drinking ro/di

[brians4671]

the fact that ro/di water is alk and mineral free. i heard some opinions that it may not be the best for drinking. anyone have any opinions to offer?

[bertoni]

It's fine, as long as the equipment is maintained properly. The biggest risk is microbial contamination.

[Young Frankenstein]

After talking with a friend of mine thats a chemical engineer, that worked on RO systems, he said RO-DI water is too pure to drink and needs additives, theres a problem with DI water, it thins the blood or something like that.

[snorvich]

Don't know if it is bad for you but it tastes terrible.

[KB3MMX]

We have a Whirlpool RO unit that is specifically for drinking(15 gallons production per day)......I just use it as well for the reef tank.
Heck, there are several models you can purchase at Lowe's or Home depot that are specifically sold to drink from.......and will save you a little $$ over the high volume aquarium specialty units......as long as you don't need 50 gallons a day.

**I have no idea about the (DI)DeIonized water thing though......we don't have that on our system, nor have I ever drank it.

PS> Straight RO water tastes AWESOME !! It has no aftertaste, is very pure tasting and will quickly get you spoiled to it !!! LOL

We can't hardly drink regular charcoal filtered tap water anymore from our filtered pitcher....let alone unfiltered city water !! YUK !!!!


Hope this helps.....

[chrisstie]

Stick to just the RO part. The DI part takes so much out of the water and changes its pH where it becomes very aggresive. It will 'suck' nutrients out of your body if you drink it for too long. It also tastes like crap!

I actually prefer pouring myself a cup of RO versus the fridge filter water that comes from my refridgerator. The filter I think leaves a nasty aftertaste where the RO is pretty darn tasty (or taste free if you're sensative and picky like me)

[jimwat]

If you were on a deserted Island and all you had to drink was RO/DI water...I'm guessing that you will live ;)

[jimwat]

Maybe it is bad for you - http://www.dhmo.org/

[HowardW]

<<< theres a problem with DI water, it thins the blood or something like that. >>>


<<< It will 'suck' nutrients out of your body if you drink it for too long. >>>



LOLOLOLOL, C'mon..

Here's a nice thread to read:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=182344

[bertoni]

This topic comes up a lot. RO/DI water isn't dangerous, although some people don't like the taste. It can't thin your blood or suck nutrients out of your body.

[fatrip]

lol that is too funny...im not sure why people say it tastes bad. way better than city tap...lol..

[brians4671]

i agree, way better, i like the taste. the ph is worth discussing. i have to read this these links thanks.........

[das75]

don't drink it , you'll get three eyes for sure.





I love the internet but sometimes....

[tomtoothdoc]

i have scientific proof that drinking ro/di is bad for you:

proof #1. my son used the ro/di water to start his goldfish bowl in april, after only 2 weeks, the fish died even though he said he fed it at least 20 times a day.

proof #2. my daughter used the ro/di to water her cactus, again after 2 weeks, the cactus died even after she gave it the whole 1lbs. bag of fertilizer.

proof #3. my neighbor was getting a new well water pump and new plumbing installed. so he had been feeding his dog with my ro/di water, lo and behold the dog died 2 weeks later even though he never had any sign of poor health for the past 22 years.

i am not drinking that ro/di water. but perhaps when my wife's relatives visit next month........:eek2: :rolleye1: :eek1:

[KevChem]

One of my thoughts on RO/DI has more to do with the environmental impact. OK - this hobby has quite an impact anyway, but there is an aesthetic benefit to a beautiful non-algae-infested tank.

However, other than a taste issue there is probably no benefit OR harm in drinking RO/DI instead of tap. Now consider how it is made - you take already-filtered-and-treated perfectly drinkable water (unless it tastes bad), then send it through a purification process in which up to 75% of the water is thrown away as waste. In addition, you could then consider the extra resources used to generate the resins/membrane/carbon. All-in-all if you can handle the taste of your tap water you should drink it.


Kevin

[das75]

The city hall here has taken an action that many other cities have taken, get rid of the bottled water in the building.

One of the issues were that in many cases the bottled water is nothing more than re-filtered tap water (and wastes associated). Gives appearance they're green and a way to promote the city owned water utility.

[fatrip]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12543605#post12543605 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by KevChem
One of my thoughts on RO/DI has more to do with the environmental impact. OK - this hobby has quite an impact anyway, but there is an aesthetic benefit to a beautiful non-algae-infested tank.

However, other than a taste issue there is probably no benefit OR harm in drinking RO/DI instead of tap. Now consider how it is made - you take already-filtered-and-treated perfectly drinkable water (unless it tastes bad), then send it through a purification process in which up to 75% of the water is thrown away as waste. In addition, you could then consider the extra resources used to generate the resins/membrane/carbon. All-in-all if you can handle the taste of your tap water you should drink it.


Kevin

Have you ever had City tap water???...lol...it tastes like it is poisnous...lol...plus you have the water main breaks and the water gets contaminated and they only put the boil water advisory on a few stations that i personaly dont watch...plus our city is awsome just a few months back some one opened a chlorine valve and made mustard gas at our local water treatment plant and had to evacuate part of the city....not to amny people i trust at our local city water plants...lol...just another perspective.

