Rodi waste water is drinkable?

[Mattman1977]

Ok so with the issue the world is facing, don’t wanna say the “V” word and get deleted, I made mention to my wife that water isn’t a issue as we’ve been using the “waste water” for years for coffee, dogs, cooking and other things. I had been avoiding that term for years around her as I figured i would get this response “what do you mean waste water?” So Just for clarification rodi waste water is ro water that the di couldn’t process correct. 100% safe to drink and bottle up for drinking, cooking purposes.

thanks
Matt

 

[Ruben's Reef]

Good morning Matt, waste water is what its. All chlorine and others unwanted elements goes on that water. Let said if you cook spaghetti with that water, you will also consuming those unwanted elements that may doesn't do nothing to the body apparently but it will create some issues maybe with the stomach etc in the long run. That's why on my new RODI system I did a bypass valve to get the water that comes out before the DI for drink and cook.

 

[PotomacReef]

Ok so with the issue the world is facing, don’t wanna say the “V” word and get deleted, I made mention to my wife that water isn’t a issue as we’ve been using the “waste water” for years for coffee, dogs, cooking and other things. I had been avoiding that term for years around her as I figured i would get this response “what do you mean waste water?” So Just for clarification rodi waste water is ro water that the di couldn’t process correct. 100% safe to drink and bottle up for drinking, cooking purposes.

thanks
Matt

You could store the waste water for use in the yard if you have the space. Basically RO waste is essentially just increased concentration of chemicals already in your water. If you have city water it's things like chlorine, flouride, etc etc.

I wouldn't drink it or use it with food because you have no way of testing if it's within municipal (and therefore verifiably safe) limits.

If you're going to use it in the yard to water plants or grass with it, then let it sit in an open vat container with light flow in it. This will aid in the evaporation of chlorine, flouride, etc that evaporate faster than water at normal temperatures. This is why if you use city water, you're suppose to fill up your watering container a day in advance and let the water sit out for a while before you water your plants.

What I do is use the waste output of my first RO stage into another RO stage. The output of the first RO stage isn't some toxic sludge so it is reusable. Then with the waster output stage of my second RO into the drain I just don't mess with it.

 

[Tuan’s Reef]

I don’t believe you’re suppose to be drinking RO waste water. All the chemicals and pollutants is concentrated in that water. Best for yard if anything

 

[TexasReefer82]

I'd say it's likely fine to drink although PotomacReef raises a valid point that the concentrated solutes may no longer be within municipal limits.

The Chlorine and Chloramines are no longer in the water - they're removed by the special carbon blocks prior to hitting the membrane (because they're damaging to the membrane). Many dissolved organics will also be removed by the carbon blocks. It's mostly the ionic components that will be left behind and concentrated in the waste water. This would be mostly hardness (Calcium and Magnesium) but it could also contain heavy metals (for example Tin).

 

[TexasReefer82]

You're better of drinking the product water IMO.

 

[TexasReefer82]

A third thought... If your starting tap water is really dirty and polluted then I'd avoid drinking the waste water if you're not already drinking the tap water.

If your tap water is basically clean and free of pollution then the waste water is probably fine.

 

[SeaJay]

If your RODI has a waste/product ratio of 3:1, then you're essentially removing the contaminants from the 1 part and adding it to the 3. Considering some is removed by the carbon, I wouldn't say you're ingesting a "much higher concentration". I wouldn't be surprised if the post carbon wastewater was actually purer than the tap water. I'm not saying it is, just that I wouldn't be surprised. I'm curious to know myself. Someone should run a real analysis of their tap-waste-product waters and report back with the findings.

Not it...

 

[lilgrounchuck]

I don't know how wise dumping higher concentrations of stuff those filters were meant to remove into your body is. There are non-human consumption uses though: fill toilet, wash dishes, fill laundry, hand washing station, brush your teeth/shave with it, etc. I'd treat as non-potable, although if I had a bunch in containers and my water supply were to get cut off, I wouldn't hesitate to drink it - just wouldn't be my first choice.

