Well water is often misunderstood as always being pure and free of contaminants. However, that isn’t always the case. Well water often contains contaminants that can affect you and your loved ones. If you rely on a private well system for water, it is always a good idea to ensure that the water you are getting is pure and free from contaminants.
Since many things are affected by the quality of water, it is one of the things that shouldn’t be compromised upon.
The health of your loved ones and yourself, in addition to the longevity of your clothes and the quality of your food, can all be affected if you have contaminated well water. So, in order to make sure that the taste of the food and drinks you prepare never goes bad and that your washing machine doesn’t go out of order every six months, you should treat your well water with a reverse osmosis system.
What is a reverse osmosis system, and how does it work?
A reverse osmosis system is simply a way of eradicating pollutants from unfiltered water. It does that by forcing the unfiltered water with pressure in and through a semipermeable membrane. As one of the sides of the reverse osmosis membrane is more concentrated than the other, the water moves from the former to the latter and rids itself of any harmful contaminants.
As a result, the reverse osmosis system yields clean drinking water.
The process goes like anything passing through a filter. The semipermeable membrane does not allow the contaminants to pass through while the water molecules easily move towards the other side to maintain equilibrium. As a result, the water that comes out, called the permeate, is free of any harmful substances that may have been once present in the unfiltered water.
Some of the contaminants that can be removed by treating the water with a reverse osmosis system are fluoride, salt, sediment, chlorine, arsenic, VOCs, herbicides, pesticides, and many other contaminants. However, it does not remove bacteria and viruses, which can be removed only by treating the water with UV disinfection.
How to select the best reverse osmosis system?
Selecting the best reverse osmosis system for well water can be a hassle. You need to ponder upon a number of things to make sure that the system you are choosing is the best for your well water. The amazingly diverse market for reverse osmosis systems doesn’t help either.
But, if you keep a check on certain factors, you surely can select the best system and we are going to help you with that. Let’s get on with the key factors that you need to consider.
Cost
Systems for reverse osmosis can vary widely in price. Most of them fall in the mid-range that isn’t expensive or inexpensive. However, the features can be quite different in many versions of the systems.
The more expensive systems often have an increased number of stages (filters) used to filter the water. Some may also have a larger capacity to filter more water at a time. The one you choose should be the one that goes by your budget and can easily cater to all your needs.
Some higher-end reverse osmosis systems also put the valuable nutrients back into the water after it has been filtered and the harmful contaminants have been removed. Many people go for the low prices, which can often become a problem themselves. They might not have a good working duration.
However, most mid-range systems do well for most people. If you want some nice-to-have features, the high-end systems are probably the ones for you.
Amount of water
The amount of water that the reverse osmosis system can filter at a time is probably one of the most important things to consider when you are buying the system. Usually, the amount of water is around 50 gallons, 80 gallons, and 100 gallons per day. Choosing the right system should be based entirely upon your own needs.
The smallest size, which is usually 50 gallons per day, goes well for most relatively small households that do not have massive use of water. However, if you have a larger household with more people, bumping up to the larger sizes present, such as the 80 gallons and the 100 gallons ones, would probably be the right choice for you.
Waste
Reverse osmosis systems generate a lot of waste, which is one of their main disadvantages. Generally, only around 5-15% of the water that is fed to them is recovered as filtered and clean water. The remaining water does not recover and is ultimately wasted. However, some systems are designed to have minimum water waste.
The zero-waste reverse osmosis systems repurpose the water towards other needs such as dishwashing or laundry. Consequently, a large amount of waste can be recovered and reused. So, if you are okay with getting clean water just to drink, a zero-waste system should be the best for you.
It is to be noted, however, that the repurposed water will be from a higher concentration of contaminants. If you don’t have a problem with using that water for laundry or dishwashing, go for zero-waste systems.
Conclusion
Clean water is one of the necessities of life that cannot be ignored and has an effect in all traits of life. So, we should take the required steps to attain clean water. Reverse osmosis can be among the best proficient ways of achieving this.
Now that we have understood the basics of selecting a reverse osmosis system for well water, you can stop worrying about contaminated water and select the system best suited to your needs!