We have really awful municipal water and a water softener that results
in OK wash water but terrible tasting drinking water. Even using a
Brita pitcher doesn't make the water any where near as good tasting as
buying bottled water. But I'm sick of the expense and trouble of
hauling a case of bottled water home from the grocery store every week
and I'm considering a water filter, a reverse osmosis system, I
imagine and I'm left wondering, if the RO filter takes all the stuff
out of the water, do I still need a softener?

On Mar 29, 9:39 am, "Christopher Nelson" wrote:
We have really awful municipal water and a water softener that results
in OK wash water but terrible tasting drinking water. Even using a
Brita pitcher doesn't make the water any where near as good tasting as
buying bottled water. But I'm sick of the expense and trouble of
hauling a case of bottled water home from the grocery store every week
and I'm considering a water filter, a reverse osmosis system, I
imagine and I'm left wondering, if the RO filter takes all the stuff
out of the water, do I still need a softener?

Yes. RO units do not typically purify all the water in the house.
More likely the RO unit is only hooked up to one faucet, usually in
the kitchen. RO units not only make pure water they also send a
significant amount of water to the waste line. So, you would not want
a RO unit for the whole house.

RO is the best technology for producing pure water but they waste
water and can be expensive to buy and maintain. You might consider
installing a whole house filter like I did. The filter itself comes
in different pore sizes including filters of only a few microns, so
you can experiment some. Hard to say if it will improve the taste of
your water. It is a lot cheaper, easy to install, and will serve
the entire house. They also waste no water, unlike RO.

On Mar 29, 11:32 am, "Lawrence" wrote:
...
RO is the best technology for producing pure water but they waste
water and can be expensive to buy and maintain. You might consider
installing a whole house filter like I did. The filter itself comes
in different pore sizes including filters of only a few microns, so
you can experiment some. Hard to say if it will improve the taste of
your water. It is a lot cheaper, easy to install, and will serve
the entire house. They also waste no water, unlike RO.

Are you saying that the RO and whole-house filters perform the same
function, albeit at different price points and efficiencies? Both
remove impurities but the RO makes really pure water at one faucet
whereas the whole-house filter makes somewhat-pure water for the whole
house?

On 29 Mar 2007 07:39:58 -0700, "Christopher Nelson"
wrote:

We have really awful municipal water and a water softener that results
in OK wash water but terrible tasting drinking water. Even using a
Brita pitcher doesn't make the water any where near as good tasting as
buying bottled water. But I'm sick of the expense and trouble of
hauling a case of bottled water home from the grocery store every week
and I'm considering a water filter, a reverse osmosis system, I
imagine and I'm left wondering, if the RO filter takes all the stuff
out of the water, do I still need a softener?

An excellent link:

http://www.qualitywatertreatment.com/FAQS.htm

--
Oren

"The voices in my head may not be real, but they have some good ideas!"

On Mar 29, 3:26 pm, Oren wrote:
...
An excellent link:

http://www.qualitywatertreatment.com/FAQS.htm

If that's right, an RO filter wastes 3-20x the water it filters!

On 29 Mar 2007 13:16:51 -0700, "Christopher Nelson"
wrote:

On Mar 29, 3:26 pm, Oren wrote:
...
An excellent link:

http://www.qualitywatertreatment.com/FAQS.htm

If that's right, an RO filter wastes 3-20x the water it filters!

They do waste water, yes.
--
Oren

"I didn’t say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you."

On Thu, 29 Mar 2007 13:21:38 -0800, Oren wrote:

On 29 Mar 2007 13:16:51 -0700, "Christopher Nelson"
wrote:

On Mar 29, 3:26 pm, Oren wrote:
...
An excellent link:

http://www.qualitywatertreatment.com/FAQS.htm

If that's right, an RO filter wastes 3-20x the water it filters!

They do waste water, yes.

BTW, My RO is used for the ice maker and the small tap added to the
sink. The tap is used for cooking water, coffee, etc. Not a terrible
amount of waste given the minimal use.

--
Oren

"I didn’t say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you."

On Mar 29, 10:44 am, "Christopher Nelson"
wrote:
On Mar 29, 11:32 am, "Lawrence" wrote:

...
RO is the best technology for producing pure water but they waste
water and can be expensive to buy and maintain. You might consider
installing a whole house filter like I did. The filter itself comes
in different pore sizes including filters of only a few microns, so
you can experiment some. Hard to say if it will improve the taste of
your water. It is a lot cheaper, easy to install, and will serve
the entire house. They also waste no water, unlike RO.

Are you saying that the RO and whole-house filters perform the same
function, albeit at different price points and efficiencies? Both
remove impurities but the RO makes really pure water at one faucet
whereas the whole-house filter makes somewhat-pure water for the whole
house?

RO makes very pure water, almost laboratory pure. Whole house filters
can filter very well but not as pure as RO. They way you describe it
is accurate. Smells and taste may not be removed by a mere filter but
in many cases they are.

