# Should I get a countertop Reverse Osmosis (RO) system? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 14, 2026, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-a-countertop-reverse-osmosis-ro-system/1033047 "2026-09-14T00:33:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2026, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-a-countertop-reverse-osmosis-ro-system/1033047/21 "2026-09-14T17:14:57Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > a UV light gizmo that kills microorganisms I’d certainly give the system a try if you don’t like the taste of your tap water, but turn off the UV light part. The UV treatment might be useful for someone on well water or with potential contamination sources between the treatment plant and their home. Your water is already treated, so it’s just burning energy with no added benefit. > [@bump](#): > > any filtration that may be needed is purely for aesthetic reasons, i.e. taste and aroma. And a Brita pitcher or any activated carbon one is likely to be perfectly good for accomplishing that. A Brita filter won’t remove TDS, which for some people can negatively impact taste. If residual chlorine is the cause of it tasting bad, charcoal is plenty. If it’s TDS, you need something more, like RO. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2026, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-a-countertop-reverse-osmosis-ro-system/1033047/22 "2026-09-14T18:37:10Z")
Thanks everyone for the help so far. This sort of question is where the Dope excels. I’m not too worried about Fluoride either way. I’m certainly not an anti-Fluoride kook. In addition, I have never had a cavity and brush my teeth once or twice daily so I am good there. As @Pork_Rind attests, the water out of the tap here is terrible tasting. Water out of the tap tastes horrible here but the Brita filter makes it taste great. His very specific recommendation speaks volumes. As mentioned upthread, we have very hard water here and the reduction in that is probably the difference. All of the other features won’t make a difference for my use case. From everything I have read, in real life use the system wastes a gallon of water for every gallon of drinkable water. You do have to go through a few cycles when you replace a filter, For all that I will be using it, it won’t amount to more than what I use to shower. It’s free so I may as well try it. I’m mostly put off by the maintenance being a chore. The filter replacement it easy and infrequent so that’s ok. According to the manual, if you don’t use it for more than a day you are supposed to remove the filters and store them upside down and then put it back together and run a few cycles of water through it. Maybe that’s overkill for people with pond water or whatever and I don’t have to worry about it. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2026, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-a-countertop-reverse-osmosis-ro-system/1033047/23 "2026-09-14T19:41:28Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Water out of the tap tastes horrible here but the Brita filter makes it taste great. And that’s where I say my example may fall short. I found that the Britta made _better_ water, but not _great_ water. Seattle has some of the best tap water in the world, so I may just have been spoiled. The RO machine along with the remineralization cartridge beats the Britta from my perspective. But if you like the Britta water, the RO may just be one pain-in-the-ass too far. And that highlights one thing I like about my under sink system. No electricity needed, and the filter change is once a year at most. Now I’ve made my under sink area stupidly complicated by adding a chiller/sparkling water unit, so changing the filters is more of a hassle than it used to be as access is poor, but that’s my own choices coming back to haunt me. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2026, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-a-countertop-reverse-osmosis-ro-system/1033047/24 "2026-09-14T19:53:38Z")
> [@Pork\_Rind](#): > > but that’s my own choices coming back to haunt me I wish an inconvenient water filter change was the worst of my bad choices coming back to haunt me 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2026, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-a-countertop-reverse-osmosis-ro-system/1033047/25 "2026-09-14T22:22:41Z")
