Every sip of water carries a life in it, but unfortunately, due to rising impurities and contamination of our world, its purity is under high threat.
In Canada, the available water is not only hard water but also contaminated water. Even after the filtration at municipal filtration plants, it is not safe to drink. It is your need to install a water filtration system in your home for your safety and health.
Oaks Wellness Water offers RO systems and Whole-House Water Filters for your health and safety. The RO System is an ideal system for drinking and cooking purposes by cleaning the water against osmotic pressure to ensure your good health.
What Is Osmosis?
Osmosis is basically a natural biological process of water flow from the area of low solute concentration to the area of high solute concentration across the semi-permeable membrane.
The natural water flow in cell membranes also takes place according to this principle, and it works with the osmotic pressure. Osmotic pressure is the pressure that is required to block the water flow across that semi-permeable membrane. It is the force that drives the water to balance the solute concentration against membranes.
Reverse Osmosis is completely opposite to the osmosis process.
What Is Reverse Osmosis (RO)?
Reverse Osmosis is a process that is opposite to natural osmosis and is used to clean and purify water.
It basically works against the osmotic pressure and changes the water flow’s direction.
Where the natural osmosis allows the water to move from the area of low concentration to high solute concentration, Reverse Osmosis pressurizes water to move from a higher solute concentration to a lower solute concentration. In this way, RO removes all the contaminants, non-essential minerals, dirt, sand, and microplastic from water, leaving the cleaner and purer water behind.
How Does an RO System Work?
An RO system is a water filtration system that is mostly installed as an under-sink system and provides clean water in the kitchen.
An Oaks RO System, a highly recommended system for water filtration in Canada, is used to provide you with 99% contaminant-free water that is cleaner, healthier and hotel-quality water.
This system works against the osmotic pressure. It uses physical barriers to remove contaminants instead of chemicals. The core principle of the system to work against the natural phenomenon of osmosis is to pressurize the water through its membranes to separate the contaminants from the cleaner water. The RO system requires high water pressure to work effectively.
The RO system uses different filtration stages through which it removes various types of contaminants from water. Some of the stages work to remineralize the water after filtration.
During the entire process, the pure water is stored in the storing tank and contaminated water is removed through another outlet.
Key Components of a Reverse Osmosis System
The RO system provides the best purification results after the coordination of its different components working like team members to run the system in a good way.
Pre-filters
The filtration stage includes sediments and carbon filters that are installed before the RO membrane to remove macro contaminants, including sand, rust, sediments and some salts.
RO membrane
It is the main semi-permeable filtration membrane that works against the Osmotic pressure. It has fine pores and removes extra minerals that make water hard, pesticides, dissolved salts, and heavy metals to provide you with healthier, pure and hotel-quality water.
Post- filters
In some modernized and enhanced RO systems, post-filters are installed to remineralize the water. They also act as a taste and odor polishing filtration stage.
Storage tank
The RO system requires high water pressure to work, but its process is very slow, so it requires a storage tank to be installed along with the RO system for a better experience and smoother use.
Which Contaminants Does Reverse Osmosis Remove?
RO system provides you with highly purified, cleaner and healthier water by removing a variety of contaminants, i.e.,
- Dissolved solids (TDS)
- Calcium and magnesium
- Heavy metals (lead, arsenic, mercury, cadmium)
- Bacteria and viruses
- Pesticides and herbicides
- Chlorine and disinfection by-products
- Microplastics
- PFAS (Polyfluoroalkyl substances)
Is Reverse Osmosis Water Safe and Healthy to Drink?
RO water is highly recommended for drinking and cooking purposes as it removes almost 99% contaminants from water.
In Canada, Oaks Wellness Water also provides a post-remineralization stage in its RO system that specifically works to remineralize the water.
Advantages of Reverse Osmosis Systems
When it comes to clean and pure water, the RO system sets the best standard for its consumers. It always works for a wide range of benefits.
Extremely high contaminant removal
It uses more than one filtration stage, so it removes all contaminants, including heavy metals, nitrates, fluorides, arsenic, and pesticides that are really harmful to human health.
Oaks RO System does not clean the water; it also makes it healthier, pure, hotel-quality water.
Reduces health risks
The RO system removes all types of contaminants from the available water that reduces the health risks.
Ideal for drinking and cooking purposes
The RO system removes all types of contaminants from the water, so it is ideal for drinking and cooking.
Low Chemical usage
RO systems use physical barriers instead of chemicals to filter the water, whereas most of the other filtration systems use chemicals to filter the water.
Environmentally friendly
The RO system provides clean water that reduces our dependence on bottled water and, as a result, reduces plastic waste.
Improves taste and odor of water
If the water has a bad taste and odor due to impurities, the RO system improves its taste and odor, providing the best-quality water.
Long-term value of the system
The RO system lasts nearly 10-15 years or even longer with proper maintenance. It’s worth installing an RO system as it’s a budget-friendly system. You do not need to spend much again and again.
Disadvantages of Reverse Osmosis Systems
The RO system always delivers the best experience, but it comes with some of the limitations.
Water wastage
As it works against osmotic pressure, it produces a large volume of wastewater while removing contaminants. It typically wastes 3-4 liters of water for every 1 liter of purified water.
Dependence on water pressure
It is highly dependent on the high water pressure. If it does not get the required water pressure, it will not work properly.
Applicable for one location only
It is usually installed under the sink and treats water at only one point, for cooking and drinking. If installed elsewhere, it will be used only for that location’s specific purpose. It does not cover the entire house with a single system.
For treated water at every tap, many homeowners pair it with a point-of-entry system, such as our whole home water filtration in Toronto and whole house filtration in Oakville.
RO System Performance and Efficiency
An RO system’s performance and efficiency depend upon the quality of available water, water pressure, and its filtration stages.
- If the available water is highly contaminated, the RO system requires early maintenance of filtration membranes as the contaminants block the membranes.
- The RO system requires high water pressure to work effectively.
- The more the filtration stages used in the system, the more effectively it will work.
Maintenance of the RO System
The whole RO system lasts about 10-15 years, but its filtration stages require proper maintenance. Different RO filters have different life spans:
- Pre-filter membranes: 6-12 months
- RO membrane: 1-2 years
- Post-filters: 1 year
The life span of these membranes is also dependent on the contamination level in the available water.
You need to check the signs of membrane failure for a better experience. Mostly, your water becomes smelly and gives a bad taste when your system needs maintenance.
Conclusion
When it comes to your health, you need to choose the best option. At the present time, when clean water has become a luxury in Canada, you need to choose an RO system, as it is an ideal system for water filtration. It provides cleaner, healthier and hotel-quality water.
Take a step for you and your family today and contact Oaks Wellness Water for the installation of the best system. It does not provide you with the system; it customizes it according to your needs and budget.
