RO waste water question

[MarkS]

Just how consentrated with contaminates is the water that the membrane filters out? Would the waste water be safe for human consumption? I know it can be used to water plants, but so can regular tap water and I dred having to drink that. The water here in San Antonio is horrid. I currently fill 5 gallon water bottles with RO water from a machine at my local grocery store, but at 30 cents per gallon, it can get expensive over time.

I seem to remember hearing arguments from both sides on this issue a while back on some board.

I plan on purchasing a 100 GPD RO unit soon and would hate to see all that water go to waste. I know that I could divert the filtered output to both a float valve and a water holding tank for drinking, but I would rather not.

Any thoughts?

Mark

[MarkS]

Anyone????

[Reefland]

I remember the thread your talking about and as I browsed through my search results, I came across this piece that I thought you might find interesting.

An R/O filter does three things.
1. It removes large particulate matter (large being a relative term, most people don't have rocks in there water).
2. It has a carbon filter which is nothing special it only does what carbon does.
3. It has usually a five micron membrane which removes all dissolved matter larger than five microns in size.

The waste water (usually somewhere between three to five times the volume of the finished water) will be slightly better than the tap water with regard to particulate matter and toxins. It is however not by any streach of the imagination better than the tap water. It contains more of the disolved minerals and chemicals than the original tap water. All of the good, the bad and the ugly that are removed by the membrane have to go somewhere. Granted some is captured in the membrane, that is why the membrane does not last forever. Your waste water may be clearer than your tap water but it is far from being better.

Scott Z.

[MarkS]

Thanks Scott. That was what I read. I also asked this question over at ReefCentral and got a very simular answer from Brian at Aquatic Reef Systems.

OK, two people saying the same thing... I guess I water plants with the waste water.

Mark

[scubadude]

Hey mark....i think the waste level depends on your area of the world to and the quality of water....some ppl claim to not even use RO's and have no probs....here in florida we have pretty bad water and I cant see being w/out one. FWIW I do ONLY use my wastewater to water my plants and when Im not watering my plants It runs right into my jasmine bushes God they smell good and are growing fast LOL