Apologies for not reading the whole thread. Not exactly what you asked, but throwing in my 2 cents. YMMV. I got it because after living in the country with well water for 20 years, the taste of chlorine in city water was too much for me. I’ve been using this countertop system for over 10 years. I highly recommend it. This is the original unit. It come with your first filter cartridge. > # WaterChef Premium Countertop Water Filter System C7500 (White) with Intelligent Monitor | NSF/ANSI Certified 78 Contaminants | Big Block™ Filtration Technology | 1,000-Gallon Capacity | Made in USA > > [WaterChef Premium Countertop Water Filter System C7500 (White) with Intelligent Monitor | NSF/ANSI Certified 78 Contaminants | Big Block™ Filtration Technology | 1,000-Gallon Capacity | Made in USA: Amazon.com: Tools & Home Improvement](https://www.amazon.com/WaterChef-C7500-Countertop-Intelligent-Contaminants/dp/B0G3TDS7WZ?ref_=ast_bl_cpl_dp) * * * This is the replacement cartridge, which in my single-person household, lasts almost exactly a year. I make coffee almost every day, keep a pitcher of water in the fridge, make soup, boil pasta, etc. IOW I don’t skimp on water usage. > # WaterChef Countertop Water Filter Replacement Cartridge CR70 (with Battery) | For C7000 Systems | NSF/ANSI Certified for 78 Contaminants | 1,000-Gallon Capacity | Made in USA > > [Amazon.com: WaterChef Countertop Water Filter Replacement Cartridge CR70 (with Battery) | For C7000 Systems | NSF/ANSI Certified for 78 Contaminants | 1,000-Gallon Capacity | Made in USA : Tools & Home Improvement](https://www.amazon.com/WaterChef-CR70-Countertop-Replacement-Filtration/dp/B00BK6VGT2/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=1EO4G04QCIJ79&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.-xFfsA3c8BGZcG7zjM5U3UZ6tm5pOEbvRcKyzuHz2XVKzKf9ElSfwZsYfUzgYsfjTe1i5wqI9UGwlVADd_xXruJrkRzEbfUzCSlMMeXp8cewk1FZ-IC1RtssAhWNl8f429yP-yBZM_rveOvc-_P6WBsX1J5wYymkAf7gNXsfKPOK4VNJwaoOGnuNtszMrX83ZzZQ3aoi_Xd077Ly3ovogGQNufgmRyVR4TsyaV_lNGSWyp98d7xcnXpt5QE9pUsTCJpCi3c6pEy7DvKqJeNYsZH_-qprhe4ivlQIOeT5mTI.knWdn93eg9c8jqcxXcgQtgOc_4SzSax6dYyJ8wsklOc&dib_tag=se&keywords=waterchef+countertop+filter&qid=1789423656&sprefix=Waterchef%2Caps%2C250&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1) ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2026, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-a-countertop-reverse-osmosis-ro-system/1033047/26 "2026-09-15T18:45:34Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > A Brita filter won’t remove TDS, which for some people can negatively impact taste. If residual chlorine is the cause of it tasting bad, charcoal is plenty. If it’s TDS, you need something more, like RO. She said the Brita works fine, but she’s curious about other stuff in the water. I was just pointing out that the water is almost certainly safe to drink, and that if she’s filtering it, it’s for taste/smell reasons, not safety. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2026, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-a-countertop-reverse-osmosis-ro-system/1033047/27 "2026-09-15T19:38:47Z")
Agree with you 100%. The OP’s water is certainly safe\*, so the purpose of either the Brita or RO system is taste (which is absolutely a valid reason). My point is that bad taste can be caused by things like chlorine that carbon removes, or by things it doesn’t, like high dissolved solids. \* And to be clear, there are places in the U.S. where the municipal water is not safe and an RO system might be helpful for safety reasons. But Santa Barbara is not one of those places. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2026, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-a-countertop-reverse-osmosis-ro-system/1033047/28 "2026-09-15T19:55:00Z")
> [@Pork\_Rind](#): > > Seattle has some of the best tap water in the world, so I may just have been spoiled. I was plenty used to Seattle water, but after using my under-counter filter (for many years now) I can really taste the difference. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2026, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-a-countertop-reverse-osmosis-ro-system/1033047/29 "2026-09-15T21:21:57Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > From everything I have read, in real life use the system wastes a gallon of water for every gallon of drinkable water. Is this true? It seems a huge waste of water, particularly in California, when a simple Brita filter seems to work for you. > [@hajario](#): > > For all that I will be using it, it won’t amount to more than what I use to shower. If you’re hooking it up to your kitchen sink, you’re also using that water to wash your hands, rinse produce, maybe wash dishes, etc. It’s not just that one glass at a time that you drink. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2026, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-a-countertop-reverse-osmosis-ro-system/1033047/30 "2026-09-15T21:30:37Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > If you’re hooking it up to your kitchen sink, you’re also using that water to wash your hands, rinse produce, maybe wash dishes, etc. It’s not just that one glass at a time that you drink. Most (all?) countertop RO systems have a tap separate from your kitchen sink tap. They either use a self-contained water reservoir you fill manually, or you split off the flow to it from the main tap. The filtered water is for drinking only; you still have the regular tap for normal sink stuff. The amount of wastewater from this is a rounding error in overall household use. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2026, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-a-countertop-reverse-osmosis-ro-system/1033047/31 "2026-09-15T21:39:27Z")
Thanks for the info. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-a-countertop-reverse-osmosis-ro-system/1033047.md?page=1)