Most homeowners searching for a whole house reverse osmosis system are really searching for one thing: bottled
water quality at every tap, not just the one under the kitchen sink. Here is how whole home RO actually works,
where it struggles, and why Reactive Osmosis (RO2) is the way we install it.
What is a whole house reverse osmosis system?
A whole house reverse osmosis system treats water where it enters the home, at the main line, so every
fixture in the house is fed purified water - kitchen, bathrooms, laundry, ice maker and outdoor spigots
alike. That is the difference between whole home reverse osmosis and a point-of-use RO unit, which
purifies a single faucet and leaves the rest of the house on untreated water.
Why traditional whole house RO is hard to live with
A true reverse osmosis membrane produces water slowly and under pressure, so a whole house RO system has
to bank it: a large pressurized storage tank, a booster pump to refill it, and a brine line that sends a
significant share of your incoming water to the drain. Run two showers and the dishwasher at once and you
can outrun the tank. The equipment footprint, the wasted water and the pump are the three reasons most
homeowners abandon the idea.
How Reactive Osmosis (RO2) is different
Reactive Osmosis reaches reverse osmosis quality water by filtration rather than by pressurized rejection.
Multi-stage media - a 5-micron sediment pre-filter, KDF-55 copper-zinc redox alloy and a 0.5-micron
carbon block - handle sediment, chlorine, heavy metals, VOCs, taste and odor. A hollow-fiber membrane with
pores at or under 0.01 microns then blocks bacteria, cysts, colloids, microplastics and many viruses
outright. No storage tank, no booster pump, no brine line, and 15 gallons per minute on demand.
Does whole house RO remove fluoride, chlorine and heavy metals?
Chlorine, chloramine byproducts, hydrogen sulfide, VOCs, pesticides and dissolved heavy metals such as
lead, mercury, nickel and chromium are handled by the KDF-55 and carbon stages. Bacteria, cysts,
microplastics, turbidity and fine suspended solids are blocked by the membrane. Dissolved salts and TDS
are the honest exception - lowering those takes a true RO membrane, which is the tradeoff you make in
exchange for losing the tank, the pump and the brine.
How much does a whole house reverse osmosis system cost?
Whole home reverse osmosis systems commonly run several thousand dollars once the tank, pump, plumbing and
labor are counted. Our complete whole-house Reactive Osmosis (RO2) system is
$2,995 installed - regularly $5,000, so you save $2,005. That price includes the cartridge housings,
manifold, membrane vessel, professional installation, a water test and a system check before we leave.
City water or well water - and where we install
On municipal supplies the KDF-55 and carbon stages take on chlorine, disinfection byproducts, taste and
odor at the main line. On rural wells and sediment-prone plumbing, the 5-micron pre-filter and the
membrane handle silt, rust, turbidity and biological contamination together. We install whole house
reverse osmosis quality systems across Palm Beach County, Broward County and the Treasure Coast, usually
in a single visit.