Everyone understands the importance of staying hydrated by drinking water every day. The Earth is mainly covered in water, but if you’re thirsty, you’re not going to run to the ocean, lake, or river for a glass of water. Depending on where in Los Angeles you live, you may not feel confident drinking tap water from your sink either.
A reverse osmosis system for your house is the way to go for an endless supply of clean and crisp drinking water. For over 15 years, we’ve helped hundreds of homeowners with inquiries and requests for a reverse osmosis system in their homes. Through our accumulated experience, we’ve compiled a list of benefits associated with having drinkable pure water in your house.
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Provides Clean Water
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Filters Out Impurities
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Better for the Environment
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Saves Money
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Encourages More Water Drinking
Reverse osmosis (RO) may sound complex, but its benefits are plentiful and worth having. Let’s find out what makes this water-purifying system a must-have!
What Is Reverse Osmosis?
Reverse osmosis is a process that involves applying pressure to tap water as it passes through a series of filters and then a semi-permeable membrane. The process results in impurities filtered out of the water as it passes through the membrane leaving pure water as the final product. A reverse osmosis system contains a pump that applies pressure that pushes the impure water through the filters.
To better understand this process, here’s a step-by-step look that breaks down the path from impure water to cleaner water.
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Sediment Filter: The sediment filter is the first stage of the purification process. This initial filter removes sand, dirt, rust, and other physical particles.
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Carbon Filter: This filter is cylinder shaped and has a mesh-like appearance. The carbon filtration system removes chemicals, chloramines, odors, foul tastes, and chlorine. Most municipal water systems use chlorine to kill bacteria in their water supplies, so it’s safe for residents to drink.
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Semi-Permeable Membrane: This is the stage where the water is filtered through a semi-permeable membrane. The membrane is a sheet made of a flexible material that acts as a filter. It can filter up to 99% of the remaining contaminants and remove dissolved particles.
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Postfilter: The final stage is the post-carbon filter inside the water-holding tank. It acts as a final filter to ensure water is crisp when summoned.
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Extra Filtration stages (optional): Reverse osmosis systems can be equipped with additional filtration stages, although it will drive up the cost. Extra filtration is optional since the four steps already do an amazing job of filtering contaminants.
Some brands offer the four-stage filtration system or have models with extra filtration available.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) tests tap water in Los Angeles. All water will have some contaminants, such as arsenic, nitrate, and fluoride, regardless of where it comes from. Under strict standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the LADWP tests the water to ensure these impurities are under the maximum contaminant levels, where they’re deemed safe enough to drink without causing health effects.
Benefits of a Reverse Osmosis System
It is recommended to have a technician install a reverse osmosis water purification system to avoid any issues during installation. You may damage your water line connections under the sink during DIY installation. Once the system is installed by a technician, you and your family can reap the benefits.
A reverse osmosis system in your home can last 10 to 15 years with yearly maintenance, including replacing the filters every six to 12 months and the membrane every two years.
A RO system can provide your family with multiple benefits throughout its life expectancy, which we will highlight below.
1. Provides Clean Water
In our experience, we’ve seen that people request a reverse osmosis filtration system installation because of clean water. Crisp, drinkable water tastes fresh and can also be used for cooking.
Impure water has minerals and contaminants that can alter the taste of food. With an RO water cleaning system, you can take advantage of clean water for soups, sauces, and other food dishes.
2. Filters Out Bad Stuff
The goal of every reverse osmosis system is to purify water from minerals and contaminants. Drinking contaminated water can cause unpleasant symptoms such as an upset stomach.
City water supplies already do a great job of filtering out harmful minerals, but it is still possible for them to slip through. Over time, these water transportation pipes can leak rust, dust, and even dirt.
These contaminants are not suitable for drinking water. With a reverse osmosis system, you can rid your tap water of fluoride, sediment, and sodium.
3. Environmentally Friendly
Does your household depend on bottled water for drinking? You can eliminate the dependency on bottled water with a reverse osmosis water filter system.
Plastic water bottles must be recycled, yet not all end up in the recycling bin. Plastic bottles can only be recycled a few times before their quality degrades to the point where they can’t be recycled anymore.
Bottled water has already been purified, making it suitable to drink, but it also requires more energy, water, and resources to produce. So switching to reverse osmosis filtration systems in your home is an energy-efficient way of consuming water.
4. Money-Saving
If you’re constantly buying bottled water, you know the costs can add up at the end of the year. Switching to a reverse osmosis water filtering system can save you thousands of dollars over the system's lifetime.
The cost of installing a reverse osmosis system depends on a few factors, but the savings you will experience outweigh the upfront costs of installation. Some homes have water jug subscription services where a company comes and replaces their jugs of water. Instead of paying monthly fees for this service, you can get immediate clean water straight from the kitchen sink.
5. Encourages Better Water-Drinking Habits
Most people already drink water but feel like they’re not drinking enough. Reverse osmosis systems help encourage better hydration habits. Some homeowners have followed up with us and reported that their water intake had increased significantly after we installed an RO system in their houses.
Drinking water is necessary, and bodies rely on water for fuel and cleansing. Although there are plenty of drinking options like soda and juice, these choices aren’t as healthy as water.
Is a Reverse Osmosis System Right for Me?
Accessible, clean drinking water is a win for you and your family. We went over the top five advantages of installing a reverse osmosis system and how effective they are in purifying tap water you can drink or use for cooking, among other things.
At Monkey Wrench Plumbing, Heating & Air, we’ve installed RO water filtering systems for homeowners across Los Angeles. Homeowners always ask what the benefits of having this system in their homes are, and we’re always ready to share our knowledge with them.
If you want to take advantage of a reverse osmosis system in your home or have any lingering questions about installing one, call us or visit our water filtration page to book an appointment online.
Reverse osmosis isn’t the only type of water filtration you can have installed in your home; you can learn more about the different kinds of filtration systems and their importance.
