Fact #1 – The EPA and the National Geological Survey have verified the presence of prescription drugs in drinking water.

Samples from numerous water supplies from around the country have turned up trace amounts of drugs such as anti-depressants, antibiotics, contraceptives and caffeine. Since everything that passes through our bodies eventually ends up in our water supplies, it only stands to reason that all the medications that are taken on a daily basis in this country will make their way into our drinking water.

Since we have a finite supply of water on this planet, it has to be continually recycled and reused. As such, there is a high probability of exposure to these waterborne pharmaceuticals.

Fact #2 – At the present time, the long term health effects of drugs in the drinking water are unknown.

Despite the lack of information about how we can expect these drugs to effect us, medical science is mainly concerned about the creation of “super bugs” from prolonged exposure to even low levels of antibiotics. The experts studying this issue are worried that these super microorganisms could become resistant to antibiotic treatment. If doctors can’t fight the sickness caused by these super bugs, many people could suffer and perhaps, die.

Fact #3 – Most of our municipal water treatment facilities are not presently equipped to remove prescription drugs in drinking water.

A vast majority of city water systems still use chlorine as their main method for treating water. Chlorine is a chemical disinfectant and not a filter, so it can do nothing to remove drugs in the drinking water. This means that our home water resources are at risk.

Fact #4 – It is possible to do something, right now, to protect you and your family from the potentially harmful effects of prescription drugs in drinking water.

You should know that there are plenty of efficient, home water purification

During the course of my investigation, I received a crash course in reverse osmosis water treatment. I discovered some thought-provoking facts that I’d like to share with you.

1. Originally reverse osmosis was developed as an industrial water filtering system for printing and photo processing. GE reverse osmosis water systems, along with other water purification companies, adapted this process for home use in response to the rising demand for clean water.

2. R.O. water purification works by forcing water under pressure through a permeable membrane. GE reverse osmosis filters operate the same way. Unfortunately, for every gallon of usable water produced by this system, two to three gallons of water is wasted. It’s possible to recover this wasted water, but you should know that it is a very expensive process

3. While effective at an industrial level, the residential application of reverse osmosis makes sense only for those home owners whose water sources are limited to salinated groundwater. For homes with access to municipal water, a system such as GE reverse osmosis water, may not be appropriate.

4. The “clean” water that a system like G.E. reverse osmosis water produces is stripped of vital minerals necessary for good health. Drinking this water means that you have to find other sources of calcium, magnesium and potassium, when, normally, all it would take would be to drink a glass of healthy water.

5. Some contaminants, such as certain harmful bacterias, are small enough to make it through the permeable membrane and into your water. It may be necessary to add a disinfecting step to a system like G.E. reverse osmosis filters.

6. Because of the expense of installing and maintaining such a system ($799.99 for a GE reverse osmosis replacement filter), other methods of water purification, such as drinking water filters and whole house filters, may be better suited for in-home use.

7. Residential reverse osmosis systems are usually installed in the kitchen and only treat water used for drinking and cooking. G.E. reverse osmosis water is no different. This means that the water dispensed in the remaining areas of the home – faucets, toilets, baths, showers, and washing machines is still in an unfiltered and, probably, undesirable condition.

Knowing these facts about GE reverse osmosis water purifiers, and their numerous competitive counterparts, made me rethink my approach to purifying the water in my home. After further research, I have found that there are more affordable, easy to install and maintain water purification systems available that will deliver clean, HEALTHY water for use by me and my family.

I hope you’ll take the information that I’ve shared with you about GE reverse osmosis filters and use it make the best decision about meeting your specific water filtration needs.

A reverse osmosis system works by forcing water through a semi-permeable membrane. Semi-permeable means that some molecules can pass through while others cannot. In theory, this forces clean water through the membrane, leaving all the contaminants behind. For most people and most circumstances, however, there are many better filters.

A reverse osmosis water dispenser tends to be bulky, taking up a lot of cabinet space under the sink, even while sharply limiting your pure water supply. And that’s probably the least of its drawbacks.

Here are the shortcomings of reverse osmosis water filtering systems:

1. They remove important trace minerals from drinking water, leaving the water strangely “flat” and tasteless. Even more important: natural water always contains trace minerals, and dissolved trace minerals in drinking water are a valuable source of magnesium, calcium and other nutrients. Other types of water filter can do an outstanding job of purifying drinking water and still leave trace minerals intact.

2. Reverse osmosis systems are extremely wasteful; all these systems waste much more water than they purify. The typical such filter creates three to five gallons of waste water for every gallon it filters.

3. They are also extremely slow. A reverse osmosis water dispenser can never keep up with high demand. The tank typically holds 1.5 to 2.5 gallons. Once this water is used up, you’ll be out of pure water, probably till the following morning.

4. Unlike faucet-mounted, counter top or carafe filters, they require plumbing modifications and should be installed by a professional. If modifying your plumbing and giving up cabinet space seems a reasonable tradeoff for an uncluttered kitchen counter and pure water, there are still lots of better choices.

5. Finally, a reverse osmosis water dispenser must be sanitized periodically with chlorine — a chemical that is highly undesirable in drinking water, despite its nearly universal use by municipal water systems.

For all these reasons, a reverse osmosis system is rarely your best choice for purifying your drinking water. There are highly effective water filters with none of these drawbacks.

First things first. We need to understand how a reverse osmosis water dispenser works. It has a semi permeable membrane which has ultra fine pores on it. The contaminated water is forced to pass through this membrane. What is filtered and what is not, entirely depends on the molecular size of the contaminant.

Since water molecules are smaller than that of the pores, they pass through. Chemical and organic contaminants are larger in size, hence they are left behind. Thus they are separated from the water.

Fact 1: The pharmaceutical drugs which are a common contaminant have a small molecular size. The size is so small that they can easily pass through the porous membrane of a reverse osmosis water dispenser. Thus the water filtered from a RO is still contaminated and is still not pure.

Fact 2: The essential minerals like magnesium, sodium, iron found in the natural water have a large molecular size. Since their size is larger than that of the membrane, they are not able to pass through it, and are separated out from the water. Thus a reverse osmosis water dispenser ends up in de-mineralizing the water.

This de-mineralized water lacks all these minerals which are actually important for our health. Drinking water is one of the main sources of providing these minerals to our body. Consuming de-mineralized water results into mineral deficiencies, due to which various health problems occur. If you are consuming this water, you must take multi vitamins or supplements to meet the required content of these minerals in your body.

Moreover, since these minerals have been taken out, the water doesn’t tastes good anymore.

Solution: The easy and proven solution to this problem is to use a multi-stage water purifier. These filters work by a combination of ion exchange and carbon filtration techniques. They are efficient in removing all types of organic and synthetic pollutants from the water, even the pharmaceutical drugs. They also enhance the pH in the water.

Unlike RO filters, they do not separate out essential minerals, thus retaining the form water is available in the nature ? free from impurities and rich in minerals.

In conclusion, before selecting a filter, make sure to review and analyze the facts. The effective alternatives to reverse osmosis water dispenser are available. You just need to look for it and carefully pick the right water purifier.