Reverse Osmosis Water Filters - How Efficient Are They?

Reverse Osmosis water filters are probably the oldest. They have been here since many years now. But recent studies have raised some serious questions on the quality of the water they produce. Let us find out more about the same.

If you check the history of reverse osmosis water filters, you will find them being used in photography industry only. Later with changing time, they were made available in the form of home water purifiers as well.

So far everything sounds okay. But then why is it that medical experts are saying a strict 'NO' to consuming water produced by reverse osmosis water filters?

To understand the complete truth, you need to first understand how these filters work.

They have a thin semi permeable membrane which has ultra fine pores in it. The way this filtration technique works is simple - it acts like a fine sieve. Whatever is smaller than the size of the pores is allowed to pass while the larger molecules are blocked behind.

So when water is forced under pressure to pass through this membrane, it being smaller in size, easily passes through it. Whereas, the larger contaminants present in water get blocked by this membrane and hence get separated from water.

Now, let us evaluate the effectiveness of this filtration technique by asking two simple questions -

1. What about the contaminants which have a smaller molecular size?
Chlorine and prescription drugs are examples of such contaminants. They have a smaller molecular size - small enough to pass through the membrane - and hence they too pass along with water. As a result, the "purified" water is still contaminated.

2. What about the minerals which are larger in size?
Natural water is rich in mineral traces. These minerals are essential for the day to day activities of our body and consuming water rich in them is the best source of ensuring their regular supply to the body.

Now since these minerals are larger than the size of the pores, they get blocked by the membrane. These minerals are thus stripped off from water and what you get is actually mineral deprived water.

This de-mineralized water is not only flat in taste but it leads to mineral deficiencies too.

These are the reasons why medical experts today are not recommending reverse osmosis water filters. Let them be used only for industrial purpose only.

Now that you know how effective reverse osmosis water filters are, I am sure you would be interested in knowing about an efficient alternative as well. The information about the same is shared on my website. Do visit to know more.

Autor: Daniel Woods

Daniel Woods is a dedicated advocate and researcher of the benefits of safe, clean, healthy filtered water. If you want to know how to choose a water purifier, visit - http://www.waterpurifierhome.com and learn about the products our editors personally use and recommend.

Added: January 23, 2010
Source: http://ezinearticles.com/