A typical consumer-grade RO will result in very pure water. If you're
buying Aquafina or similar brand of bottled water, that's what you're
drinking.

HOWEVER, they are typically installed under the kitchen sink and only used
for drinking/cooking water, not the whole house. You're only going to get
about 3 gallons per day out of it. That doesn't sound like much, but is
actually plenty for most families. Of course you can "bank" it as needed
and store it in the fridge. They will install a separate little tap just
for the RO water - you won't be getting it out of your regular kitchen
faucet.

They are somewhat expensive, but worth it in the long run. The caveat is
that if you have hard or dirty water, you may want to install the water
softener and particulate filter also. Otherwise the filters in the RO
system will need much more frequent replacement, which of course increases
your cost.


"Christopher Nelson" wrote in message
ups.com...
We have really awful municipal water and a water softener that results
in OK wash water but terrible tasting drinking water. Even using a
Brita pitcher doesn't make the water any where near as good tasting as
buying bottled water. But I'm sick of the expense and trouble of
hauling a case of bottled water home from the grocery store every week
and I'm considering a water filter, a reverse osmosis system, I
imagine and I'm left wondering, if the RO filter takes all the stuff
out of the water, do I still need a softener?

On Mar 30, 4:24 am, "Unrevealed Source"
wrote:
A typical consumer-grade RO will result in very pure water. If you're
buying Aquafina or similar brand of bottled water, that's what you're
drinking.

HOWEVER, they are typically installed under the kitchen sink and only used
for drinking/cooking water, not the whole house. You're only going to get
about 3 gallons per day out of it. That doesn't sound like much, but is
actually plenty for most families. Of course you can "bank" it as needed
and store it in the fridge. They will install a separate little tap just
for the RO water - you won't be getting it out of your regular kitchen
faucet.

They are somewhat expensive, but worth it in the long run. The caveat is
that if you have hard or dirty water, you may want to install the water
softener and particulate filter also. Otherwise the filters in the RO
system will need much more frequent replacement, which of course increases
your cost.

"Christopher Nelson" wrote in message

ups.com...

We have really awful municipal water and a water softener that results
in OK wash water but terrible tasting drinking water. Even using a
Brita pitcher doesn't make the water any where near as good tasting as
buying bottled water. But I'm sick of the expense and trouble of
hauling a case of bottled water home from the grocery store every week
and I'm considering a water filter, a reverse osmosis system, I
imagine and I'm left wondering, if the RO filter takes all the stuff
out of the water, do I still need a softener?

There are some alternative versions of RO systems out there that pump
the 'waste' back into the supply side.

But, other than what everyone else has said, I don't know anything
more. I just find water.

Pierce Kiltoff
JKA Well Drilling
www.jkawelldrilling.com

absolutely not... a good filter from Culligan
will only waste a gallon of water for a gallon made





"Christopher Nelson" wrote in message
oups.com...
On Mar 29, 3:26 pm, Oren wrote:
...
An excellent link:

http://www.qualitywatertreatment.com/FAQS.htm

If that's right, an RO filter wastes 3-20x the water it filters!

On Mar 29, 10:39 am, "Christopher Nelson"
wrote:
We have really awful municipal water and a watersoftenerthat results
in OK wash water but terrible tasting drinking water. Even using a
Brita pitcher doesn't make the water any where near as good tasting as
buying bottled water. But I'm sick of the expense and trouble of
hauling a case of bottled water home from the grocery store every week
and I'm considering a water filter, a reverse osmosis system, I
imagine and I'm left wondering, if the RO filter takes all the stuff
out of the water, do I still need asoftener?

It's the things in water that give water a good or bad taste. A
distiller or an RO gives you the highest quality of water but... if
you do not have a proven need for an RO, then I say go with an
undercounter 2 stage drinking water filter. They use an RO faucet and
give you all but full line pressure while taking up less space than an
RO. A proven need is like arsenic, nitrates etc. in the water that are
health related problems. All ROs use the same cartridges as the 2
stage so you'll spend a lot less money anf there's no waste or
expensive membrane to replace. The membrane reduces many things found
in water but doesn't remove all of anything. An RO will usually
require a softener to remove hardness, iron and any manganese and the
RO water usually is described as flat or tasteless. A filter doesn't
do that. I use a 5 mic prefilter and a high quality carbon block with
a swivel long reach RO faucet.

As to RO wasting water... all kinds if things use water to be made. We
don't look at that water as wasted anymore than our shower water or
eering the lawn oe washing the vehicle. Why do we see it as wasted
water when we use water to make water into very high quality water
then? I think we waste A LOT of water watrering lawns and plants,
showers more frequently than once a day, washing vehicles, bathing
pets each week on'n on but.. we keep doing it and the day is coming
fairly soon we will be paying much more for water than we have been
because there ain't any new water being made anywhere. What we got is
what we get. Anyway... enjoy it while it lasts and conserve what you
can, it will last longer.

Gary
Quality Water Associates