system have a 1:1 ratio making them exceptionally efficient.

In the industry we talk about reduction rather than removal. Removal suggests 100% reduction which is virtually impossible for any contaminant. Reverse Osmosis systems reduce a very high percentage the broadest range of contaminants of any mainstream residential water purification system. This includes heavy metals, pesticides, fluoride, chlorine, pharmaceuticals, microplastics, and TDS. And whenever a new contaminant is recognized (such as PFOS/PFAS) reverse osmosis is almost always identified as the most appropriate technology. In short, R.O. systems are the most effective in the reduction of both known and unknown contaminants.

Yes! But there is some information that exists on the web that incorrectly suggests that R.O. water is not safe to drink because it has a pH below 7 (making it a weak acid). Unfortunately this conclusion is drawn from a very incomplete understanding of water chemistry. When you remove almost all of the dissolved substances from water, it takes on the pH of its environment. And when R.O. water is exposed to air, it dissolves a small amount of carbon dioxide, making carbonic acid. However, it is a minute amount and as soon as the water comes into contact with anything, it takes on the pH of that thing - it could be the glass it’s in, or your body. That is to say, very pure water is neither acidic nor basic (aka alkaline). It’s the pH of whatever it is exposed to.

Sort of. In the Western world about 0% of our daily mineral content comes from our water, whether that water has minerals in it or not. That is to say, we don’t rely on our water for our minerals at all. So technically, there may be some substances that get removed in the R.O. process that could be beneficial, but we’re getting them elsewhere and typically in great abundance in our food. Secondly, the form that many minerals in water takes is not the form that is readily absorbed by our bodies, so even if those minerals were present, it’s hard to say how easily they would be used. Anybody who is concerned about the loss of mineral content in R.O. water can add a “remineralizing” stage, but we generally don’t recommend it, because it’s not necessary for the healthiness or taste of the water.

Most of the reverse osmosis systems we sell are installed by homeowners. The most technically demanding part of the installation of an R.O. system is the installation of the faucet into your countertop. If you have granite or quartz counters, we recommend having a professional make the faucet hole. The rest of the R.O. system installation is quite straightforward.