Transcription
Hey guys, Alexa here, and welcome to BOS and a video that's a little bit different than what we normally do. Because in a recent water sample that had been purified by a reverse osmosis system that we intended on reviewing on this channel, we found a cancer-causing chemical.
Now, that chemical had not been found in the feed water. So, we believe that it was added by the reverse osmosis purification process. And even another harmful substance was also found that can cause nervous system damage. Sounds pretty alarming. Does that mean reverse osmosis purification is dangerous? Well, there's more to the story, and I'm going to share it all with you today. So, let's go.
Now, before I get too far into the video, make sure you do watch till the very end before you jump to any conclusions, because I'm going to be explaining everything here in this video. With that out of the way, what is the mysterious RO system that we believe leeched chemicals into our water? It's the A1 by Waterdrop.
Now, Waterdrop had reached out to us several weeks ago to see if we could review their A1 model, which is a countertop Reverse Osmosis System that can dispense hot and cold water. We thought that sounded pretty cool, so we said yes. And as we normally do nowadays, we decided to not only test the system for hands-on experience, but also test the before and after water to see really how effective the Waterdrop A1 system is at removing contaminants from the water. So, we do this through a lab analysis of the water.
About a week later, I received the Waterdrop A1 filter in the box with all its contents, and it was time to unpack it and get it assembled. I also received test kits from ETR Laboratories, which I had planned to test the water with. Now, I do want to point out that I had followed the instructions from the Waterdrop manual to a T with how to set this up. This is important because it will matter later on in the story.
Essentially, I had to unwrap the filter elements and install them in their designated locations, fill the feed water tank with tap water, and secure it back in place, and allow the dispenser to flush itself properly, which according to the manual takes 30 minutes and three to four tanks of water, or about 3.2 gallons total. Again, I followed all the instructions precisely until my system's interface looked exactly like it should and as shown in the manual.
Next, I used the Waterdrop A1 for about two weeks. My whole family used it. This was before we took the water samples. I think I used about two gallons of purified water per day, so an additional 25 to 30 gallons of water went through the system.
I then took the unfiltered and filtered water sample. First, I made sure to drain the Waterdrop A1 completely. Then, I filled a large container with my home's raw tap water. I took the unfiltered water sample from that container and fed the rest of the water to the A1. I waited for the A1 to do its thing and took the second sample directly from the dispenser. The final step was to send both test kits to the lab and wait for the results to come in.
Well, they came in several days later, and we were eager to check them out. At first glance, everything looked great. 100% reduction of all the important stuff like manganese, chlorine, nitrate, even fluoride, aluminum, strontium, and two disinfection byproducts. The A1 also lowered water turbidity, odor changed from present to absent, and overall TDS declined from 37.8 to 7.2 parts per million. Everything about the purified RO water looked great.
But then, we scrolled all the way down to the bottom and found elevated levels of methylene chloride, also known as dichloromethane, and xylene, both of which are VOCs, which are volatile organic compounds. In fact, the level of methylene chloride or dichloromethane in the purified water was so high that at 11.8 parts per billion, it was more than double the EPA's legal limit for public water supplies, which is set at five parts per billion. It was nowhere near as bad with the xylene, which were detected at 0.71 parts per billion, which was way below the legal limit of 10,000 parts per billion.
Still, how could these two chemicals appear in our water all of the sudden? After all, we've never dealt with them before. And for the record, the EPA has started regulating them because, quote, "Some people who drink water containing dichloromethane in excess of the MCL (and MCL means Maximum Contaminant Level) over many years could have liver problems and may have increased risk of getting cancer. And some people who drink water containing xylene in excess of the MCL over many years could experience damage to their nervous system."
What is going on? Surely, this cannot have to do with the Waterdrop A1 itself, right? I mean, we buy these filters, and they're supposed to be cleaning our water, so how could that be putting these chemicals into our water?
So, first, we wanted to rule out any issues on our end because these lab tests are not an exact science, and there could have been a problem. So, we decided to repeat the test. So, we ordered another test kit from ETR Laboratories and repeated the entire testing process. And at this point, some more water had even been processed through the A1. The second lab report still showed that chloromethane, but at a slightly lower concentration of 9.96 ppv, still almost twice the legal limit for public water supplies. However, xylene were absent now.
So, if it wasn't the lab testing, maybe it was in fact the Waterdrop A1 that was causing this issue. So, we decided to dig deeper, and here's what we found. Derek from Modern Castle also did a lab analysis of the Waterdrop A1 unit, and he also found dichloromethane in the filtered water at around 27 parts per billion, so at an even higher level than we did. I'm linking his article in the video description in case you want to check it out.
So, this pretty much proves that this is not a coincidence. The second thing we found was a study that basically explains that since their initial invention in the 1960s, RO membranes have been further developed to increase their performance, such as their speed, longevity, and resistance to fouling. For these improvements, a few dozen different chemicals, which chloromethane and xylene included, have been introduced into commercial RO membrane production processes. The study then shows that traces of some of these chemicals can be left behind in our RO membranes after the manufacturing. The study also showed that the chemicals are likely to leech out of a membrane and into the water it processes to the point where some of the chemicals can make the water, quote, "undrinkable from a health perspective."
So, was this what was happening to our purified water samples? Of course, we reached out to Waterdrop with our lab results and our theory, and here is what they said: "Quote, I want to reassure you that our machines are SGS certified, and the materials used for the components do not contain dichloromethane. It seems that the issue has arisen during the aging process, as after several normal running cycles of the machine, a disinfectant solution is used for sanitation."
So, as far as we understand in that reply, the Waterdrop A1 has a small tank that occasionally releases a disinfectant into the water, and the disinfectant apparently contains dichloromethanes and xylene. Honestly, we were a bit surprised by this because the manual doesn't even mention such a tank, which we're also assuming you'd have to refill at some point too. So, that doesn't even make sense. But even if this is true and our theory from before is wrong, it would still mean you're drinking chemicals in your water without knowing.
So, what do we make of all this? Just to be clear, we're not saying that Waterdrop as a company is evil or anything, but according to our lab testing, they did not do a good job of making sure the water that's coming out of their filter is in fact pure. Whether it has to do with the manufacturing process or an internal tank that's releasing a disinfectant, it doesn't matter. What matters is whether or not the water that you're drinking is in fact pure as the company says it should be.
So, for now, we do not recommend the Waterdrop A1 for obvious reasons. That said, we hope Waterdrop fixes this issue because as I was testing this out, I had a lot more footage I was going to show because I've really liked this system. It dispenses hot and cold water. It was kind of a luxury to have around our house for a little while. So, when I sent the lab reports in, I was really rooting for them to come back good. We also have not lab tested any other Waterdrop systems, but we plan to do so in the future, so stay tuned for that.
What about reverse osmosis from other brands? So far, we've tested the SimPure Y7P and the AquaTru on this channel with no chemicals detected whatsoever, and we are 100% sure that neither of the two systems disinfect itself on occasion using potentially harmful chemicals that end up in the purified water. And again, we will continue conducting more lab results. In fact, right now, we're working on a really big comparison video of the top reverse osmosis systems, so stay tuned for that.
Well, thanks for joining me for another review of water filters in this video today, even though this one was a little bit different and unexpected. Make sure you hit that subscribe button for more BOS water filtration content and reviews. Thank you so much for watching, and I'll see you in the next video.