How clean is RO/DI waste water?

B

bamf25

New member
SO we all lament how much these units waste. I have heard many people say they use it for luandry or for their house plants. How safe is the waste water for pets, or even just for drinking in comparison to out of the tap? Does this change with a standard units verses the recycling units that are close to 1 : 1 for purified vs waste water?
 
Thats going to depend on your water and what your raito is.

1:1 for example, will have twice the mineral content of tap water. 2:1 will have about 1/3 more, 3:1 will have about 25%... etc
 
RO/DI waste water is filtered tap water, with a slightly higher concentration of dissolved solids. Whatever you do with tap water you'll be safe doing with the RO/DI waste.

Jeff
 
Yes you can drink it.



I use mine for watering plants and doing laundry. If I had a hot tub I'd use it to fill that... if only I had a hot tub! It's cold here in CO!
 
I have a hot tub (well a jacuzzi) but that water is way better hot, and mine does not have its own heater. lol
 
I have well water. TDS varies at different times of the year. The range is anywhere from a low of 450ppm-over 700ppm. Then there are the great additions of herbicides and pesticides from all of the farming and of course I cannot forget the wastes from multiple dairy farms. Yes, I know it all percs down through the soil and is cleaned to a degree, but I make sure my water is clean and the only thing I do with the RO/DI waste water is use it to water the garden and the yard. Sometimes I use the water I pull from my tank (mixed with well water) to water salt loving plants. Yes, they do exist. I even purify my drinking water. If you have tap water that is even halfway decent, protect it. Do all you can to preserve your communities water supply. In a few years, the federal government will be claiming all water as theirs and then you can complain about water prices being too high at $4 a gallon. LMAO
 
I don't think it's generally recommended to drink RO waste water due to possible bacterial contamination. Sediment filters, carbon blocks, and the interior surfaces of the housings are good places for bacteria to grow, so although the water might be clean going into the unit, the inside of the unit itself is not. When you run water through, it flushes out some of that bacteria and since it can't pass through the RO membrane, it all ends up in the waste water.
 
I just checked all my TDS levels for intake, RODI water, and waste. This is what I got

Intake: 77
RODI: 0
Waste: 96

So with those I use the water in the garden all the time. I don't give it to my dogs, although I doubt it would be a problem considering some of the water they find during our afternoon runs...

Edit: After typing that...why don't I use it for my dogs? 96 is lower than most others normal water from what I hear... Premonition I had!
 
Just restating what greenbean said.

Remember after the water hits the carbon blocks and the chlorine is removed there is much greater chance for bacterial growth.

Edit: This goes for both the RO & waste water.
 
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I know this will probably seem naive, but where is the bacteria coming from? Chlorinated water is relatively sterile going in, why would it carry bacteria with it?

Also, my incoming tds is on average anywhere from 100-130, Reno you're safe.
 
I use the waste water to water plants, store it for scrubbing down the patio, and even water the dogs with it, they actually seem to prefer the wastewater to tap water and besides one of them developing an extra leg trying to grow from their neck and an extra tooth growing in the bottom of her mouth there have been no ill effects...
 
Okay, thinking out loud here, so what if you really wanted to be green, could you put the waste water in another tank with just live rock and micro algae and let it do it's thing....(or would it never take out whatever if left over?)...and then use water from that tank for your coral/fish tank? I really hate watching that water run drain.....could save some to water the plants, but that wouldn't put a dent in it....
 
Keep in mind that water is the least expensive item in this hobby, so RO waste is a minimal cost. Add to that the fact that a 10 minutes shower uses more water than most units waste in a week and you can see how minimal the effect is of any conservation of the waste water.

The idea is great. But you can get better returns elsewhere in your home for less effort. Putting a flow restrictor on that shower for example. :)

Jeff
 
Yes, water is pretty cheap, but I guess you hear so much about water shortages around the country/world I tend to feel a little guilty watching it (water that is probably cleaner than many people drink every day) go straight to the sewer. I lived in your neck of the woods for 18 years (Naples) and know Florida had water restrictions for a several years when I was down there so maybe that is lingering on my mind. However, I am certain no one died from lack of water so maybe it wasn't that big of a deal...maybe a mercedes didn't missed a wash day...lol

Anyway, I will check to make sure my flow restrictors are in place, but I wonder how long it would take to cleanse the water side of my RO/DI in a 55G tank with LR and macro algae? Anyone have any ideas or is that a waste of time? Of course the down side is I would use electricity to run the tank so it probably would negative the whole green idea unh?
 
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