FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Coway's reverse osmosis water appliances are the most advanced way to provide pure, great tasting water for cooking and drinking for you and your family. Below you will find some of the most frequently asked question and answers to those questions.

Is my tap water safe to drink?

Unfortunately, it depends upon your definition of “safe”. This may sound ridiculous, but when the government says that your tap water is safe, they mean that it has met their legal definition of “safe drinking water”. But consider this; even if your tap water meets the legal definition of “safe drinking water”, that does not necessarily mean that it doesn’t have dangerous chemicals in it! In fact, many cities around the US have high levels of dangerous chemicals in their tap water and yet their tap water is still labeled “safe drinking water”.

How does the government define safe water?

In [1985], Congress passed the Safe Drinking Water Act. This law defined the maximum contaminant level for about 100 different contaminants that can be in water. That sounds good, right? Cities are now supposed to meet these standards on the 100 different contaminants. But what if there are dangerous chemicals in the tap water that are not on the list? It doesn’t matter! If cities meet these 100 standards they can legally call their tap water “safe drinking water”, regardless of what else is in the water!

Consider that today there are over 84,000 different chemicals registered with the Environmental Protection Agency, over 3,000 different high-volume chemicals, 20,000 different pesticides with over 900 active ingredients, and over 2,000 new chemicals made each year, and yet cities only have to test for and meet standards on 100 different contaminants. Legally, it doesn’t matter that the city of West Palm in Florida, Chicago, New York, Omaha, San Diego and many other cities around the US have been found to have high levels of dangerous carcinogenic (cancer causing) chemicals in their tap water. They are still able to call their water “safe” because all of those cities meet the criteria on the 100 different contaminants defined in the Safe Drinking Water Act.

How does reverse osmosis work?

Reverse osmosis relies on a semi-permeable membrane that retains particles larger than a water molecule. Coway's Reverse osmosis removes up to 99.99% of all contaminants not removed by carbon filters, including arsenic, fluoride, hexavalent chromium 6, nitrates, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, perchlorate and many more.

Does reverse osmosis remove all the "Good" minerals your body needs?

Coway's reverse osmosis technology removes up to 99.99% of all minerals, the good and the bad. Research has shown that these minerals should be consumed in your diet and the health benefits of having pure, clean drinking water outweigh the benefits of exposing your body to harmful contaminants in the water. In order to receive the same amount of minerals as one 8 ounce glass of Orange Juice, you would have to consume thirty 8 ounce glasses of water.

Can I hook up my reverse osmosis system to my refrigerator or ice maker?

Yes, our professionally trained installers can hook your machine to your refrigerator, ice maker or coffee machine. That way you can be sure you are getting the most purified water for your daily hydration needs.

Do reverse osmosis systems waste a lot of water?

Coway's Reverse Osmosis systems utilize state of the art technology and are very efficient. Our researchers and developers report that on average, 1.5 gallons of water is used to wash contaminants out for each one gallon of clean water. These systems only run when you use water, so if your family drinks three gallons of water a day, you are only putting 4.5 gallons down the drain. To put that into perspective, every toliet flush is anywhere from 1-2 gallons each flush.

Shouldn't I just get a whole house reverse osmosis unit?

In order to equip a whole-house reverse osmosis system, you will need adaquite space to put the large equipment. They also are quite expensive and depending on what type of filters you use can effect the water pressure throughout the house. Keep in mind that the more contaminants you want removed, the more often these filters clog and need replacement.