Interesting letter in the mail today...
- Thread starter Haulin Oates
- Start date
Interesting letter in the mail today...
It does from a drinking water standpoint. RO water has nothing in it. Therefore it has no taste. They add well water back in for taste. All of the minerals and what not from well water give it that "taste." (This is actually why Fiji water tastes so good as well. It's got the highest ppm of dissolved solids of any bottled water because its naturally filtered through an aquifer.) I personally think that Brighton water tastes like poop and onions, quite possibly the 2 worst things in the world, so I agree that I'd prefer RO tap water because I buy bottled water to drink anyways!
It does from a drinking water standpoint. RO water has nothing in it. Therefore it has no taste. They add well water back in for taste. All of the minerals and what not from well water give it that "taste." (This is actually why Fiji water tastes so good as well. It's got the highest ppm of dissolved solids of any bottled water because its naturally filtered through an aquifer.) I personally think that Brighton water tastes like poop and onions, quite possibly the 2 worst things in the world, so I agree that I'd prefer RO tap water because I buy bottled water to drink anyways!
RO can cause long term damage to organisms without enough enough spare elements when the water takes it out of them. The RO will suck elements out of things since RO state is not natural. For example, fish will die within hours of being in RO water. People are probably fine, but small animals and stuff can also get hurt.
All of that is for human consumption, not general use. Even without DI, the water is pretty unstable and will look to suck stuff out of other stuff (scientific term). RO and/or DI water has basically become a solvent that is not stable, which is mild doses is probably OK, but in excess, like for small organisms, can be deadly. Most bottled water has elements added back... and most RO membranes on home/commercial drinking water systems are only like 90% efficient, on purpose.
http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/nutdemineralized.pdf
A lot of the newer drinking water systems actually contain a remineralization filter...they take out the "bad stuff" then add in an appropriate balance of minerals. If you eat healthy and take a daily vitamin you may be OK...but if you are trying to replenish water AND electrolyte loss due to exercising, etc., relying on RO water can in fact be a bit dangerous.
A lot of the newer drinking water systems actually contain a remineralization filter...they take out the "bad stuff" then add in an appropriate balance of minerals. If you eat healthy and take a daily vitamin you may be OK...but if you are trying to replenish water AND electrolyte loss due to exercising, etc., relying on RO water can in fact be a bit dangerous.
Not hydroscopic - that is the ability of substances to absorb water. Rather the inverse, where pure water is looking for osmosis and will actively, and aggressively pull ions and elements from substances through osmosis.
Water becomes more of a solvent as it becomes more pure. Water with some stuff in it is stable.
Browse through some discus or FW planted tank forums and see what happens when people forget to add RO-Right (or similar) to their RO water before water changes, or when a auto-topoff sticks on and fill their tank with pure water (even though it is fresh). The fish die very quickly and the plants go downhill very fast.
I have a RO/DI filter hooked up in my kitchen. I use it in my fridge, for cooking and drinking. I would not use it on plants, for the pets, etc. I also don't use it to fill water bottles for exercising.
Water becomes more of a solvent as it becomes more pure. Water with some stuff in it is stable.
Browse through some discus or FW planted tank forums and see what happens when people forget to add RO-Right (or similar) to their RO water before water changes, or when a auto-topoff sticks on and fill their tank with pure water (even though it is fresh). The fish die very quickly and the plants go downhill very fast.
I have a RO/DI filter hooked up in my kitchen. I use it in my fridge, for cooking and drinking. I would not use it on plants, for the pets, etc. I also don't use it to fill water bottles for exercising.
When I had an undersink RO unit (back in N Virginia because the water absolutely sucked there), I used the water for my plants, drinking, and cleaning. Never had a problem. It's actually fantastic for cleaning- I cut the amount of chemicals I used for cleaning by 75% at least because I didn't need them. My plants seemed fine- really happy with it, actually, which I attributed to the lack of chlorine, lead, copper, and other crap in the water. I have a bamboo plant that's at least 6' tall now, and has grown new sprouts recently, that started as 8" sticks from the import store.