After moving into a new home, drinking water was naturally one of the first necessities to consider. At my previous home, I filtered the tap water using several different filters fitted at the kitchen outlet. The building was also relatively old, so I paid close attention to water quality. I genuinely did not want to drink water containing metallic substances or large amounts of impurities. In the past, it sometimes made me feel very dizzy. Has anyone else had the same experience?
I thought that a newer building and a newer water outlet would improve matters after the move. Unfortunately, I was wrong: the situation was just as serious—and serious really is the right word.
On the third or fourth day after moving, I finally managed to unpack enough boxes to find a kettle and boil water. The tap water in the kitchen looked clear and transparent, so I assumed that boiling it would leave little metallic content. The first sip proved otherwise: the water tasted intensely metallic. I knew immediately that something was wrong. I still needed drinking water, so I used it temporarily while looking for a new filter. A couple of days later, I brewed coffee with it—and every flavour the coffee should have had disappeared. That evening, I suddenly felt chilled and extremely tired. For a moment, I thought I had caught the virus, which frightened me. After sleeping through the night, I considered that the water might not have been the cause, but I still felt that even if it was not 100 percent responsible, it was at least 90 percent responsible. I therefore went out immediately and bought an instant-heating water filter.
First impressions of using the RO water dispenser
To be honest, I have used it for only a few days, so there is not much I can share yet, but here are my initial thoughts.
At this point, many readers will probably want to know whether it filters heavy metals and impurities, and how the water differs when brewing coffee. I will address the first question first. I think it filters some of them, but I can still detect an extremely faint metallic taste or impurity. The unit has only one filter cartridge, although it is described as having an RO filter layer. Advertisements and product information say that the RO layer allows only water molecules to pass through. Based on what I have tasted over the past few days, however, I do not think it removes everything, because I can still detect a very slight metallic taste. I am particularly sensitive to the taste of water.
Compared with the filter cartridges at my previous home, the old system produced much better-tasting water, although I still had to boil it. That was a traditional five-stage filter that provided directly drinkable water but had no RO layer. I think this machine may be suitable when the household water supply does not contain a large amount of metallic matter, but do not expect it to remove everything. As for whether the water looks as appealing as the advertising suggests and makes people want to drink more, I have not felt that way so far.
Does water from an RO dispenser make better coffee?
What about brewing coffee—does it actually make the coffee taste better?
The following is purely my personal experience. Tap-water quality differs between homes, so this is by no means a definitive answer. Compared with ordinary boiled tap water, I personally think the coffee tastes better. Compared with ordinary distilled water, I would still choose water from the RO machine; it does taste slightly better. Compared with mineral water, however, mineral water tastes much better. I would describe its flavour as less muddled and not overly thin.
Compared with the 5-stage filtration system at my previous home, the water from that system definitely tasted much better and was essentially on a par with mineral water. I need to test it more thoroughly before drawing a conclusion, however, because I have used the new machine only a few times so far.
Initial conclusion on the RO water dispenser
In simple terms, it is convenient and easy to use, and works well when several guests visit, but its performance is not as dramatic as the advertising suggests. After I posted a Story yesterday to collect opinions, many people said that problems often appear after some time: the unit may drip continuously, and repairs can take a month. Of course, individual experience may vary. If you buy one, remember to add a warranty. Installing a conventional filter first and then passing the water through the RO machine may produce a different result and could perhaps taste much better. I will share more after testing it at the end of the month. For now, I am continuing to observe it. If you have used one, you are welcome to share your experience so that we can compare notes.
