Standard RO systems are notorious overachievers in the waste department. For every one gallon of purified water you drink, they might flush three or four gallons down the drain. Yep, you read that right. It’s like buying a dozen donuts and tossing nine of them into the trash just to eat three.
Why so much waste? Think of RO as a very picky bouncer at a club. The good water (pure H₂O) gets in, but the bouncer also shoves out a ton of water just to keep the line moving and the club clean. That "flushing" water carries away the rejected contaminants—salts, minerals, and weird stuff.
