Should I Get A 4 or 5 Stage Reverse Osmosis System?

Reverse Osmosis Systems typically come in two models:  4-Stage or 5-Stage.

What is the difference and which one is right for you?

First, an explanation of the stages of an RO system which consists of the membrane, pre-treatment filters and post treatment filters.

The first stage is a seatmate filter. This is a 5-micron filter. This filter catches the bigger particles in the water.

The next stage is an activated carbon filter.  This removes oils from the water so the membrane does not plug with oils and it removes chlorine which will eat the pores on the membrane, increasing flow rate and passing more contamination through the larger holes.  Sometimes there is one carbon block filter and sometimes there are two carbon block filters.

The next stage is the membrane.  The RO membrane is actually the thing doing all the work.  Water is pushed through the very tiny openings throughout the membrane, clearing the water of all the particles.

The water coming out the RO membrane is actually quite good and requires no other treatment. The problem is that in order to be able to deliver a higher flow rate, RO systems use a storage tank and inside the tank is a water bladder. It's like a rubber balloon that stores water and pushes it out to the faucet when needed. The material that the balloon is made of can leave a rubbery taste to the water. To fix this, another activated carbon after the bladder to remove this foul taste.

That brings us to the last stage in the RO system, the polishing filter.

The carbon filter, the second stage, is where 4 and 5 stage RO units differ.  A 4-Stage unit has only one carbon filter and a 5-stage unit has two carbon filters.  Having an extra carbon filter can make the membrane last a little longer.  A 5-Stage is recommended.

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