Brackish well water?

Question

I have a GE Smartwater RO unit under my sink (dual stage) which I just got up and running with new pre and post filters and a new membrane, after it being out of use for quite some time (I've only lived here a couple months.)

I sanitized the system and purged it 3 times, then tasted the water. While there is a noticeable difference in the salt level, it is still there. My well can run from deathly salty to fairly mild.

Regardless of the salt level in the well, shouldn't the RO have removed the majority of the salt content? Because I'm still tasting it, would purging the unit a couple more times help?

Answer 1

Yes, Reverse Osmosis is used to remove salt from water, Those de-salinisation plants off the coast of Saudia Arabia use reverse osmosis to supply millions of gallons daily of fresh water to their major cities.

You are probably removing the majority, if not all of the salt from the water using the Reverse Osmosis membranes as initially cleaned and installed. However, Odor and taste is another thing that can raise havoc with those membranes and allow your water to retain those undesireable tastes and odors and inactivate your membranes.
You will need to add a carbon filter to the system to remove those. I suggest that you add this AHEAD of the RO system as any small amounts of such contaminants shortens the membrane live, so its best to use carbon to rid of them first. I am quite confident that a carbon filter ahead of RO will fix things for you. It will not plug up with the salt, so dont fear of that.

Answer 2

I don't think that RO units are designed to specifically remove salt. I've never seen it listed on the items it removes description before.At least not on the ones I've looked at.