Do I need an RO DI unit?

[Nano-Neophyte]

I'm curious what you think of these readings. I live in the city of Milwaukee and this link shows the latest compound readings in our city water. http://www.mpw.net/Pages/wqr2001.html (look about 3/4 down the page for a chart of compounds. )

With these levels, do you think I need to purchase an RODI? I'm actually surprised how low the numbers are right off the bat? Opinions?

:?:

 

[reefsRcool]

how acuratly do you think these reflect you actual numbers coming out of your tap? seems like a pretty wide assumption to think every pipe in town has the same water quality. what does everyone else think?

 

[Anonymous]

I didn't see where they mentioned (unless I missed it) phosphates, which could posssily be a problem since some water treatments use detergents to help cleanse the water. Nitrates didn't look bad, but just realize that every time you add top off, you are adding a little to whatever is already in the tank.

 

[Scott Clendenin]

The article mentioned phosphates being added. It also mentioned copper at 1.3 ppm. I don't know if thats enough to do any damage but if you have copper pipes I'd say forget it, Buy a filter of some sort at least.

 

[ChrisRD]

As reefsRcool pointed out, I'd want to know what the water was like at the tap. Personally, my feeling is that your source water is one of the most important factors effecting the health of your system. I'd filter it.

Depending on what the TDS levels are in your water at the tap and how much you'll need per day/month, a tap water purifier (TWP) might be all you need.

If your TDS levels are high at the tap and/or you need really large quantities of water each month, the TWP cartridges might exhaust quickly and an RO/DI unit might be cheaper per gallon in the long term.

Some folks here also use a TWP and recharge the cartridges themselves. If you do some searches you'll probably find a lot of info on all of these topics.

Hope that helps.

 

[Nano-Neophyte]

You're right that I really shouldn't assume that levels for the city are the levels I have in my house. I'll certainly take the time to take some readings at home. Copper is likely to be a problem that I can't ignore. I guess a RO DI unit will be an investment I'll need to make.

Thanks for your input gentlemen.

 

[reefland]

Also keep in mind that water quality values will change over the year. Perhaps if you could get some historical data over the past years to see if levels have been constant.

I would still suggest you use a RO/DI unit. If your water is that good it should last a long time between cartridges.