5 ms·

Carbon filtration will not remove dissolved solids (lead, heavy metals) without added ion-exchange resins. RO is generally the most effective broad spectrum tre

Carbon filtration will not remove dissolved solids (lead, heavy metals) without added ion-exchange resins. RO is generally the most effective broad spectrum treatment method for drinking water. The mineral issue is pretty much bunk, if the lack of trace minerals in your water is a concern you need to see a doctor. Food is your body's preferred source of minerals, you have to drink a lot to have much effect on your daily mineral intake. The waste water is real, 4 to 1 is about average, it can be improved but it's pretty unavoidable in the process. They are water using appliances, we use 20-40 gallons of water to wash a load of clothes and most people don't think twice about it.

iofj 11y ago
You will notice the taste difference though.
- ohthanks 11y ago
  You will for sure, I actually like it but not everyone does. You can remineralize and change the taste without too much trouble. I would avoid any other claims made for that process but it does usually improve the taste. Straight RO water is not great for coffee or tea as well.
  - IndianAstronaut 11y ago
    Where does the average person find RO water?
    - ketralnis 11y ago
      Any drug store will have distilled water
    - ngoede 11y ago
      Some grocery stores and walmart's have RO water machines outside their stores also. However, if you choose to use those it would be good to invest in a tester as they do not always change the filters on schedule.
    - HeyLaughingBoy 11y ago
      Go to your local aquarium/tropical fish dealer and ask. They'll be able to list pretty much all the providers within a reasonable driving range. Also lots of cities/towns have RO water providers that will sell anywhere from single gallons to thousands. source: used to be a marine aquarium hobbyist and bought thousands of gallons of RO water to make seawater.
- elijahparker 11y ago
  I use RO with a mineralization filter stage and absolutely love the taste of the water. I'm using the 7-stage RO system by iSpring.
- ktRolster 11y ago
  And for an extremely cool experience, try black water: http://getblk.com/ http://getblk.com/ For varying definitions of extremely
  - mirimir 11y ago
    Sounds like swamp water ;)
    - ktRolster 11y ago
      It actually tastes like......bottled water.
thescriptkiddie 11y ago
Sorry, but you really don't want to be drinking true deionized water. It isn't a about long term mineral loss, it is about the immediate discomfort of drinking it. It's fine for the first cup or two, but after that it starts to burn. Wash your hands with it and you'll find you skin is dry and cracking. You'll notice that reverse osmosis systems intended for producing drinking water have a much lower standard of purity than those intended for, say, washing glassware. If you want to make sure there is no lead in your drinking water a carbon filter with an ion exchange resin stage is the way to go. But really, get over it, 99% of the US has safe tap water.
- Laforet 11y ago
  >It's fine for the first cup or two, but after that it starts to burn. Wash your hands with it and you'll find you skin is dry and cracking. I have handled and, against my better judgement, quaffed many types of deionised water: triple glass distilled, reverse osmosis, ion exchange, etc. They taste more or less the same to store-bought distilled water and I have not yet had any of the ailments in your complaint. There is also a certain coworker who developed a pechant for the MilliQ water machine and regularly filled her drink bottle with ultrapure (>18.2 megaohms) water there. Suffice to say she is still doing it. >But really, get over it, 99% of the US has safe tap water This is not necesarily true given the state of water infrastructure in the US. The water leaving a treatment plant is not the same as water coming out of a tap.
  - coryrc 11y ago
    Water departments are supposed to do surveys at residential taps to evaluate the effect of alkalinity on lead in the water as it is actually drank. Even the small town I came from does. Seattle, for example, made some changes based on these surveys: http://www.seattle.gov/util/MyServices/Water/Water_Quality/WaterSourcesContaminants/Lead/index.htm http://www.seattle.gov/util/MyServices/Water/Water_Quality/W...
    - makomk 11y ago
      Water departments have been cheating on those surveys to get the right results. That's one of the causes of this scandal.
prions 11y ago
I'm a water treatment engineer. Carbon filtration will remove dissolved solids and heavy metals, and with high efficiency if done correctly. Most GAC columns designed to remove lead and heavy metals are enriched with sulfide ions to increase the removal efficiency as well. People prefer to use ion exchange resins to remove heavy metals because they can be regenerated more easily and efficiently. Also ion exchange resins allow you to recover any absorbed minerals. http://ascelibrary.org/doi/10.1061/%28ASCE%290733-9372%281994%29120%3A2%28416%29 http://ascelibrary.org/doi/10.1061/%28ASCE%290733-9372%28199...
- ohthanks 11y ago
  This is totally correct. It is also not very applicable to drinking water & whole house systems that homeowners are interested in. There are carbon cartridges with ion-exchanges resins blended into the block that seem to be effective for lead removal at low flow rates. They tend to have lower flow-rates and capacity than is ideal.
- rdl 11y ago
  What home products would you recommend, either flow-through pitcher style or faucet or whole-house?
- raddad 11y ago
  Carbon filtration doesn't remove fluoride, does it? (Or arsenic) The only water filtration system I have found that removes fluoride is the Berkey brand. I've not seen any filtration systems in the stores even mentioning fluoride or arsenic. Berkey filters http://bit.ly/1WdBneq http://bit.ly/1WdBneq (Edit to add arsenic and Berkey link)
matthewbauer 11y ago
Why is the mineral issue bunk? According to this WHO report[1], it seems like a real concern: "Low-mineral water markedly: 1.) increased diuresis (almost by 20%, on average), body water volume, and serum sodium concentrations, 2.) decreased serum potassium concentration, and 3.) increased the elimination of sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium and magnesium ions from the body. It was thought that low-mineral water acts on osmoreceptors of the gastrointestinal tract, causing an increased flow of sodium ions into the intestinal lumen and slight reduction in osmotic pressure in the portal venous system with subsequent enhanced release of sodium into the blood as an adaptation response. This osmotic change in the blood plasma results in the redistribution of body water; that is, there is an increase in the total extracellular fluid volume and the transfer of water from erythrocytes and interstitial fluid into the plasma and between intracellular and interstitial fluids." It might not be enough to outweigh the benefits of highly filtered water, but just because you have enough minerals from food doesn't mean that minerals in water aren't having an effect. [1]: http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/nutrientschap12.pdf#page=4 http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/nutrientschap...
- Laforet 11y ago
  This particular report cites a number of rather fringe sources as well as many non-English journal artiles that cannot be easily verified. Overall I find the author's conclusions hard to believe. >It was thought that low-mineral water acts on osmoreceptors of the gastrointestinal tract This is not how osmolarity sensing works.

