Water is a necessity for the human body. Without water, there is no life! Well, this might sound very comforting, but the truth is that pure water is essential to sustain life on earth. The water that generally gets supplied to our homes is not refined enough to be consumed. Instead of being good for us, this water turns out to be quite bad for us. The water supplied to us is contaminated and inconsumable. You may even get various diseases by consuming it. Waterborne diseases such as diarrhea, cholera Guinea worm disease, Typhoid, and Dysentery are caused due to the consumption of polluted water. So, a person needs to have a water purifier at home. The best technology available in the market as of now is RO (Reverse Osmosis). Ro filters are considered the best water filters available in the market as of now.

Reverse Osmosis (RO) is a water filtration technique that uses a partially permeable membrane to remove ions, unwanted substances, and large particles from the water to make it consumable. RO water purifiers make use of the difference in the chemical potential of the solvents. The RO purifier is suitable to treat hard water. It removes dissolved materials, contaminants but is not active over microorganisms. This water filtration technique has made a substantial impact on the market and grabbed its place. Though disadvantages are present yet a better substitute isn’t readily available in the market!

The RO water purifier uses a semi-permeable membrane to filter the water. During this process, contaminants such as arsenic, nitrates, sodium, copper, and lead are filtered. Thus, the RO water purifier helps to convert hard water into sweet, soft water using the RO membrane.

Advantages of RO water purifier

1. This filter is the best solution available in the market till date to treat hard water.
2. It purifies toxins such as lead, mercury, fluoride, arsenic, chlorine, etc. which causes the human body to fall ill. Lead metal may also damage the brain and cause anemia.
3. This is the best purifier to filter commonly found Cryptosporidium in lake, river and public water supply.
4. Since RO water purifiers have been in the market for quite a long time, the RO service center is readily available in every city.
5. There are a lot of brands to choose from according to your budget and requirements though it is not suggested to go for really cheap ones.
6. RO water purifiers remove the toxins and thus help in providing better and glowing skin to the consumers. Thus visit the nearest RO service centre and install a water purifier.

Advantages come at the cost of disadvantages; so the RO water purifier also has problems.

Disadvantages of RO water purifier

1. Removal of essential minerals- RO water purifier removes some vital minerals too while filtering the impurities from the water. These essential minerals include- iron, magnesium, calcium, and sodium, which cause a deficiency in the human body.
2. Bacteria and viruses are not killed- RO water is unable to kill waterborne disease-causing bacteria and viruses. There is a high probability that these microorganisms pass the RO membrane during the filtration process. It is recommended that you give the RO filtered water through the UV water purifier to treat organisms.
3. Alteration of the taste- Due to the removal of the natural minerals present in the water, alteration in the natural flavor of the water is induced. This alteration in the taste makes the water tasteless.
4. More time required to purify- RO water purifiers take a long time to purify the water.
5. Wastage of water- Almost 80% of the water input to the RO water filter gets wasted. This water gets flushed down as wastewater.
6. Expensive- RO water purifiers have been criticized a lot for consuming large amounts of electricity. Moreover, Ro water purifiers are costlier than their alternatives.
7. RO membrane breakage- No mechanism is there to know the exact time for the replacement of the RO membrane. Chlorine may damage the RO membrane by clogging the small pores present in the membrane, producing a drastic change in the performance of the membrane. On breakage of the membrane, salts, bacteria, and viruses can easily pass through the RO membrane. It is advisable to get the RO membrane changed at least once a year.
8. High maintenance cost- Apart from high consumption of electricity and high price tags, RO purifiers also need a lot of service work to be done. Most of the service provider charges a lot to perform a check-up or servicing of the device.

There are a lot of RO water purifiers available in the market, but all of them have these general disadvantages apart from the ones that you might personally face according to your needs and expectations. We can also clearly see that the disadvantages of RO water purifiers outnumber their advantages yet are considered the most beautiful water purifier system available in the market.