Is Reverse Osmosis Water Healthy to Drink in Jacinto City?

What does reverse osmosis remove from your water?

A reverse osmosis system pushes your tap water through a membrane with openings far smaller than most dissolved contaminants. Clean water passes through, and what gets rejected is rinsed down the drain. Before the water reaches that membrane, a sediment filter catches grit and rust, and a carbon filter takes out chlorine so it can't damage the membrane.

The result is water with far less of the things you can't see or taste. A good under-sink system reduces:

• Lead, which usually comes from older plumbing inside a home rather than from the city supply
• Nitrates, arsenic and fluoride
• Chlorine taste and odor, through the carbon stage
• Total dissolved solids, the minerals and salts that can leave water tasting flat or salty

Does removing minerals make RO water less healthy?

This is the question we hear most. Reverse osmosis does take out much of the calcium and magnesium in your water, and that is true. But for most people, drinking water supplies only a small share of those minerals. Dairy, leafy greens, beans, nuts and whole grains do most of that work.

If you eat a reasonably varied diet, switching to RO water is not going to leave you short on minerals. Some people simply prefer a little mineral content for taste. For them, we can add a remineralization stage that puts a small amount of calcium and magnesium back into the water after the membrane. That is also the idea behind our alkaline water systems, if you want to read more about that option.

If you have a specific health condition or follow a restricted diet, it is worth asking your doctor. We can tell you what the system does to your water. Your doctor can tell you what your body needs.

Is reverse osmosis water acidic?

RO water usually tests slightly below neutral. Once the minerals are gone, the water picks up a little carbon dioxide from the air, and that nudges the pH down. It is a mild change, similar to many bottled waters people drink every day.

Your stomach is far more acidic than any glass of water, so the pH of RO water is not a health concern for a healthy person. If the taste seems a bit flat to you, a remineralizing filter raises the pH slightly and gives the water a rounder flavor.

What keeps RO water healthy over time?

The system itself is only as good as its upkeep. Filters that go too long past their change date stop protecting the membrane, and a storage tank that sits neglected can let bacteria build up. That is where most problems with RO water actually come from, not from the process.

We include full services after the sale, so you are not left guessing when the filters are due. On a typical maintenance visit we:

• Replace the sediment and carbon prefilters
• Check the membrane's performance with a quick dissolved solids reading
• Sanitize the storage tank and lines when it is due
• Look over fittings and the drain connection for slow drips under the sink

How a reverse osmosis install fits your schedule

We like to start with water testing so you know what is in your water before you choose a system. If your home has older plumbing, that test tells you whether lead is something to focus on or not a concern at all. Then we set an install visit for a day that works for you, with an arrival window you can plan around.

Installation is free. Most under-sink systems go in within a few hours, and we use the cabinet space under your kitchen sink and a dedicated faucet on the counter. If anything shifts on our end, like a part running late, we call you ahead of time instead of leaving you waiting. Before we leave, we show you how the system works and when the next filter change is due.