iofj 11y ago

You will notice the taste difference though.

ohthanks 11y ago
You will for sure, I actually like it but not everyone does. You can remineralize and change the taste without too much trouble. I would avoid any other claims made for that process but it does usually improve the taste. Straight RO water is not great for coffee or tea as well.
- IndianAstronaut 11y ago
  Where does the average person find RO water?
  - ketralnis 11y ago
    Any drug store will have distilled water
  - ngoede 11y ago
    Some grocery stores and walmart's have RO water machines outside their stores also. However, if you choose to use those it would be good to invest in a tester as they do not always change the filters on schedule.
  - HeyLaughingBoy 11y ago
    Go to your local aquarium/tropical fish dealer and ask. They'll be able to list pretty much all the providers within a reasonable driving range. Also lots of cities/towns have RO water providers that will sell anywhere from single gallons to thousands. source: used to be a marine aquarium hobbyist and bought thousands of gallons of RO water to make seawater.
elijahparker 11y ago
I use RO with a mineralization filter stage and absolutely love the taste of the water. I'm using the 7-stage RO system by iSpring.
ktRolster 11y ago
And for an extremely cool experience, try black water: http://getblk.com/ http://getblk.com/ For varying definitions of extremely
- mirimir 11y ago
  Sounds like swamp water ;)
  - ktRolster 11y ago
    It actually tastes like......bottled water.

thescriptkiddie 11y ago

Sorry, but you really don't want to be drinking true deionized water. It isn't a about long term mineral loss, it is about the immediate discomfort of drinking it. It's fine for the first cup or two, but after that it starts to burn. Wash your hands with it and you'll find you skin is dry and cracking. You'll notice that reverse osmosis systems intended for producing drinking water have a much lower standard of purity than those intended for, say, washing glassware. If you want to make sure there is no lead in your drinking water a carbon filter with an ion exchange resin stage is the way to go. But really, get over it, 99% of the US has safe tap water.

