SusanB wrote us recently to ask a question that many people people have probably asked after reading some of the postings here on the Water Testing Blog, but never bothered to ask anyone at the Water Testing Blog…

Your site and many others talk about ‘reverse osmosis‘ water treatment systems all the time but never really explain how they work. Are they just some sort of fancy carbon filter or something? I really want to know because I need to do something about my bad water and if they’re no different, except in price, than a simple carbon filter then I won’t waste my money on one. Can you explain the difference? IS there a difference? Thanks!

Actually, SusanB, we have posted information on Reverse Osmosis Water Filters in the past that addresses most of the questions you asked…

• What is Reverse Osmosis
• How Do Reverse Osmosis Systems Work
• Why Install a Reverse Osmosis Water Filter?
• Where Can I Buy Replacement RO Membranes?

And now, after re-reading our own posts we have decided that we really ought to locate and re-post a more user-friendly definition and explanation of reverse osmosis water filtration.

There are a range of water filtration systems available to today’s consumer to meet the different challenges of raising water quality. Often, a simple activated carbon filter does the trick, but many people have more complicated water problems, and find that they need more complex water filtration systems because of this. A reverse osmosis water filtration system will, in many cases, solve these more advanced problems.

Reverse osmosis (RO) water filtration is a multi-step water filtering process which works slowly but is extremely effective. Reverse osmosis systems are generally used to treat cooking and drinking water supplies. It’s often used in industry but works very well in the home. Reverse osmosis uses the principles of osmosis (in which material passes slowly through a membrane and is concentrated and purified in the process) to produce very clean water.

The first step is that a simple sediment filter is installed and all water to be used passes through it; the filter catches large particles of materials such as rust or calcium carbonate (a compound which is not at all harmful but which isn’t desirable in your drinking and cooking water – it’s commonly used as an antacid). Sometimes a second filter of a similar design, but more fine, is used after the initial filtering. An activated carbon filter traps organic chemicals, and then the RO filter, which is a very fine membrane, is used. It may be helpful to think of all these filters as being similar to sieves with differently-sized holes. Basically, the process of reverse osmosis water filtration would be akin to draining cooked food through a series of increasingly-fine sieves, rather than just emptying the pot into a basic perforated colander. Reverse osmosis water filtration systems, being more complex and increasingly sensitive, can trap far more contaminants than just one simple carbon filter. Some RO systems will, even after the water has passed through the RO membrane, use yet another carbon filter or, alternatively, an ultra-violet lamp, to purify the water even further. The result of all of this filtering is extremely high quality water.

Reverse osmosis is not the most efficient of all water filtration systems, and some have expressed concern about the fact that it takes approximately four gallons of processed water to result in one gallon of clear water. However, its effectiveness makes it a preferred water filtration method for many. Some describe it as “ultrafiltration,” which gives a sense of how powerful RO is. RO results in very pure water. The Water Quality Association says that RO filter systems produce water purity levels as high as 95 percent, which is extraordinary.

The fact remains that reverse osmosis water purification systems remove an astounding range of contaminants from your water. Arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium (hexavalent), chromium (trivalent), copper, lead, nitrate, nitrite, radium 226/228, selenium, iron and TDS are all removed from your water with an RO system.

A reverse osmosis water filtering system is obviously more complicated than a simple carbon-filter water pitcher, but the benefits of its complex design are also obvious. For those who are concerned not merely with the aesthetics of their water – taste – but have more concrete problems with water quality, an RO water filter may be the best solution to your problem. ( source )

Well, SusanB, and everyone else reading this, we hope the information above helped you to understand a little bit more about the ways in which reverse osmosis water filters operate and the benefits they offer. Below you will find links to three popular reverse osmosis water filters units available from WaterFilters.Net.

Measuring the Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) count in water allows you to get a quick estimate of how much dissolved matter you have in your water. Water with high TDS readings may appear cloudy, though it does not always have to.

In drinking water settings, high TDS levels may mean cloudy water and possibly mean that water may stain or leave deposits adfter it dries.

In swimming pools cloudy water may result and pool chemicals such as granular chlorine and chlorine tablets may not dissolve properly. As a general rule underchlorinated pool water can become aesthetically displeasing (also known as ‘green’ because of an algae problem) and potentially unsafe to swim in.

