Another step forward in the new house- filtered water! We are on well water for the house and during the building process we talked a lot about filters. We have a sediment filter and a UV filter for all the water that comes into the house. I’m grateful we have a strong well and tasty water, but I knew for our everyday drinking water, I wanted another RO system like the one we had in the old house.
This is not a paid post, however I do have an affiliate code, AHEALTHYSLICE, that will get you $150 your Cloud RO Water Filtration System. Cloud sent me a system to review and I purchased an entire second system myself since we wanted one in the kitchen as well as in the scullery and Cloud is my favorite set up for all the reasons below. Let’s chat about it!
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What is RO water and why do I want it?
RO stands for reverse osmosis. It’s a water purification process that uses pressure to force water molecules through a semipermeable membrane, removing contaminants and producing clean drinking water. RO systems can remove up to 99% of contaminants, including lead, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), PFAS, arsenic, bacteria, viruses, pesticides, chlorine, and dissolved salts. In short, it super purifies your drinking water.
One complaint about RO is that it removes so much that it leaves you drinking basically “dead” water, which is one of the reasons I like the Cloud RO system. Cloud purifies the water and then actually remineralizes it with calcium, magnesium, and potassium, which actually helps make the pH of the water lean alkaline, coming in at a 8-9 on the pH scale.
If you’re into nerdy data like me, then you’ll also appreciate the Cloud RO app that monitors water quality and consumption in real time. Here are some app screenshots I snapped yesterday, a day or two after installation.
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How hard is a RO system to install?
The most intimidating part of considering a RO system for me was the installation. Well, I actually wasn’t super worried about it because David is fairly handy, but in general, the idea of having to mess with any kind of plumbing is slightly terrifying. David installed the one at the old house and I didn’t really pay attention, so when he installed the new systems, I made sure to pay attention so I could report back to you.
The first thing I noticed is how well packaged and labeled the Cloud RO System is. In fact, David said it’s one of the best designed with ease in mind installation processes he’s ever completed. Everything is clearly labeled and organized. If you are even somewhat handy, you’ll be able to install it yourself, but if that intimidates you, then any handyman will be able to complete it with ease.
The entire process took about 30 minutes, though I’d allow up to an hour if it’s your first time and you want to go slowly with things like drilling into your water pipe (sounds intimidating, but truly isn’t scary because they walk you through step by step). Once installed, you wait an hour, run it for 5 minutes, repeat, then you’re good to go! Connecting it to the app is easy- the app scans for your unit, connects, you name it, then it begins monitoring.
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FAQ about RO water systems
A few other things to note that I had questions about before we installed our systems.
How often do you need to change the filters? The app monitors your filter status and will let you know when you need to change them. Since it’s based on usage, it’s going to be different depending on the size of your household and drinking habits. In general, a family of four can expect to need to replace the filters once a year ($200). The process is straightforward and simple to do yourself.
Don’t RO systems have a lot of wasted water? Yes, they can. That’s why we didn’t entertain the idea of a whole house water system, but instead focused on just our drinking water. Additionally, Cloud RO wastes less than other systems. With Cloud, for every gallon of clean water, a gallon of grey water is removed. Traditional RO systems waste up to 10 gallons of water for every 1 gallon filtered.
Do they really do what they say they do? I can’t speak for all RO systems because water filtration is unregulated, but Cloud is NSF 58 certified which means a third party system with stringent criteria can vouch for its effectiveness. More info on that here.
I’m a big fan of our Cloud RO systems. They have different faucet finish options and I think they look sleek. But most importantly to me, I have peace of mind of feeling confident that we have clean drinking water. If you have any questions that I didn’t answer, please leave a comment and I’ll happily answer it to the best of my ability. Hope this was a helpful look! 🙂
