RODI will not eliminate hard water completely. You will need a whole house water conditioning system before the RODI. It's kind of like preaching to the choir here. I have been keeping Reef aquariums and hydroponic systems for well over a decade. I use a 6 stage RODI that does 75gpd and a whole house water conditioning system.
Anything less and my reef aquariums will be full of cyano blooms, hair algae and bubble algae. It would be a complete nightmare. Hydro systems would be a total failure and my flowers wouldn't bloom or grow.
Municipalities are putting chlorine and fluoride in our water and they are known now to be toxic.
"Toxic effect of chlorine skin absorption. Hazards in the bath & shower.
" A five-year study by the Environmental Protection Agency concurred. Studies by Dr. Julian Andelman, Professor of Water Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, found less chemical exposure from drinking chlorine contaminated water than using it to wash the clothes or take a shower.
SKIN PENETRATION
H.S. Brown, Ph.D.; D.R. Bishop, MPH, and C.A. Rowan, MSPH, report that: "Assessments of drinking water safety rely on the assumption that ingestion represents the principle route of exposure." Skin penetration rates for solvents are remarkably high, and the stratum corneum is a less effective barrier to penetration than traditionally assumed. Based on published skin absorption rates, these 3 researchers used Fick's Law to determine permeability constants for selected compounds. Then they calculated dose per kilogram for 9 different exposure situations and compared this to the oral dose per kilogram. They found that skin absorption contributed from 29 to 91 percent of the total dose, averaging 64 percent. The researchers concluded that skin absorption of contaminants in municipal water has been underestimated and that ingestion may not constitute the sole or even primary route of exposure. In addition to penetration of contaminants through the skin to the body as a whole, the contaminants can adversely affect the skin itself. Chlorine chemically bonds with proteins in the hair, skin and scalp. Hair can becomes rough and brittle and lose color. Skin can dry out with itchy, flaky scalp occurring. Chlorine can aggravate sensitive areas in the eyes, nose, throat and lungs.
INHALATION
Chloroform (a Trihalomethane or THM) and trichloroethylene (TCE) are two highly volatile toxic chemicals that have been identified in many municipal drinking-water supplies. The National Academy of Sciences has estimated that 200 to 1000 people may die in the U.S. each year (1986) from cancers caused by ingesting these contaminants in water. However, the major threat caused by these water pollutants is far more likely to be as air pollutants in the home, according to a study by Dr. Julian Andelman. He found that in the shower when temperature and chemical concentrations increase and diameter of shower head hole decreases, volatilization increases. His data indicate that hot showers (109F) can liberate about 50% of the dissolved chloroform and 80% of the dissolved TCE into the air. Both the heat and the large surface-to-volume ratio of small droplets increase vaporization. Chlorine, TCE, chloroform, benzene and others are readily absorbed through the lungs into the bloodstream.
CONTAMINANTS
The contaminants mentioned in this article are not necessarily in your tap water. However, if chlorine is present in the water it is most certain that other contaminants are also. Chlorine combines with organic substances forming Trihalomethanes including Chloroform. The most common volatile compounds in drinking water supplies as found by the EPA are as listed: trichloroethylene, tetrachloroethylene, carbon tetrachloride, benzene,1,1,1-trichloroethane, 1,2-dichloroethane, ethylene chloride,1,1-dichloroethylene, bis-1,2-dichloroethylene, vinyl chloride, trans-1,2-dichloroethylene, chlorobenzene, dichlorobenzene, & trichlorobenzene.
asthma and chlorine
If it is, doctors say it could be because of one of many substances found in the workplaces that are linked to allergies and asthma. According to a panel of respiratory specialists who convened this week at the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology annual meeting in Orlando, Fl., as many as 5 percent of all adult asthma cases can be linked to workplaces allergens and irritants such as latex, mites, detergents, ammonia, chlorine, and a variety of substances used in the manufacture of plastics. "[These estimates] come from a number of different studies," said the college's president, Dr. Emil Bardana. "Some have estimated as high as 10 percent, some as low as 2 percent, and it depends on where you're doing the study, and what industry you're studying." Although experts may disagree about the prevalence of the problem, there is no doubt that substances in the workplace can cause serious illness. With more than 15 million Americans now suffering from asthma, Bardana estimates that hundreds of thousands could be experiencing work-related forms of the disease. Those workers at highest risk include people who are exposed to latex, such as health-care professionals, as well as people exposed to animals, such as veterinarians. In addition, industrial workers are often exposed to toxic and irritating chemicals, which can contribute to asthma. Workplace Causes and Prevention Doctors believe that there are two basic ways to get asthma in the workplace. The most common way to become asthmatic is through constant exposure to allergens, which are any substance your body is allergic to, such as latex. Symptoms of an allergic reaction are similar to hay fever, and include runny nose and watery eyes. The other, less common, way is to be exposed to an irritant such as chlorine, a condition that is more likely to clear itself up after exposure. Symptoms of asthma include breathlessness, wheezing, and cough. To prevent these respiratory problems, workers can simply avoid exposure to particular allergens and irritants. Doctors suggest educating workers and employers about the dangers of certain substances, as well as the benefits of using masks, gloves, and exhaust systems to remove allergens from the workplace. One way to tell if a symptom is work-related is to note whether or not it improves when you are away from work. If your sniffles and cough mysteriously get better at night and disappear over the weekends and vacation, that could be an indicator that your illness is work-related."
Effects of fluoride on your body.
"Fluoride disrupts the synthesis of collagen and leads to breakdown in the bone, tendon, skin, cartilage, lungs, trachea, and kidney. Fluoride inhibits the formation of antibodies in the blood, which cause a disruptive effect on various tissues in the body, which then confuses the immune system and causes it to attack its own tissues. Fluoride increases the tumor growth and the general cancer rate. Fluoride has been linked to cancer, low IQâ genetic disorders and muscle degeneration. This information has been based on mercola.com research we trust as a source of information more responsible than government agencies."
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References are made to research presented in
Fluoride the Aging Factor by John Yiamouyiannis, PhD.
