Reverse Osmosis water purifiers are the most effective purification systems available because they remove pretty much everything, even some of the good stuff like calcium, magnesium and other dissolved salts that contribute to taste. This is why RO water, with low TDS(Total dissolved salts) in it, tastes kind of flat.
As for how to remineralize RO water, here are a list of methods I’ll talk about in this post:
- Get a remineralization cartridge for your RO filter
- Get an alkaline water filter pitcher
- Use mineral drops/tablets
- Buy greens blend
- Get some spa Water
- Use sea salt
First- Do You Even Need To Remineralize RO Water?
Well, technically you don’t because there are no known health consequences of drinking low TDS water(or even high TDS water for that matter). You can read more about it in this detailed post I wrote on how to reduce TDS in water at home.
Most people prefer to remineralize though, because it just tastes much better that way.
Another benefit of adding minerals to RO filtered water is that it raises the pH.
Minerals have an alkaline or basic effect in water, and RO water, due to lack of minerals, is a little acidic. While the pH of RO water isn’t anywhere near to the level where it may be harmful, if you’re one of those who suffers from acidosis, acid reflux- or simply prefer your water to be on the alkaline spectrum- remineralizing your RO water is a good idea.
Finally, our bodies need the right balance of minerals(salts) to hydrate. While most of our salt intake comes through food and not water- drinking remineralized water surely aids better hydration.
How To Remineralize RO Water For Drinking
- Remineralization Cartridge For RO filters
- Alkaline Water Filter Pitcher
Remineralization Cartridges
The best solution first- a remineralization cartridge can pretty much be added to any RO water purifier brand as the last filtration stage, and it doesn’t even require a plumber. The cartridge consists of minerals such as calcium, magnesium, sodium, etc which get dissolved in the purified RO water.
Basically, it adds essential minerals back to water after the RO filtration process removes them.
How To Add A Remineralization Cartridge
To start with, you’ll need some elbow fittings, clamps and tubing(I’ll link you to the right sizedones on Amazon below) along with the mineralizer cartridge.
What we’re basically going to do here is to add the mineralizer cartridge after the last RO cartridge, so that the final, purified water to the faucet flows out of the output end of our mineralizer.
Here’s what you do:
- Cut the outlet pipe from your RO filter(about 10 cms from the valve or however much length you may need)
- Attach a plastic ¼” elbow fitting to the open mouth of the tube
- Attach one end of your extra tubing to the open end of the elbow fitting
- Connect this tubing to the mineralizer cartridge
- Now, attach some more tubing to the output end of the mineralizer and connect it(using another ¼” elbow fitting) to the tube going straight to the faucet.
- To keep the mineralizer in place, use the plastic clamps(included in add on kit recommended below) to attach it to the RO filter body.
Here’s a very useful youtube video I found that demonstrates the exact same process I outlined above:
Generally, a mineralizer cartridge will usually last you about 6 months, with average use. I recommend you get this one on Amazon, along with this add on kit for installment(includes tubing clamps and 1/4“ elbow fittings)
Alkaline Water Filter Pitcher
Alkaline pitchers simply add mineral salt hydrates(water soluble salts) to water which makes the water alkaline.
For me though, the mineralizer cartridge is much more convenient as it’s more of a ‘set and forget system’. With the pitcher, you have to remember to keep filling it up and allow the water some time to be filtered through and mineralized.
May begin to feel like a chore at some point.
Mineralizer cartridges are also more cost efficient– about half the price of a pitcher, which come in the 50-70$ range.
They essentially perform the same job, however, and if you’d prefer to just not get into the hassle of installing a mineralizer and want to try alkaline pitchers out, I recommend this popular one on Amazon
How To Remineralize RO Water Naturally
- Mineral drops/tablets
- Greens blend
- Spa Water
- Sea Salt
Mineral Drops
These mineral drops contain water soluble ionic minerals, specially harvested and concentrated into a small bottle.
You simply need add about 1-4 drops to every glass of RO water to improve the taste. The manufacturers for this particular mineral drops product on Amazon claim it can remineralize 93 gallons or ~350 Litres of water.
Assuming you use 5 drops every litre or 20 drops per gallon, at an average person’s consumption rate of 4 L of water daily, it’ll last about 3 months, roughly.
PS: Do remember to not use more than the recommended limit of 40 drops per gallon, as it can have a laxative effect!
Greens Blend
This product provides more holistic nutrition than the others on this list- it basically is a blend of herbs, fruits and vegetables and has packed into it, a whole lot of naturally occurring minerals and vitamins.
The recommended intake is 2 scoops per day. You can get the normal variety with no add on flavors or the flavored options- berry, chocolate or orange. Check it out on Amazon.
Spa Water/ Fruit Infused Water
When I was a kid in school, my mom used to put lemonade into my water bottle instead of just normal water, which not only was tasty, it was also more hydrating due to the increased mineral balance in it.
Little did I know then, that what we simply call lemonade could also be termed as spa water or fruit infused water( probably a good thing, over sophistication in the 6th grade is kinda unwelcome by other kids!)
To make spa water at home, the easiest way is to cut up some lemon slices and place them into your water bottle/ pitcher overnight. Or maybe use apple, or oranges instead!
The options are endless- you can use any fruit, or herb and even their combinations to make infused water that tastes great and is remineralized as well. It all depends on your personal tastes.
A really neat product to get, if you’re thinking of remineralizing your water this way, is to get a fruit infusion water pitcher.
It basically has a small container inside to place the fruit/ veggie slices so that you don’t have to fish them out later from the bottom. At the same time, it allows the infusion process to take place easily.
By the way, this infusion pitcher on Amazon is the most popular in it’s category- so check it out if you’re interested.
Sea Salt
Rich in calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and other trace minerals, sea salt is much more healthier than table salt. This is because table salt is processed to remove extra minerals and avoid clumping of granules.
According to Dr. Axe, there are many other health benefits of sea salt such as:
- Aids hydration when added to water
- Helps in proper brain and nervous system functioning
- Improves quality of sleep
- Helps one feel more energetic
- Regulates BP
There majorly are two types of sea salt:
- Himalayan: Thought to be purer than any other sea salt, it is pinkish in color. Check out Himalayan sea salt on Amazon
- Celtic: Has a greyish hue and comparable health benefits to Himalayan sea salt. It is harvested in Brittany, France near the Celtic sea. Check it out on Amazon.
A Word of Warning About Pascalite Clay:
A lot of blog posts on this topic also recommend Pascalite clay as a means to remineralize water. However, Pascalite Inc, the company behind the product, have themselves stopped marketing the clay as safe to be ingested.
This is because lab testing found some naturally occuring lead in the clay, which could be harmful when ingested.
Even though the company maintains that the product is safe to be used either as a topical agent( on the skin) or ingested with water, they admit that their own tests found lead concentrations in the range of 16 ppm-24 ppm(parts per million). By contrast, the FDA regulations for lead are in the ppb(parts per billion) range.
I really wouldn’t recommend you use this product to remineralize water.
Conclusion
Remineralizing water isn’t very expensive, so if you’ve been drinking RO water for some time, I do suggest you start adding minerals to it.
If nothing else, you’ll notice the improved taste and that alone, makes it worth it.
The best way, according to me is to simply get a RO mineralizer cartridge. Simple, cost effective and a true ‘set and forget system’( until, of course, it needs to be replaced)
However, if you’re still on the fence for some reason- try using sea salt or fruit infused water. It can be easily made by anyone at home.
That’s about it for this post- any questions, doubts? Jump into the comments section below and I’ll reply ASAP!