TDS Meter: Digital Pen Style 10 to 9990ppm (TDS503) ATC with Calibration Solution, Screwdriver & Hard Case	TDS503		$69.99
Water Purity Tester, Pen Style (WPT100) WaterProof with Protective Cap & Battery	WPT100		$32.95

For more information on other water quality parameters you may want to test, please visit the Water Quality Testing section of WaterTestingBlog.Com

Water Testing Meters for drinking water, pool water, fish tanks, coy ponds, and other bodies of water make balancing water easy! No more messing around with color charts or trying to guess the color of a test strip before the colors fade or wash into one another.

So whether you need a meter to test your chlorine levels, pH levels, alkalinity levels, hardness levels, conductivity levels, ORP levels, TDS levels, or even just check the temperature of your water, one of the water testing meters on WaterTestMeter.Com will do the job quickly and accurately.

With temperatures soaring to record and near record highs all across the United States, it comes as no surprise to us that we have received numerous questions pertaining to the proper treatment of green swimming pool water, smelly swimming pool water… and some water that would make the average sewer worker vomit.

Therefore we have located yet another online source for Pool Water Testing and Pool Chemical Supplies. Below you will find quick links to various pool testing supplies, pool chemicals, pool shock treatments and other items such as automatic chemical feeders for swimming pools.

Just as with your drinking water, though, nothing beats a professional water test if you have reason to suspect that harmful bacteria or harmful levels of contaminants have entered your pool water.

Most pool water professionals will agree that pool owners and pool maintenance staff should check the sanitizer levels (chlorine, bromine, etc.), pH, calcium hardness and total alkalinity on a regular basis.

To check those basic parameters a pool owner can use pool test strips, wet chemistry pool test kits and/or pool testing meters. Each method has its own distinct advantages and disadvantages:

While the four parameters mentioned above (sanitizer levels, pH, total alkalinity and calcium hardness) should get checked on a regular basis, pool owners should also keep a watchful eye on other pool water parameters such as cyanuric acid levels, mineral content (i.e. iron, copper, etc.), TDS (total dissolved solids), and acid/base demand.

Once again we go in the direction of pool water. Why? Because we love drinking clean water, bathing in clean water and swimming in clean water. The cleanliness and safety of water matters in each of those applications. Get over it.

OK, folks… So the warm weather finally got here and you have taken the cover off (if you had to put one on in the Fall), brought the water level up to its normal level (usually about halfway up the skimmer), cleaned out any solid ’stuff’ or ‘debris’ that may have fallen into the pool over the Winter, taken your pool water to your local pool water for (usually) free chemical analysis, picked up the suggested chemicals (usually chlorine shock, algaecide, pH, stabilizer, alkalinity, and calcium hardness), gone home, and added the recommended doses of everything to your pool once the pump and filter are working.

Think you have finished your work for a while? Not hardly! Maintaining a swimming pool safely throughout the duration of the swimming season requires regular pool water testing. Why? Because bacteria and other waterborne critters harmful to humans don’t miss an opportunity to jump in an improperly maintained pool — so they can wait for a swimmer to ingest them through skin, eyes, ears, nose, mouth… any opening will do.

Keep a close watch on your pool water by testing it regularly on your own, adding the correct amount of pool chemicals as suggested by pool chemical maufacturers and the companies you purchase them from.

Need help choosing a pool test kit for use between trips to the local pool store?

Several options exist, each having its own merits and disadvantages. Choose the one that best suits your needs and supplement accordingly with analysis by your local pool store — especially after a heavy bather load (lots of people in the pool!), long stretches of rainy weather, or after having to add large amounts of fill water to the pool.

Wet Chemistry or Liquid Kits for Pool Testing

• 2-way pool test kits test for pH and total chlorine.
• 4-way pool test kits test for ph, free chlorine, total chlorine and alkalinity.
• Advanced pool service test kits test for chlorine or bromine, pH, acid and base demand, total alkalinity, calcium hardness & cyanuric acid.
• Higher level kits may also test for bacteria, various metals, total dissolved solids and other pool water parameters in addition to the ones listed above.

