Pure water to drink and cook with at all times. You cannot make compromises when it comes to the health of you and your loved ones. A reverse osmosis system filters all kinds of contaminants out of your drinking water. Find out all you need to know about purchasing a reverse osmosis water filter here.
The tap water in developed countries are specified to meet drinking-water quality. Nevertheless, it can still contain numerous contaminants. Ground water can be polluted with residues of pesticides, nitrates and heavy metals. Bacteria and residues from medication can also survive the filtering process at local treatment plants.
A reverse osmosis system is the most effective filtration system for removing these contaminants from the tap water. With this system, you can be sure you’re drinking and cooking with the purest water.
This water filter uses the principle of reverse osmosis. In nature, osmosis is the natural process of evenly distributing substances in water. As the name suggests, reverse osmosis reverses this process: At the core of this system is an extremely thin membrane that only allows water molecules to pass through it. Pre-filters free the tap water of coarse impurities.
Investing in a reverseosmosis system for the water in the kitchen will pay off in more ways than one:
Filtered water improves your quality of life, as you don’t need to haul any more heavy water bottles around.
There is a huge range of this kind of filter, and every system uses the principle of reverse osmosis, so the devil is in the detail. The filters that are fitted will determine the membrane’s shelf life, so you should therefore read the manufacturer’s information on the quality of the built-in filters.
The filter system is usually directly connected to the water and drain connections under the sink, so the size of the reverse osmosis water filter plays a key role when choosing a model. In an ideal situation, the device would be installed in the base cabinet under the sink. An additional tap for filtered water would be fitted on your sink basin.
If this is a problem, you can choose a model without a direct water connection. This counter-top system does not require any installation: You simply need to fill the device regularly and dispose of the filtered waste water.
These systems come with a water tank or as direct flow. A system with a tank filters the water and stores it. The benefit: You can draw off the water without having to wait. The water taken out of the system is immediately replaced. This means stagnant and fresh water are mixed. To avoid a build-up of germs, the tank needs to be totally emptied on a regular basis. A system with a tank also requires much more space.
Direct-flow systems only filter the water when it is actually needed. A booster pump transports the water through a very high-performance membrane here. But this means you have to wait a little bit. Depending on the efficiency, it can take a few minutes for a litre of water to be filtered, so please refer to the manufacturer’s information to find out the system’s speed.
It is important that all reverse-osmosis systems are regularly flushed, as this cleans the filters. We therefore recommend selecting a model with an automatic flush.
You should also note the ratio of filtered water to waste water. Modern systems have a ratio of 1:1.
A good system will have at least one activated carbon filter for pre-cleaning. This extends the membranes’ lifetime, thus reducing the operating costs.
This kind of reverse-osmosis system also filters minerals out of the water, so some manufacturers provide mineralisation cartridges to enrich the filtered water with minerals. However, this is not really necessary if you have a healthy diet.
The filters and membrane in every system need to be regularly replaced. Before deciding to purchase, please check the ongoing costs that lie ahead.