Reverse Osmosis Filter

Those in the market for a water filter often ask, how does reverse osmosis work? RO is the first method to come to mind, because for many years these systems were the number one method for purifying water. Recently, however, research has concluded that this method should not be overused because it can remove healthful and necessary minerals from the water, leading to mineral deficiencies in the human body and pH imbalance.

The explanation for why it does this is answered by the question what is reverse osmosis? Reverse osmosis is, as the name implies, the process of osmosis but with a different goal. In nature, the process of osmosis makes molecules seep from one side to another so that it is evenly distributed on both sides. Imagine a piece of cheesecloth separating two types of liquid. Through osmosis the two types will blend through the filter of the cheesecloth.

Reverse osmosis takes that same piece of cheesecloth and instead sifts out the vegetables and potatoes, which are larger pieces so that the soup now has none of these larger chunks in the broth. If you've asked how does reverse osmosis work, you've just pictured your answer. In water, larger trace minerals and other molecules are "sifted" through a filter, and they get caught in the filter, just like the meat and potatoes did in the cheesecloth. These "impurities" are then removed. The problem is that these minerals are no longer considered impurities. We now know that there are plenty of minerals and even metals in our own bodies, and that to remove them through reverse osmosis would actually detract from the quality of water if it is done too much.

Some reverse osmosis is important in filtration, but no filtering system is complete without the presence of an activated carbon filter. These carbon filters remove synthetic organic contaminants like pesticides, fertilizers from agricultural runoff, and chemicals from household cleansers that have been disposed of improperly. This is not a part of the reverse osmosis solution. So when asking what is reverse osmosis, a person should also be curious about carbon filtration.

Carbon filters use carbon as a binding agent so that when the water passes through it, the organic and synthetic organic chemicals get stuck while the pure water passes through. Chlorine, too, is filtered out by activated carbon systems, which is great, because the use for chlorine ends the minute the water is purified. From then on, chlorine acts to dry skin (just like when you're at the pool) and increase one's chance of getting cancer and suffering from asthma, which is no fun for anybody.

The most up to date filtration systems use a multi stage method for filtering water including carbon filtering. No filtration system is complete without it. What is reverse osmosis without talking about water taste? Honestly, reverse osmosis reduces the tastiness of water, because part of what makes water taste good to us is the minerals in it. Carbon filtration, however, improves the taste of water by filtering out the organic contaminants and leaving the minerals.

The next time somebody asks you how does reverse osmosis work, you can tell them about carbon filtering, too. Both processes have been important advances in water filtration technology, but the activated carbon system is more advanced and has been slowly pushing reverse osmosis into the background.