Drinking RO/DI?

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I've read that review in the past. The conclusions are ridiculous, IMO.

The main point relates to deficiencies in calcium and magnesium, and yet they point out themselves that by far the greatest source of these is not drinking water, and in fact, one would need to make the same conclusions about any drinking water low in calcium and magnesium.

So let's look at a typical water supply (mine, MWRA; Boston) and see how much calcium and magneisum is contributed to my diet each day.

The report
http://www.mwra.com/monthly/wqupdate/pdf/2012-cy-data/012012.pdf

shows 4560 ug/L of calcium and 785 ug/L of magnesium.

Let's assume I drink 2 L per day (an overestimate).

So that water is contributing 9 mg of calcium and 1.6 mg of magnesium.

The recommended dietary intake for myself as stated by the NIH is 1000 mg for calcium.

http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Calcium-HealthProfessional/

So the water input is LESS THAN 1% of my calcium intake requirement. About the same as a teaspoon and a half of milk. Does anyone realistically think that is a concern?

For magnesium, the NIH recommends I consume at least 420 mg/day. That means the water is contributing 0.38% of my daily intake. That 2 L of water has less magnesium than 2 peanuts.

 

[thegrun]

Thanks Randy. I hate the taste so I stay clear of RO/DI water anyways. I appreciate the input and added information.

 

[Buckeye Hydro]

That's good stuff Randy! What a hoot.

 

[Buckeye Hydro]

Thanks Randy. I hate the taste so I stay clear of RO/DI water anyways. I appreciate the input and added information.

Very few people like the taste of RODI water - it's RO water that tastes great.

Russ

 

[Sonny n Colleen]

Thanks for the info. Sounds like as long as I maintain my system according to the manufacturer and have a glass of milk with my peanut butter cookies I will be fine!

 

[andrewey]

Yup- no problems with drinking- Randy as always is right on the money.

 

[James77]

So the water input is LESS THAN 1% of my calcium intake requirement. About the same as a teaspoon and a half of milk. Does anyone realistically think that is a concern?

For magnesium, the NIH recommends I consume at least 420 mg/day. That means the water is contributing 0.38% of my daily intake. That 2 L of water has less magnesium than 2 peanuts.

Thank you Randy for injecting common sense with facts behind it .

To take it a step further, if RO water truly did leach minerals out of your body, they cannot really be anymore than the .38% magnesium and the <1% calcium Randy listed....otherwise all the water we drink would be leeching it. If RO does leach minerals, it can be made up for with such a trivial amount of food. 2 peanuts? Try a few stalks of broccoli or any other vegetable out there. Then think of the benefits of drinking pure water compared with the chlorinated, treated water that comes out your tap.

 

[Ron Reefman]

Just one quick take on the dangers of drinking RO or RO/DI water and bacterial concerns:

About 75-80% of homes in our town here in SW Florida use undersink RO or whole hose RO. And almost none of them have a UV system or get the kind of maintenance that the in home RO manufacturer suggests. Yet nobody gets sick from it. Hard to believe! And if this was a concern, the people selling in home RO units would either quit selling them due to law suits or redesign them so they all have UV to kill the bacteria. I'm not saying there isn't any bacteria, I'm just saying the level of concern expressed here has been a bit over the top. Like being afraid to fly a commercial jet because they crash. You can be afraid if you want, and yes, they do crash, but I'm still flying. I think the concern Randy and David stirred up at the start of this thread is just a wee bit over blown. But that's just my opinion.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Like being afraid to fly a commercial jet because they crash. You can be afraid if you want, and yes, they do crash, but I'm still flying.

I don't disagree with that comparison. It is a probably a very rare event to get sick from RO or RO/DI. But everyone knows planes crash. Without a thread like this, some will think there's no concern with drinking RO or RO/DI water, and this just serves to note a possible concern.

 

[fishgate]

I talked with one of my relatives that is a systems treatment expert having retired from the Navy where he was on Nuclear subs working on the water treatment systems for them. He now consults and teaches for local utilities. His particular specialty area is water treatment. He laughed when I asked about any dangers drinking RO/DI water. He said there is no chance at all of any danger from drinking RO/DI water.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I talked with one of my relatives that is a systems treatment expert having retired from the Navy where he was on Nuclear subs working on the water treatment systems for them. He now consults and teaches for local utilities. His particular specialty area is water treatment. He laughed when I asked about any dangers drinking RO/DI water. He said there is no chance at all of any danger from drinking RO/DI water.

He probably also laughed when his friend running the vacuum cleaner worried that it might destroy the sub.


(sorry, couldn't resist )

 

[zigzag1]

Haha! Nice one Randy!

I'm no expert but from what I've gleaned from the posts, I think the vaccuum puts it in prespective, just like Ron's example.. There is a danger, but it's probably a very small one.

I'll still be drinking RO and taking my chances, as it tastes much better than tap water from around our parts and the RO water has caused us no harm for the many years we have been drinking and cooking with it.

 

[Braxibear]

So I vote to remove this thread because if my wife reads this after I've been telling her to use the water to make her coffee, she is going to kill me!! lol

Very interesting read though. I like the technical reads on this forum.