Laforet 11y ago
>It's fine for the first cup or two, but after that it starts to burn. Wash your hands with it and you'll find you skin is dry and cracking. I have handled and, against my better judgement, quaffed many types of deionised water: triple glass distilled, reverse osmosis, ion exchange, etc. They taste more or less the same to store-bought distilled water and I have not yet had any of the ailments in your complaint. There is also a certain coworker who developed a pechant for the MilliQ water machine and regularly filled her drink bottle with ultrapure (>18.2 megaohms) water there. Suffice to say she is still doing it. >But really, get over it, 99% of the US has safe tap water This is not necesarily true given the state of water infrastructure in the US. The water leaving a treatment plant is not the same as water coming out of a tap.
- coryrc 11y ago
  Water departments are supposed to do surveys at residential taps to evaluate the effect of alkalinity on lead in the water as it is actually drank. Even the small town I came from does. Seattle, for example, made some changes based on these surveys: http://www.seattle.gov/util/MyServices/Water/Water_Quality/WaterSourcesContaminants/Lead/index.htm http://www.seattle.gov/util/MyServices/Water/Water_Quality/W...
  - makomk 11y ago
    Water departments have been cheating on those surveys to get the right results. That's one of the causes of this scandal.

prions 11y ago

I'm a water treatment engineer. Carbon filtration will remove dissolved solids and heavy metals, and with high efficiency if done correctly. Most GAC columns designed to remove lead and heavy metals are enriched with sulfide ions to increase the removal efficiency as well. People prefer to use ion exchange resins to remove heavy metals because they can be regenerated more easily and efficiently. Also ion exchange resins allow you to recover any absorbed minerals. http://ascelibrary.org/doi/10.1061/%28ASCE%290733-9372%281994%29120%3A2%28416%29 http://ascelibrary.org/doi/10.1061/%28ASCE%290733-9372%28199...

ohthanks 11y ago
This is totally correct. It is also not very applicable to drinking water & whole house systems that homeowners are interested in. There are carbon cartridges with ion-exchanges resins blended into the block that seem to be effective for lead removal at low flow rates. They tend to have lower flow-rates and capacity than is ideal.
rdl 11y ago
What home products would you recommend, either flow-through pitcher style or faucet or whole-house?
raddad 11y ago
Carbon filtration doesn't remove fluoride, does it? (Or arsenic) The only water filtration system I have found that removes fluoride is the Berkey brand. I've not seen any filtration systems in the stores even mentioning fluoride or arsenic. Berkey filters http://bit.ly/1WdBneq http://bit.ly/1WdBneq (Edit to add arsenic and Berkey link)

matthewbauer 11y ago

Why is the mineral issue bunk? According to this WHO report[1], it seems like a real concern: "Low-mineral water markedly: 1.) increased diuresis (almost by 20%, on average), body water volume, and serum sodium concentrations, 2.) decreased serum potassium concentration, and 3.) increased the elimination of sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium and magnesium ions from the body. It was thought that low-mineral water acts on osmoreceptors of the gastrointestinal tract, causing an increased flow of sodium ions into the intestinal lumen and slight reduction in osmotic pressure in the portal venous system with subsequent enhanced release of sodium into the blood as an adaptation response. This osmotic change in the blood plasma results in the redistribution of body water; that is, there is an increase in the total extracellular fluid volume and the transfer of water from erythrocytes and interstitial fluid into the plasma and between intracellular and interstitial fluids." It might not be enough to outweigh the benefits of highly filtered water, but just because you have enough minerals from food doesn't mean that minerals in water aren't having an effect. [1]: http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/nutrientschap12.pdf#page=4 http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/nutrientschap...

Laforet 11y ago
This particular report cites a number of rather fringe sources as well as many non-English journal artiles that cannot be easily verified. Overall I find the author's conclusions hard to believe. >It was thought that low-mineral water acts on osmoreceptors of the gastrointestinal tract This is not how osmolarity sensing works.