Does a reverse osmosis filter waste water?
Published January 19, 2012 | 
Bill writes:
Do reverse osmosis systems waste water? If how do they waste water and how much waters is wasted?
Hi Bill
Yes, reverse osmosis units do waste water. This is because of the way they filter. What happens is that when water enters the filter, it is pushed up along side of a reverse osmosis membrane, much like a rubber sheet. Some water molecules pass through this membrane, resulting in the water you drink from the machine. The rest of the water, with the concentrated impurities, is sent to drain. This is called the concentrate.
It depends on the manufacturer, but up to 50% of the water that enters the machine leaves for the drain.
If this bothers you, distilling water produces water of similar composition to reverse osmosis water with much less water waste. Home distilling machines are available to the general public, and you can click here to look at an example.
Hope that helps,
Mike
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Posted in Conservation, Drinking Water, Filtration, question | 
how R.O. works, r.o., reverse osmosis, waste water | 
Leave a commentWater Softening and Sodium for Drinking?
Published July 4, 2011 | Sarah from New Jersey Writes:
I read on your site that the best thing to do when putting in a water softener is to run a cold water line unsoftened to the kitchen for drinking and cooking but most of my basement is finished and I don’t want any walls ripped open to install plumbing! I don’t want to buy bottled water and I don’t want extra sodium! What do I do!
Hi Sarah
You will need to remove the sodium from your drinking water before you consume it. There are two ways you can do this:
- Use a water distiller
- Use a reverse osmosis unit
The distiller works by heating up the water, collecting the water vapor and condensing it again. This leaves all the dissolved ions, including sodium behind and gives you nothing but water. The reverse osmosis unit works by passing the water through a membrane where only the water can get through it and it leaves dissolved ions like sodium behind. I recommend you look into a reverse osmosis unit for the simple fact it produces water on demand. Home distiller units require time to make water and then you have to cool it before consumption.
I hope that helps.
Free Computer Consulting at, Computer Choice – We’ll find your perfect computer to fit your needs, free.
Want more information, have a question or want to see more cool water stuff? Then Head on over to the main site!
Posted in Conservation, Drinking Water, Filtration, question | how R.O. works, r.o., reverse osmosis, waste water | Leave a comment
