Lead can be removed from your water supply by reverse osmosis. This type of water purification method is widely used in households and the manufacturing industry.
You can protect your family from lead exposure and contamination by installing a reverse osmosis unit on your waterline. This will ensure that you can have cleaner and healthy tap water that is safe to drink.
But what impact does lead have in our water supply? In this article, we will discuss what is lead, how harmful is lead exposure, and its importance of removing it. So without further ado, sit back, relax, and continue to read on.
The Dangers Of Lead To Our Health
Lead is a chemical element that naturally occurs in nature. It is found in the air, water, and soil, and are usually sourced from burning fossil fuels and mining operations.
Lead is mostly used as a prime ingredient in industrial products like paint, batteries, pipes, ammunition, and ceramics.
What’s even surprising is lead is even used in making cosmetic products too. But due to health concerns, the amount of lead in the products mentioned has been reduced significantly over the years.
Lead poses a serious health risk when ingested or inhaled. Excessive lead exposure can have harmful effects on the human body. It poses a greater risk especially to children, seniors, and pregnant women.
Lead contamination has been linked to several health issues such as behavioral problems, stunted brain development, and could hinder the physical development in children. Other issues also include stillbirth, infertility, and fetal retardation.
However, lead isn’t always present in water. Instead, the main factor that results in high amounts of lead in water is the delivery system that is used.
One of the main contributors to this are lead water pipes. Corrosion of these pipes and other fixture parts in the system can cause the lead to get into the waterline. Thus, making water unsafe to drink which can reach households.
However, removing/replacing these pipes completely is not a viable and cost-effective solution. And this is where alternatives come into play.
These alternatives include water treatment methods to eliminate lead and other types of harmful substances for that matter. And one of the most effective ways to do that is the reverse osmosis method.
How Does Reverse Osmosis Work?
Reverse osmosis is touted as the best solution to get rid of lead, especially in your household tap water. It is highly effective, cost-efficient, and energy-saving.
This process is also widely used in water purification systems, manufacturing plants, and chemical laboratories. It has also been suggested by the CDC (Center for Disease Control) as a viable water treatment method to convert regular tap water to drinkable water.
However, knowing how reverse osmosis happens boils down on what osmosis is. Osmosis is a natural process in which two elements (a strong and weaker one) are equalized by a semipermeable membrane.
This filter has holes that are tiny enough to trap contaminants and prevent them from flowing to the other side. Thus, only allowing water molecules to pass through. This means the water becomes highly concentrated as it goes through the semipermeable membrane.
Reverse osmosis, on the other hand, is a purification process that uses pressure to push molecular elements through a series of filters in order to produce a cleaner and more viable solution.
A prime example would be how purified water is made. Water produced from this process is called the permeate and the concentrated water with contaminants is called the waste or brine.
The semipermeable membrane or filter used in this process can block out contaminants such as lead, arsenic, phosphorus, and other dangerous chemicals.
In addition, it also removes certain organic, inorganic, and bacterial contaminants. These contaminants will then be flushed out leaving only clean, healthy, and safe drinking water.
Benefits of Reverse Osmosis In Water Purification
If you rely on tap water for your everyday needs, then installing a reverse osmosis system is a must. Although costly, the benefits you’ll get is worth every penny you spent on it.
First, water that has undergone reverse osmosis has been found to taste better than regular tap water. This is because all harmful microorganisms have been warded off, leaving you with fresh and clean water to drink.
Second, it contains zero contaminants. The reverse osmosis purification method removes impurities in tap water.
Third, it saves you from skyrocketing energy bills. Reverse osmosis filtration systems have a low energy usage compared to other systems used in a household. This is very ideal especially to those who need to use energy as little as possible.
Fourth, maintenance is easy. Most reverse osmosis water purification units only require maintenance every six months or so.
One of the few things that this system requires is filter replacement which can easily be done. You must replace the filters regularly to avoid bacterial contamination within the system.
And lastly, it is cost-efficient. Buying bottled drinking water will be a thing of the past. Say goodbye to expensive drinking water and say hello to a happier wallet.
You can save a lot of money when buying a reusable jug/tumbler where you can carry your reverse osmosis-filtered water anywhere.
Conclusion
Reverse osmosis is a very effective CDC-approved way to filter out lead and prevent contamination in tap water. What’s best is that this process does not only remove lead but also other chemicals such as PFAS, chlorine, and sodium that are harmful to your body as well.
The benefits listed above adds more to the list of reasons why you should invest in a reverse osmosis filtration system for your home.
Thanks to reverse osmosis, you can live a worry-free life when drinking tap water. So start saving up today, and enjoy safer and cleaner water to drink at the heart of your home.
Jomar Teves
A blogger by day, a tech enthusiast by night, and a downhill mountain biker at the weekends. After four years in business school and working for multinational clients, Jomar believes he can improve the world through his writings. Jomar has six years experience as a writer and is a graduate of the BSBA Entrepreneurial Marketing program. His work has been published on Clutch Points, Blokt and iTech.