RO/DI vs RO to drink

[mrlavalamp]

Chemical engineer worked in food manufacturing and managed in bottling for nearly a decade.

Pickwun hit the nail on the head. Great link to the WHO article also.

wont hurt, but why waste the DI resin really?

 

[RollTideReefer]

 

[alain Bouchard]

I put a T before the resin, but added a mineralization cartridge on the part I drink. I think the taste is better with it. Another point is the PH of the RO water tend to be a bit more acidic. The cartridge get the PH back to around 7.00.

 

[HOOPDEEZ]

I have always heard DI is not good to drink. I’ve been drinking RO for years and have only grown one extra finger.

 

[OrionN]

Ok so i ordered a BRS 4 stage RO/DI plus system to get 0 TDS water just in case they close the fish stores in this crisis we have going on, I read that full RODI water isnt the best for you because it depletes your electrolytes (ITS WHAT PLANTS CRAVE). so i was wondering if it was possible to put a T inline before the DI stage of the system and run that to a small undercounter RO storage tank and then run the rest to a storage container for the tank water. And no im not the one hoarding all the toiler paper and water bottles LOL.

RO or RO/DI are fine to drink, however, drinking DI water is a waste of DI resin, plus some of the DI polymers may get into the water. It won't (unlikely)cause any harm.

One get electrolytes mainly from what you eat, not from what you drink, but you can get electrolytes there too. Anything you put into your mouth.
Let say you use sea salt in your cooking, or the meat, there are all kinds of stuff in meat and vegetable sodium, potassium chloride, magnesium and ..... Animal (and people) drink becasue they need the water, not the minor amount of electrolytes impurities in the water.

I put a divert T at the pressure tank. That go to the drinking faucet in the sink and to the refrigerator.

 

[arturoo1977]

My system was originally a RO for drinking, then I upgrade it with the DI stage for reefing.
More than 12 years drinking RO water.

 

[OrionN]

Nobody should drink RO or RO/DI because it is beneficial. It just taste better (to most people taste) than the water that laden with impurities. Even the hardest water is not a significant source of Ca for our body.
Now if a person is starving in Africa, we should not spend $100.00 the money to help him get RO water, rather we should get clean well water for him and spend the rest of the money for food or other necessity.
RO water is a luxury for most people on earth. It is not more beneficial than most well water (unless we have contaminated land), but NOT HARMFUL TO DRINK, EVEN DI WATER.

This got to be one of the most pervasive falsehood here in the US and I am not sure why.

I guess one must have some basic science to be a good consumer. Looking at what for sale on ebay on water purification and one can really see some stupid gadgets that people are selling, not cheap either. All these stupid magnetic water softener, with their mumbo-jumbo pseudoscience. I guess when someone who is that gullible, sooner or later, somebody will take their money. There is nothing anybody can do about it.

 

[NanoSteam]

I tried tapping between my RO and DI resin and adding a valve but the water that comes out of my RO tastes rubbery. is it true you need to add a GAC afterwards to remove that taste? The filters are fairly new with only roughly 60 gallons through it so they are not depleted by any means and they have been flushed out properly prior to use. TDS after RO comes out at 10 and my faucet water is in the neighborhood of 320.

 

[Buckeye Hydro Verified Sponsor]

I tried tapping between my RO and DI resin and adding a valve but the water that comes out of my RO tastes rubbery. is it true you need to add a GAC afterwards to remove that taste?

Do you have a pressurized storage tank?

 

[OrionN]

I tried tapping between my RO and DI resin and adding a valve but the water that comes out of my RO tastes rubbery. is it true you need to add a GAC afterwards to remove that taste? The filters are fairly new with only roughly 60 gallons through it so they are not depleted by any means and they have been flushed out properly prior to use. TDS after RO comes out at 10 and my faucet water is in the neighborhood of 320.

You need to change your pressure tank. There is a leak and water in the tank come in contact with the rubber diaphragm. That is what give it the rubbery taste. The tank will fail soon anyway.

