Stay Cool, Stay Filtered with Reverse Osmosis

Water is something we rarely stop to question. We turn on the faucet, fill a glass, make our coffee, cook our food, take a shower, and move on with our day. It is one of the most basic parts of life, yet the quality of the water coming into our homes can vary dramatically depending on where we live, what our water source is, and what that water has encountered before it reaches our glass.

The truth is, our water supply is not quite as simple as it looks. The United States has one of the safest drinking water systems in the world, yet water quality can vary considerably from one region to another. There are also substances in our water that were not historically monitored to the same degree that they are today. PFAS, for example, have become a major focus of drinking water research and regulation. PFAS are man-made chemicals that do not breakdown naturally and can build up in our bodies overtime. They can be found in cookware, clothing, food packaging, and makeup, and have been linked to all types of illness. This is not meant to scare you away from your tap water. It is meant to encourage you to understand it better.

One of the first things you may hear about when researching water filtration is TDS, or Total Dissolved Solids. TDS refers to the total amount of dissolved substances in water. This can include naturally occurring minerals such as calcium and magnesium, as well as sodium, chloride, sulfate, bicarbonate, nitrate, and other dissolved substances. The US Geological Survey describes TDS as the sum of substances dissolved in water. TDS is usually measured in parts per million, or ppm.

This is where things can get confusing. A high TDS reading does not automatically mean that your water is dangerous. Calcium and magnesium, for example, are minerals that contribute to water hardness and are not inherently bad. On the other hand, TDS also does not tell you exactly what is in your water. Two homes could have the same TDS reading while having completely different combinations of dissolved substances.

Think of TDS more as a broad snapshot rather than a complete water quality report. For perspective, Delaware’s drinking water standards list 500 mg/L as the secondary standard for TDS. In a statewide assessment of Delaware groundwater, the median TDS concentration was around 156 mg/L. In other areas of the United States, naturally occurring dissolved minerals can make the water substantially harder and more mineral rich. This is one reason that someone living in one part of the country may never think twice about their tap water while someone elsewhere notices scale on their faucets, cloudy water, mineral buildup in appliances, or a very different taste.

TDS is only one small piece of the picture.

Groundwater is especially interesting because the soil does not act as a perfect filter. While it can remove larger particles, dissolved chemicals can travel through soil and rock and eventually reach underground aquifers. This is particularly relevant for people who live near agricultural land, industrial areas, older waste sites, or other locations where chemicals can enter the groundwater.

Golf courses for example require extensive turf management. Depending on the course and its practices, fertilizers, herbicides, fungicides, and other turf care products may be used. When these substances are applied to land, some can move with rainfall or irrigation and eventually make their way into surface water or groundwater.

This does not mean that living next to a golf course automatically means your drinking water is contaminated, but it does mean your location is one factor worth considering, especially if you rely on a private well.

So what can we actually do about it? Thankfully, we have options.

There are simple pitcher filters, faucet mounted filters, refrigerator filters, under sink systems, countertop filtration systems, whole house filtration systems, water softeners, UV systems, and reverse osmosis systems. Different technologies are designed to address different concerns, so there is no single filter that is automatically perfect for every home. For me, reverse osmosis is my favorite.

Reverse osmosis, commonly called RO, uses pressure to push water through a semipermeable membrane. The membrane allows water molecules to pass through while rejecting many dissolved substances and contaminants. A quality RO system can significantly reduce TDS and can be certified to reduce a variety of contaminants, including substances such as lead, arsenic, nitrate, fluoride, copper, and certain PFAS compounds. Importantly, the exact contaminants reduced depend on the specific system and its certification, so it is worth checking the actual performance claims rather than assuming every RO system removes everything.

There are several ways to bring RO into your home. You can choose a countertop RO system, which is convenient for renters or anyone who does not want to modify their plumbing. You can install an under sink system that supplies purified water directly to a dedicated drinking water faucet. You can choose a tankless system for a more streamlined setup. And for people who want to treat virtually all of the water entering their home, there are whole house RO systems.

The price range is surprisingly broad. You do not necessarily have to spend thousands of dollars to start improving the quality of your drinking water. A simple countertop system can be a great entry point, while larger whole house systems require a significantly greater investment and may involve additional equipment. For very hard water, a water softener may also be necessary, particularly when installing a whole house filtration system. Water softeners are designed to reduce hardness caused by mineral buildup that can make certain filtration systems less efficient.

At home, I personally use the Waterdrop A2G countertop remineralization reverse osmosis system. What I love most about it is the simplicity. The system uses one replacement filter designed to last up to 12 months, although actual lifespan depends on water quality and usage. Waterdrop lists the filter capacity at up to 528 gallons. We refill ours somewhere between one and three times a day, so yes, it requires a little more involvement than simply turning on a faucet. But for me, that small inconvenience is completely worth it.

Another feature I really enjoy is the temperature control. The A2G can dispense chilled or heated filtered water, with temperatures reaching approximately 203°F. That means I can make tea or coffee directly from the machine without needing to heat another pot of water. Because it is a remineralization system, it adds selected minerals back into the purified water after the RO process.

I also really like the idea behind the growing popularity of copper vessels. Copper has a long history of being used in water storage, and copper itself is an essential mineral. However, If you are already drinking reverse osmosis water, I would not combine that with a copper water bottle or pitcher.

Of course, improving our drinking water does not mean we have suddenly eliminated every environmental exposure in our lives. We shower in water. We wash our hands in it. We cook with it. We go out to restaurants. We sometimes drink from plastic bottles because that is the only option available. We encounter countless things every day that are outside of our control. I don’t believe wellness should become an impossible checklist where we feel like we have failed if everything isn’t perfect.

It is one step at a time.

For me, improving the water I drink every single day is one of the simplest changes that has made sense. We consume water constantly, and unlike many of the things we encounter only occasionally, it is something our bodies depend on every day. Sometimes improving your wellness is not about adding another supplement, another routine, or another complicated rule.

Sometimes it starts with something as simple as the glass of water sitting in front of you.