WHAT !!!!!!!!!

[Scott]

I'm a chemist and so's my wife

[RikM]

18 minutes ago, SilverAstro said:

An RO company by any chance** ( I've not read it yet) ? so I'll leave you to do the sequel on bacteria and fungus on one's membrane then, lol !?

I was surprised at how cheap the domestic units have become, at that rate the membrane must be almost cheap enough to be disposable !

** as I type I have just seen your latest offer

We use activated carbon and RO in our feed systems, then ion-exchange resins, ultrafiltration, UV and 0.2um final filtration in our type II and type I polishing systems.

A good cleaning regimen, and a well designed system will take care of any microbial fouling. Aspergillus Niger is my personal nemesis. 

[SilverAstro]

Very good and ok for the domestic user with a continuous flow. But I was meaning intermittent use / storage of the membrane.  to preserve its life when they were expensive (30y ago! ) But now I guess not a prob to keep it in use all the time even if all the water is not needed ? (apart from the environmental waste )

[JOC]

I am still in awe of finding such a group of kindred minds.  MRSC over here, 7 years as a hands-on environmental analytical chemist, over 25 years and still in science and enjoying being able to share the word as a STEM ambassador.

[RikM]

1 hour ago, SilverAstro said:

Very good and ok for the domestic user with a continuous flow. But I was meaning intermittent use / storage of the membrane.  to preserve its life when they were expensive (30y ago! ) But now I guess not a prob to keep it in use all the time even if all the water is not needed ? (apart from the environmental waste )

We focus on ultrapure water for research and clinical applications rather than high volume domestic use. Automatic cartridge flushing every few hours stops anything nasty growing, and yes, membranes are now disposable cartridges. You still get 6 months use out of one.

To bring us back on topic, rinsing mirrors doesn't require very high water purity. RO from a aquatic centre, or distilled will be perfectly fine. Truly ultrapure water is an aggressive solvent and shouldn't be used where it isn't needed.