 

[JoshH]

I'd drink it without worry, unless your incoming TDS is astronomically high, it's not going to be much worse than your regular tap water. Especially when, like mentioned above, your sediment and carbon blocks do remove a bunch of the chemicals in regular tap water. If you'd drink your tap water before running it through your system, theres no reason to not drink it after

 

[redfishbluefish]

@SeaJay hit the nail on the head. Your so called waste water most likely has no chlorine, with any organic or ionic portions removed by the carbon blocks. Yes, TDS will be slightly higher, per whatever ratio you produce of waste to good water. And there is no water standard for TDS, just a recommendation.....so yes, it's drinkable.

That said, I don't drink mine....I collect in a 55 gallon drum and use it for the washing machine.

 

[Lasse]

If you have 4 mg of something in 4 liters of your tap water (1 ppm) - you will have (in worse case) those 4 mg in 3 litre waste water instead - it means 4 mg/3 l -> 1.33 ppm This means that you will raise the values of contaminants with 1.33. If your tap water is very close to municipal standards - it could be of concern but if you have a very good tap water - nema problema. You can also limit your water intake with 25 % - and exactly the same amount of contaminants will be in your body compared with only drinking tap water. Other has also underlined that your sediment filter and active carbon take away a lot of contantimants.

IMO - for coffee it could be an advantage - municipal tap waters are often low in minerals that affect the taste of both water and coffee - have to test that with our high quality tap water

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Sailingeric]

Easy answer would be to take tap water, RODI water, and RODI waste water and send them off for testing to see how much of a difference it is. If I was to guess, after going through the carbon filter, the waste water still might be cleaner than the original tap water but I would be curious to know through testing.

 

[xxkenny90xx]

I think your confusing ro water with waste water. Put a valve before the di section and drink from there (so it goes through the whole system except the di part)

 

[MTBake]

I would not drink the waste water myself. I have my ro line Td off before the di. That feeds a pressure tank, which then feeds my refrigerator and a faucet at the sink in the kitchen.

Just for kicks, I tested the tds at different points. Here's what I got...

Tap water: 390ppm
After ro: 3ppm
After di: 0
Faucet at fridge: 12tds
Faucet at sink: 12tds
Waste water: 785ppm

 

[JoshH]

I would not drink the waste water myself. I have my ro line Td off before the di. That feeds a pressure tank, which then feeds my refrigerator and a faucet at the sink in the kitchen.

Just for kicks, I tested the tds at different points. Here's what I got...

Tap water: 390ppm
After ro: 3ppm
After di: 0
Faucet at fridge: 12tds
Faucet at sink: 12tds
Waste water: 785ppm

I think the issue with a general yes/no answer is that everyone's water and system is different. For you, you have relatively high TDS, therefor your waste water, as seen by your tests, is VERY high. However, someone with an incoming TDS of 100, might see a TDS of say 200. While it's double what comes out of the regular tap, it's still almost half of your tap water TDS.

 

[MTBake]

I think the issue with a general yes/no answer is that everyone's water and system is different. For you, you have relatively high TDS, therefor your waste water, as seen by your tests, is VERY high. However, someone with an incoming TDS of 100, might see a TDS of say 200. While it's double what comes out of the regular tap, it's still almost half of your tap water TDS.

Good point.

Probably should have stated 'I would not drink my waste water'.

Actually started drinking the ro water due to a sodium limited diet that a family member has. We have a water softener and there was concern about sodium that gets into the water.

 

[Sailingeric]

I would not drink the waste water myself. I have my ro line Td off before the di. That feeds a pressure tank, which then feeds my refrigerator and a faucet at the sink in the kitchen.

Just for kicks, I tested the tds at different points. Here's what I got...

Tap water: 390ppm
After ro: 3ppm
After di: 0
Faucet at fridge: 12tds
Faucet at sink: 12tds
Waste water: 785ppm

Do you have a filter at your faucets since tds will not magically disappeared going through a sink faucet

 

[MTBake]

Do you have a filter at your faucets since tds will not magically disappeared going through a sink faucet

Yes. I have a faucet at the sink that is fed by the pressure tank downstairs. The pressure tank is fed by my ro system. The water dispenser on the refrigerator and the ice makers in the refrigerator is also fed by the same pressure tank.