Blog

As a homeowner, you want what’s best for your home to ensure a healthy future for you and your family. Unfortunately, even in a nation as developed as the United States, receiving clean and healthy water is not as simple as it seems. As a matter of fact, over 85% of American homes have hard water that consists of high levels of chemical concentrations and other contaminants. Phoenix is among the most populous cities in the nation and is of equal proportion, notorious for hard water. Fortunately, there are solutions to alleviate these issues such as whole home water softeners and reverse osmosis systems. 

Why is Phoenix Metropolitan Water Notorious for Having Hard Water? 

The truth of the matter is, we live in a desert. Only about 8.04 inches of rain in an entire year is soaked up by the heart of Arizona, which is much too little to replenish natural water supplies for the inhabitants of the valley. As a result our water naturally goes a long way before it gets here, so the majority of our usable water is groundwater. When water flows through natural materials such as limestone it erodes these minerals and carries it along with the water. After that, it goes to the government treatment facilities to reach a minimum level of safety for approval, and by the time it reaches your tap, it’s filled with a motley crew of organic matter and chemicals.

I’m sure you’ve recognized the results of this before, the taste of chlorine, the bitterness of the minerals, and the rough sensation of the water. According to the official annual Phoenix water quality reports a large amount of unregulated contaminants and controlled disinfectants make their way to Phoenix homes. These intruding minerals are the reason why you see calcium build-up on your fixtures over time, interrupting your water flow, and going into the water you consume. As a solution to this, bottled water companies often utilize reverse osmosis systems in order to remove a large majority of contaminants found in hard water; for homeowners like us, variations of these useful systems are available for our residences as well! 

What is Reverse Osmosis and How Does it Work?  

Reverse osmosis is a method of water purification that involves pushing water through a semipermeable membrane which prevents particles down to as little as 0.0001 microns. This membrane teams up with pre and post-filters that remove other contaminants such as chlorine, sediment, and salt from passing through to drinking water.

According to the CDC, a Reverse Osmosis system is also highly effective at removing bacteria (for example, Campylobacter, Salmonella, Shigella, E. coli) viruses (for example, Enteric, Hepatitis A, Norovirus, Rotavirus) common chemical contaminants (metal ions, aqueous salts), including sodium, chloride, copper, chromium, and lead. This leaves the recipient of the filtered water with satisfying, clean water, without contaminants in its composition.

You likely know this well with bottled water, where you look at the label and they advertise that their water has been filtered with reverse osmosis: now you know how they got to this point! Luckily, it’s easy to get that great bottled water taste and health benefits at home. 

Is Reverse Osmosis Water Healthy? 

Definitely. What you can’t see can hurt you, and with a reverse osmosis water system, you’re protected. It works to remove the contaminants in your water that could make you unwell. It’s simple, you can normally consume varying levels of contaminated tap water and feel normal, as your immune system and kidneys work to process these heavier foreign elements. When you have a reverse osmosis system, it does these processes for you and removes the necessity of intaking it into your body and taxing your organs’ workload.

By lightening the work your organs have to do to keep you healthy, it allows these vital processors to reserve their full strength for when it’s most needed. Hydration helps the human body perform at its peak, with the result of reverse osmosis systems, the lack of harsh chemical presence allows your body to process water more efficiently and use more of the water to hydrate you. 

Is a Water Softener System the Same as a Reverse Osmosis System? 

The short answer, no.  The two systems are completely different, with different applications and different results. Whether you want tasty water on demand in your home, or wish to have clean water to use in all applications, the many choices on the market to achieve this can be confusing: what’s the difference between reverse osmosis and water softening?

The end results may have some crossing over, but it’s the process that sets them apart. Both systems aim to remove excess minerals like calcium and magnesium to boost the efficiency of your fixtures and help you save on cleaning and plumbing expenses, but their uses are very different. Softeners are for whole homes, often excluding your kitchen faucet, and reverse osmosis provides bottled water-quality water at your kitchen faucet for drinking. For more information on the differences check out our blog where we take a deep dive into how they work and what the differences are in detail. 

Trust Robins for Your Water Treatment Needs 

If you live in the Phoenix, Glendale, or Scottsdale area and want a water treatment system installed in your home, turn to the Robins Plumbing team! With over 20 years of experience in the plumbing industry, you can trust our professionals to give you insider information on the best water treatment systems available anywhere. Contact our team of expert plumbers today to discuss if a reverse osmosis system is right for you, and to schedule an installation appointment, or give us a call at (623) 486-4657, we’re available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!