A reverse osmosis system produces the highest drinking water quality available residentially — removing dissolved solids, many contaminants, and the mineral taste that comes with hard water. Installed under the sink, it gives you purified water at the tap for drinking, cooking, and ice.
How It Works
Water is pushed under pressure through a semi-permeable membrane with pores small enough to block dissolved solids while letting water molecules pass. Pre-filters catch sediment and chlorine (which would damage the membrane), the membrane does the primary work, and a post-filter polishes taste before the water reaches a dedicated faucet.
What You Get
- Noticeably better taste. Removing dissolved minerals and chlorine changes drinking water, coffee, and tea substantially — this is usually what people notice first.
- Reduced dissolved solids and contaminants, depending on what your water contains
- Clear ice without the cloudiness minerals produce, if you plumb it to the refrigerator
- No bottled water — cheaper and considerably less plastic over time
- Better cooking, since water is an ingredient in most of it
The Trade-Offs
RO produces water slowly and stores it in a small tank, so output is limited. It also sends some water to drain during the process — worth knowing in a desert city, though a properly maintained modern system is far more efficient than older ones. And membranes and filters need periodic replacement.
What It Does Not Do
An under-sink RO system treats one tap. Your shower, laundry, water heater, and appliances still see untreated water — so it does nothing about scale. In Albuquerque, that matters: hardness is the dominant local water issue, and RO at the kitchen sink will not stop your water heater from scaling.
The Combination That Works Here
A whole-house softener for hardness, plus under-sink RO for drinking water. Together they cost a fraction of whole-house RO and solve both problems more directly.
