7 Alternatives to Reverse Osmosis Water Filter Systems
Written by: Gene Fitzgerald // Last Updated: May 8, 2023
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If you’re looking to purify your home water, but you don’t want to use reverse osmosis for whatever reason, you would be happy to know that there are still plenty of other options you can use.
The market for home water purification has evolved a lot over the last decades and there are now many more options available to domestic users.
So, here are some of the best and most popular alternatives to reverse osmosis.
Contents
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Key Takeaways
7 alternatives to reverse osmosis water filter systems are:
- Water distillers
- Carbon filters
- Ceramic water filters
- Ion exchange filters
- Sediment filters
- UV water purifiers
- Water filter pitchers
7 Alternatives to Reverse Osmosis Water Filter Systems
There is a large number of alternatives to reverse osmosis filtration when it comes to purifying water in a household environment. They all have their advantages and disadvantages, and it’s important to consider factors like the specific types of contaminants you’re dealing with when choosing the right one.
This means that you should ideally start the process by having your water professionally tested, so you would know exactly what kinds of contaminants you need to target.
Water Distillers
Water distillation is a very simple process, but also a highly effective one. In fact, it’s probably the only thing available on the consumer market that can match the performance of reverse osmosis as far as water purity is concerned.
The idea behind the process is really simple. Water gets heated up in one chamber and it evaporates. The vapor then passes through a condenser where it turns back into liquid form and ends up in a separate chamber.
All contaminants get left in the original evaporation chamber. As a result, what’s left in the output chamber is pretty much completely pure water.
The main downside to water distillation is that it doesn’t scale well. It can’t really be automated, and you’re forced to distill water in small batches every time you need to use it. That’s why distillers are not that common in household environments.
Further Reading:
Carbon Filtration
Carbon filtration relies on activated carbon, which has been treated to make it as porous as possible. This makes it very effective at capturing many types of contaminants, especially organics.
Activated carbon is often used as an additional pre-filtration step in many purification setups because it can effectively remove various types of contaminants that other systems can’t deal with that easily, including reverse osmosis.
Ceramic Water Filters (Gravity)
Ceramic filters work in a relatively simple way by filtering water through tiny pores. Gravity is the main force pulling water through the system, which means that you don’t need to invest in additional solutions for raising pressure or anything along those lines. Ceramic water filters can be very effective at capturing many types of contaminants, including pathogens.
Ion Exchange
Ion exchange filters are particularly good at removing various inorganic compounds like sulfate and arsenic. They have a limited range of contaminants that they can target, but on the other hand they work very well against them.
The main principle behind an ion exchange filter is a special type of resin which attracts ionic contaminants and swaps them out. These filters tend to be pretty cheap, easy to install, and don’t require lots of maintenance in the long term.
Sediment Filters
Sediment filters act as a physical barrier through which water has to pass. The barrier is lined with numerous tiny pores which don’t allow much to pass through other than water molecules and some smaller particles. This makes sediment filters very effective at removing all kinds of floating dirt. However, like ion exchange filters, sediment filters are rather limited in their application and mainly use as pre-filters.
UV Water Purification
UV water purification specifically targets microorganisms like bacteria. It relies upon the fact that exposing microorganisms to ultraviolet light scrambles their DNA, effectively killing them and preventing them from reproducing. This is a highly effective purification method if you’re dealing with biological contaminants.
Plus, UV water disinfection has some additional advantages, like operating in a contactless manner, meaning that your water never touches any chemicals or other substances that could alter its composition.
The main downside to ultraviolet purification is that it only targets waterborne pathogens and pretty much nothing else. In fact, the effectiveness of a UV purifier can be degraded by the presence of other contaminants, especially sediment. They can block the UV rays from reaching the microorganisms by creating shadowed spots.
Water Filter Pitchers
Water filter pitchers can be found in many households these days. They are very simple in their operation, basically running water through a main filter element with the help of gravity, and accumulating it in a chamber.
These filters come in various shapes and sizes. Some can store a lot of water and can purify it very well, while others are very basic, removing only a small range of contaminants and having a small storage tank. The main benefit of water filter pitchers is that they are easy to handle and portable.
What Is Reverse Osmosis Water Filtration and How Does It Work?
Reverse osmosis is a water purification method which relies on a semipermeable membrane with very tiny pores. The system forces water through that membrane at a very high level of pressure. Due to the size of the membrane’s pores, only water molecules can pass through and everything else gets rejected and sent away.
Contaminant Removal
Reverse osmosis is very effective at dealing with pretty much all types of contaminants, with some minor exceptions like dissolved gases. It’s only matched by distillation in terms of purification strength, making it the ideal solution for households with particularly badly contaminated water.
The Pros and Cons of RO
Pros
- Clean drinking water: With the help of a reverse osmosis system, you will always have clean, pure drinking water available when you need it. By using a sufficiently large storage tank, you won’t have to wait for the process to finish.
- Improved taste and smell of water: In most cases it turns out that your water tastes or smells better once it’s been filtered with reverse osmosis. This entirely depends on what kinds of contaminants you have in your water in the first place.
- Improved hydration: You might find yourself predisposed to drinking more water once you’ve tasted reverse osmosis water. Many people avoid drinking water subconsciously because they associate it with unpleasant tastes or smells, which in the end are just caused by contaminants.
- Low maintenance requirements: One of the great things about reverse osmosis filtration is that it requires relatively little maintenance in the long term. You just need to remember to swap out the membrane every couple of years or so, and that’s pretty much it.
- Stop buying bottled water: By switching to reverse osmosis filtration, you won’t have to spend so much money on bottled water all the time. You will also be able to stop carrying all those bottles from the store on a regular basis. As an added bonus, you will contribute less to global pollution.
Cons
- Slow operation: Reverse osmosis takes time to work. That’s why most systems come with an integrated storage tank. However, you should be careful about getting a tank that’s too large, because water that’s been sitting in it for too long can develop a stale taste.
- Wastes water: Due to the way reverse osmosis works, some amount of water will always be wasted. The amounts can be pretty significant, with some systems wasting 3-4 gallons of water for each gallon that they purify. However, solutions exist to improve the efficiency of reverse osmosis systems in this regard. Just remember that the wastage can never be reduced to zero.
- Mineral loss: Water usually contains various minerals, naturally. Those are not bad for your health – quite the opposite, in fact. Reverse osmosis is so thorough that it also removes those minerals from your water. Whether this is a problem for you depends on your diet and your overall health status. Also, there is remineralization.
When Is a Reverse Osmosis System Necessary?
Not everybody needs reverse osmosis water filtration by default. The main deciding factor is the contamination level of your water supply and the exact types of contaminants you’re dealing with. That’s why you need to always have your water tested before deciding on a filtration method, including reverse osmosis. A professional test doesn’t cost a lot of money and it will give you a full overview of the current situation with your water supply.
When in doubt, talk to a water treatment expert. They will know best how to handle your current situation and what suggestions to give you.
If you have any questions about reverse osmosis alternatives please don’t hesitate to leave a comment below!
About the Author Gene Fitzgerald
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