 

[wtac]

The article cites "issuse/problems" based on the research on "extreme applications" and glosses on "real world" applications. Factoring the "human condition", generally, drinking RO water is perfectly fine. With all the "extreme diets" I have seen, drinking RO water will cause issues for those following the "liquid cleanse", they will usually encounter problems and as they say, "the squeeky wheel gets the grease". It's those numpties unfortunate issues that fuel the disinformation and we all know how social media and those that lack the critical thinking and ability to research that fans that crazy flame.

I quite had a laugh with the study of cooking food with RO water. NOBODY prepares and eats meals in the manner that the experiment was conducted and really not applicable unless you eat the boiled items and toss the water. Making a stew, RO is perfectly fine as you consume the water portion that the electrolytes diffuse out of the food item.

Think about it...TDS in water INSIGNIFICANTLY adds minerals compared to the salt, pepper, seasoning, etc that you add in the recipe.

Athletes that drink alot of water, RO is fine in resting state and with meals but not recommended while in lengthy strenuous activity due to electrolyte loss. Fluids like Gatorade, Powerade and the likes are better suited for the Na and K loss from sweating.

Yes, RO water is slightly acidic but has NO BUFFERING CAPACITY so the pH easily changes. I suspect the low pH is from dissolved CO2 as bubbling for a few minutes, the pH rose around neutral +/- 0.1.

 

[NanoSteam]

Do you have a pressurized storage tank?

You need to change your pressure tank. There is a leak and water in the tank come in contact with the rubber diaphragm. That is what give it the rubbery taste. The tank will fail soon anyway.

I don't have a pressure tank though. I just fill my 5 gallon water storage that goes in my water dispenser straight from the RO. Should it be going into a pressure tank first?

 

[Buckeye Hydro Verified Sponsor]

Are you sure the off taste is coming from the RO unit and not your 5 gallon tank?

 

[NanoSteam]

Are you sure the off taste is coming from the RO unit and not your 5 gallon tank?

Pretty sure because I had been using that 5 gallon previously and filled it up with regular drinking water after trying the RO water and the taste is gone. Even still i'll try drinking it straight from the RO line and report back.

 

[OrionN]

I don't have a pressure tank though. I just fill my 5 gallon water storage that goes in my water dispenser straight from the RO. Should it be going into a pressure tank first?

Then it is the chemical leach from the water storage container. Pressure tank have a inert membrane that keep water from contact the rubber diaphragm that generate the pressure. Your water container is the source of the impurities and taste in your water. Either that or your RO membrane gone bad.

 

[K7BMG]

I have always heard DI is not good to drink. I’ve been drinking RO for years and have only grown one extra finger.

Just an extra finger "that's not a thing at all."
Its the third eye that's the real problem.

 

[kritquilt]

4 stage RO/DI did NOT get ammonia out of our terrible Houston water but a 7 stage did. We had cyan and could not figure it out!

 

[CavalierReef]

Melevsreef sells RO/DI units and Marc produced a great video with step by step installation including the valve between the RO (carbon filtration) and the DI (resin) to colelct your drinking water. https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/...&sigi=12om9mvs1&hspart=adk&hsimp=yhs-adk_sbnt

 

[Eye H8 Empty V]

I’m in the process of building RO units and I asked my OEM supplier this exact question. What’s the difference between RODI and RO drinking water? He told me that it’s only the DI Resin for TDS reduction for RODI and the addition of a “water polisher” for taste on the drinking system. Then he told me the “water polisher” is just an extra carbon filter.

I make homemade bone broth from 100% grass fed beef marrow bones and always use my RO drinking water system. We also only drink RO water at our house and have been for years. My $0.02.

 

[Rick.45cal]

I think I’ll keep drinking my RO water with a TDS of 6 since it’s somewhere in the neighborhood of 720 (last I checked) when it comes out of my well no matter what the World Health Organization says about it. lol