[AZDesertRat]

There are not any conclusive medical teats showing drinking RO or RO/DI is harmful. Its a simple matter of you could not possibly drink enough DI to ever do any harm, you would literally drown internally first. We get such a small portion of the minerals and nutrients from water its not an issue. I can say from experience drinking DI is not very refreshing, it has a real bland, blah taste and just does not taste good. RO on the other hand tastes fine, its all we have drank at home since 1992 and we are still somewhat normal, well kinda normal!

[fatrip]

im not sure why you dont think it is refreshing it is cold and wet. yes it doesnt have a taste so if you have a funcky after taste from food that it what you'll taste...maybe its just becasue i have drank it for so long.

[brandongriff]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12542832#post12542832 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tomtoothdoc
i have scientific proof that drinking ro/di is bad for you:

proof #3. my neighbor was getting a new well water pump and new plumbing installed. so he had been feeding his dog with my ro/di water, lo and behold the dog died 2 weeks later even though he never had any sign of poor health for the past 22 years.


uhh....a 22 year old dog? haha you must be joking....im assuming you meant 2 years

[KevChem]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12544092#post12544092 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fatrip
Have you ever had City tap water???...lol...it tastes like it is poisnous...lol...plus you have the water main breaks and the water gets contaminated and they only put the boil water advisory on a few stations that i personaly dont watch...plus our city is awsome just a few months back some one opened a chlorine valve and made mustard gas at our local water treatment plant and had to evacuate part of the city....not to amny people i trust at our local city water plants...lol...just another perspective.

I'm drinking my tap water right now - MMMM good! Lots of minerals! As I said, if you don't like the taste go ahead and drink something else.

Water main breaks will happen - so will bacterial contamination of RO/DI supplies. At least with tap there is chloramine there to kill the nasties.

I couldn't find a newspaper article (via Lexis-Nexis) about your mustard gas incident. I don't think excess chlorine would cause mustard (a sulfur-carbon-chlorine molecule) to form. But a chlorine release(especially in a gaseous state) is certainly hazardous/deadly.

My main point was about the unnecessary use of resources to produce RO/DI water solely for drinking purposes.

Paranoia and conspiracy theories aside, tap water is safe to drink.

Kevin

[tkeracer619]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12545059#post12545059 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by brandongriff
uhh....a 22 year old dog? haha you must be joking....im assuming you meant 2 years

ROFL

[AZDesertRat]

99% of the time yes tap water is safe to drink, mostly due to the dedication of water system operators like myself. But, what about when this happens:

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f369/AJOIII/CopyofIMG_0317.jpg

Or this:

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f369/AJOIII/Hit8inMain7-31-06.jpg

Or this :

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f369/AJOIII/DSC07309.jpg

Take a closer look at the interior surfaces of this hydrant:

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f369/AJOIII/DSC07310.jpg

The disadvantage of tap water is you and I have no control of it after it leaves the well or treatment plant. You do have control of your RO or RO/DI system. Bacterial contamination in a RO can be controlled with 5 minutes of easy disinfection every 6 months when you change filters, 3 tablespoons of household bleach is all that is needed. Mambranes will remove bacteria and viruses if this step is taken.

I am a big proponent of safe drinking water as it is how I make my living but I am also realistic about things beyond my control. If water waste is an issue there are low waste options available.

[fatrip]

"I couldn't find a newspaper article (via Lexis-Nexis) about your mustard gas incident. I don't think excess chlorine would cause mustard (a sulfur-carbon-chlorine molecule) to form. But a chlorine release(especially in a gaseous state) is certainly hazardous/deadly."

try the press and sun bulletin broome county NY. it was at a water treatment plant. the chlorine was mixed with human waste water. the paper called it mustard gas, i also thought it was chlorine and amonia that caused mustard gas. but it did suck i couldnt get to lunch i had to find something at work to eat ummm umm machine quizine...it sucked...

[brians4671]

im proud to be able to say i dont waste any. the wash machine uses the waste. that provides me with all of my ro water. azdesertrat what is the difference in tds readings from the plant to say, outer city limits?

[AZDesertRat]

TDS doesn't change as much as TSS or suspended solids and organics. In well systems its not uncommon to have silt and sand particles in the distribution mains especially in low lying and low velocity areas out towards the far reaches. In surface water systems its not uncommon to have water degredation due to regrowth of organics in the lines. Thats one big reason some utilitities are going to chloramines, they last longer than free chlorine out at the ends of the system. Good distribution system maintenance and flushing help these situations but there are always the unforseen main brakes, dig ins and bakflow incidents to deal with. For years the EPA and regulatory agencies concentrated more on the source water and treatment plants but in recent years there have been more regulations added to the normal coliform bacteria testing in the distribution system. Things like lead and copper, trihalomethanes, haloacetic acids and others are now part of the regular testing requirements. The EPA is also looking at distribution system maintenance and management programs to help ensure safe tap water. All in all I am not afraid to drink tap water just about anywhere in the US but I still prefer my RO water.

[tomtoothdoc]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12545059#post12545059 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by brandongriff
uhh....a 22 year old dog? haha you must be joking....im assuming you meant 2 years

uhh....yes it was a joke. it's not that funny when you gotta explain it.
1. feeding 20 times a day 2. 1 lb. of fertilizer 3. twenty two year old dog.

but seriously, i pretty much had been drinking bottled water, some just ro, some ro/di for more than 18 years. and no health issues.....besides ones associated with getting older. personally i find ro water tastes great but ro/di tastes kinda weird.