Today there are zero honest ...
Published by Terry Scheurman, President at Applied Specialties, Inc.
Today there are zero honest disadvantages. RO units are far less expensive than ever. They are far easier to operate and maintain. The decrease in treatment chemicals and lost blowdown energy more than offset their initial cost. In some parts of the world, you cannot discharge the softener salt brine to waste. An RO solves that problem. With an RO, you can also treat lesser quality waters and use them for boiler makeup. When the carbon fiber ROs are commercialized, there will be a huge change in the technology. Any disadvantages mentioned in the other answers will go away. To be transparent, our company does not sell ROs nor do we sell RO membranes or parts.