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Reverse Osmosis System

ajspatio19

ajspatio19

Well-Known Member
Jun 9, 2020
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I am wanting to install a reverse osmosis system in my house. My plan was to get a unit installed in the utility room for the fridge line and kitchen sink (not whole home). Anyone that has an RO system, do you have -

-recommendations on best RO units
-recommendations on plumbers in the DSM/Ankeny area for installation if needed
-insight/experience on owning one.
-opinions on whole home vs system for specific lines used for drinking/cooking water.

Thanks in advance for your replies!
 
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I've been considering putting a RO system in as well. Mostly to remove nitrates.

One thing that surprised me when researching them, is that if you hook up the RO system to your fridge/ice maker, you will need to clean out the ice maker every few months to prevent mold growth. This is because the RO system removes chlorine which prevents the mold from growing in an open system like an ice maker.
 
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We got an RO from Culligan some years back as the previous owners had it already set up. Just on the water line to the fridge. I would love a whole home deal but it was $$. We have chlorine smell in our water in our particular area and it tastes not so great either, especially if it has sat for a bit in a glass. After the RO, its way better. I have no doubt its hard on our skin when showering too and maybe some day we will switch the whole home over.
 
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West Des Moines water, particularly out near the Norwalk border, tastes like pool water. We just got a RO system installed under our sink. So far it's pretty nice, our water tastes like nothing.

I think we used Golden Rule
 
we bought ourselves the Cloud system (cloudwaterfilters dot com) as a Christmas present (it's an old balls thing). The taste difference was dramatic. the reviews were pretty accurate with this one, you're basically paying a little more for a super easy setup and app. It takes minimal DIY skills to install on your own, cut 1 copper pipe and everything is push fittings with directions how to double check everything.

App says it's knocking down from 243ppm to 6ppm then "remineralizing" up to 19ppm. I'd definitely recommend getting the typically add-on tank with any system as it provides a strong initial flow for roughly a gallon before you start losing pressure.
 
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We had an AquaTru countertop system just for drinking water first and it worked well for us and didn't require any installation. When we completely remodeled our kitchen we had an APEC system (APEC water) installed in our utility room with a line to a faucet by the kitchen sink and to the ice maker in the fridge. We haven't had any issues with the system and the cost for filter replacement isn't terrible. Any plumber should be able to install one fairly easily. They also will fit under your kitchen sink, you just lose that storage space, and if you went that route you might not even need a plumber to do it.

Couple other things, we add trace minerals back to the water before we drink it because the r/o system will take them out as well. Here is what we use (Eidon minerals), we just put a few drops in the glass or water bottle when we fill it. We haven't had any mold issue with the r/o water going to our ice maker in the freezer. Ours isn't in the door of the freezer (you open the freezer and pull out a drawer full of ice) so everything related to ice making is always below 0 degrees which might help with that potential issue.
 
bos said:
We got an RO from Culligan some years back as the previous owners had it already set up. Just on the water line to the fridge. I would love a whole home deal but it was $$. We have chlorine smell in our water in our particular area and it tastes not so great either, especially if it has sat for a bit in a glass. After the RO, its way better. I have no doubt its hard on our skin when showering too and maybe some day we will switch the whole home over.
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I looked at Culligan and their website didn't have much information. Does their system have a remineralizer?
 
I haven't had one for years so this may not be applicable any longer but they use a lot of water and take a long time to fill if you use a bunch of it. It was under our kitchen sink and was only used for drinking/cooking water. We also had to keep up on the maintenance - when we bought the house it hadn't been maintained and we had to replace the entire thing. It definitely improved the taste.
 
ajspatio19 said:
I looked at Culligan and their website didn't have much information. Does their system have a remineralizer?
Click to expand...
From my research almost all systems have 3-4 basic filtration (large particulate / carbon / RO / etc). They then offer a re-mineralizing system of some sort and/or a pressure tank of some type as add-ons. I'd assume both are necessary in the cost if you want to compare apples to apples.
 
blizzisu said:
I've been considering putting a RO system in as well. Mostly to remove nitrates.

One thing that surprised me when researching them, is that if you hook up the RO system to your fridge/ice maker, you will need to clean out the ice maker every few months to prevent mold growth. This is because the RO system removes chlorine which prevents the mold from growing in an open system like an ice maker.
Click to expand...
Not sure I believe that. I'm on well water (no chlorine) and in 10 years I've never had a mold issue. I'll toss the ice if it's been sitting unused for a while, but otherwise, I don't pay it any attention.
 
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ajspatio19 said:
I looked at Culligan and their website didn't have much information. Does their system have a remineralizer?
Click to expand...
To be honest, I had no idea. I asked AI about it and apparently some of their systems do. If you're handy at all, Im sure you could put one in yourself for cheaper. One of my buddies did it. Im not that handy, so I just went with Culligan as they were running a deal, then bought it out after.
 
If you have an r/o system demineralizing is fairly important. Most of the companies have that as an option now on their systems or you can just add drops to your drinking water.
 
somecyguy said:
Not sure I believe that. I'm on well water (no chlorine) and in 10 years I've never had a mold issue. I'll toss the ice if it's been sitting unused for a while, but otherwise, I'd don't pay it any attention.
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I'm sure there are several other environmental factors involved but if you do a google search, you'll find it's a common problem.
 
Water usage is something to look at. They APEC system we got is a 1:1 ratio of filtered water to waste water, some are 1:3 or worse. Also, a reason to not add a whole home system for most people, your water bill will go up quite a bit, but if you are just using it for drinking water, cooking, and ice you won't really notice the increased usage much at all.
 
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blizzisu said:
I'm sure there are several other environmental factors involved but if you do a google search, you'll find it's a common problem.
Click to expand...
The type of ice maker will make the biggest difference, using more pure water without the chemical additives will make the issue worse if you have that problem.
 
We had a K5 RO system from Kinetico put in last month. If you are running a water line to your fridge and your fridge has a built-in filter, make sure you pull the fridge filter and plug it. Otherwise, your water flow from the fridge will be really slow.
 
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