For certain difficult waters, whole house reverse osmosis is sometimes not only the best solution--it is virtually the only solution.  The most common application for large, point-of-entry reverse osmosis is water with high sodium content.   Reverse osmosis effectively removes sodium, fluoride and other difficult-to-treat contaminants handily.  

Reverse osmosis has unique properties and solves problems that are often impossible for conventional filters.  Keep in mind, too, that carbon filtration normally is used in conjunction with whole house reverse osmosis units adding virtually all chemical contaminants to the list of contaminants reduced.

Typically, a whole house system would include the following:

A. A reverse osmosis unit to produce as much water as the household might need for a day. For example, a 500-gallon per day unit would be typical. A 500-gallon unit would produce usable water at the rate of about 20 gallons per hour. Since 20 gallons per hour is not enough to supply the demands of normal household functions such as laundry and showers, a storage system is needed so that ample water will be on hand when needed.

B. Storage tank. An atmospheric (non-pressurized) storage tank large enough to provide ample water for daily activities. The reverse osmosis unit refills the tank as water is taken from it. The water is stored at atmospheric pressure and must, therefore, be re-pressurized for use..

C. Re-pressurization system. This system can consist simply of a pump that comes on automatically when water is needed and supplies pressurized water to the home, or it can include a smaller bladder tank that is filled to house pressure by a pump to give a more even supply of water when the demand arises.

The system pictured below illustrates a complete system with the three parts discussed above. This is a "generic" picture to illustrate the functioning of large reverse osmosis units in general.

Flowmatic & trade;  commercial reverse osmosis systems represent the very highest in reverse osmosis technology. We chose them for our large reverse osmosis brand because of their superb quality, their rugged construction, the simplicity of installation and operation, and the availability of replacement elements.. Flowmatic units include many standard features that on other systems must be purchased as extras. They come completely assembled and ready to install.  

Standard features include:

Reverse Osmosis Basics