Water Testing Meters for Pool Water

• AquaChek TruTest Digital Test Strip Reader
• AquaChek TruTest Test Strip Reader

Dip’n'Read Test Strips for Pool Water Testing

• Aquachek 4-Way for free chlorine, pH, alkalinity and cyanuric acid (50 tests)
• Aquachek 4-Way for bromine, pH, alkalinity and cyanuric acid (50 tests)
• Aquachek 7-Way for free chlorine, total chlorine, bromine, pH, alkalinity, cyanuric acid, and total hardness (50 tests)
• Aquachek 7-Way for free chlorine, total chlorine, bromine, pH, alkalinity, cyanuric acid, and total hardness (100 tests)
• Aquachek copper test strips (25 tests)
• Aquacheck calcium hardness test strips (25 tests)

As a result of a massive influx of questions related to pool & spa water testing, we have decided to branch off our normal topic of drinking water quality testing and post a few things related to testing pool & spa water. Why? Simple: Some people have not yet made the connection that bad tap or ground water stays bad whether you drink it or fill your swimming pool with it.

For most people opening their swimming pool means raising the water level off with fresh, untreated water from a garden hose or in some cases, a delivery truck. Once full of water, the testing can begin.

How Should Pool & Spa Owners Test Their Water?

Excellent question! In the ‘old’ days most pool and spa owners had a simple two-sided test kit for chlorine/ bromine and pH which looked like this:

… and each year the owners of these pool water and spa water owners made a pilgrimage to their local pool store to acquire replacement reagents for their pool and/or spa water test kits which looked like this:

While at their local pool store picking up the replacement reagents for their pool/spa water test kits, pool and spa owners would usually submit a sample of water from their freshly filled pool or spa to a smiling person behind the counter at the ‘water testing station’. Within minutes of handing over a soda can, mason jar, yogurt container or other (hopefully) sealed container full of water the same smiling water station attendant would return with a sheet of paper telling them the free chlorine, total chlorine, ph, alkalinity, total (or calcium) hardness, cyanuric acid, total dissolved solids, copper and iron levels in their water.

Can’t Pool & Spa Owners Test Their Own Water?

Of course they can. Swimming pool and spa water test kits

Then came the fun part: Picking up and paying for all the various tubs and canisters of powders and liquids that would hopefully bring their water back in line with what pool and spa water professionals consider healthy.

This seems like a good time to end today’s posting. Later we will go into the different methods a person can use to test their OWN pool or spa water: At-Home Pool & Spa Water Test Kits & Water Testing Meters and At-Home Pool & Spa Water Test Kits and Testing Supplies

In a recent article by Andrew Zeigler in Water Conditioning & Purification Magazine, we found the following statement intended for dealers of drinking water treatment systems which we certainly do agree with:

“Stop using the TDS (total dissolved solids) meter as the only measurement of water quality. Disinfection Byproducts like Trihalomethanes, Volatile Organic Compounds, METHYL tertiary-butyl ether, chlorine, chloramines, cysts and lead are the primary contaminants to Public Water Systems. They have no impact on the conductivity of the water. Yet these do not register on a TDS meter. And public water systems primarily supply from surface water that tends to have low TDS levels.” ( Water Conditioning & Purification Magazine, March 2009, page 42 )

While TDS does play a large part in the determining whether or not your water will leave deposits on your fixtures, it alone does not indicate the relative safety and purity of your water. As always Water Testing Blog suggests that people get their water tested by Certified Water Analysis Laboratories if they suspect a serious health risk.

For all other water testing needs, simple at home drinking water test kits used in conjunction with TDS meters ought to work just fine. you can find more information about home drinking water test kits on this page. You can also find more information about home drinking water test kits by using the links below:

Arsenic in Water and Soil: Arsenic Quick^TM

Bacteria in Water: Bacteria Check

Chlorine Residual (Free): SenSafe^TM Free Chlorine Water Check

Chlorine Residual (Total): SenSafe^TM Total Chlorine Water Check

Lead in Water: Lead in Water Test Kit

Multi Parameter (6 Parameters): Well Water Check

Multi Parameter (11 Parameters): Well Driller Standard Water Test Kit

Multi Parameter (13 Parameters): COMPLETE Water Test Kit

Multi Parameter (15 Parameters): Water Quality Test Kit

NSF/ANSI Standard 58:

“Overview: This standard was developed for point-of-use (POU) reverse osmosis (RO) treatment systems. These systems typically consist of a pre-filter, RO membrane, and post-filter. Standard 58 includes contaminant reduction claims commonly treated using RO, including fluoride, hexavalent and trivalent chromium, total dissolved solids, nitrates, etc. that may be present in public or private drinking water. (source)