Households that fit reverse osmosis usually drink from it several times a day, so the questions about long term use are fair ones. The answers are mostly reassuring and mostly about taste rather than health, with two practical points that are worth knowing and one common claim that deserves less weight than it gets.
Taste, and the stage that fixes it
The membrane removes dissolved material without discriminating, including the minerals that give water its taste, so fresh reverse osmosis water tastes flat and slightly acidic. It is the most common disappointment after installation, particularly for tea and coffee where mineral content affects extraction. A remineralization cartridge fitted last in the stack adds back a small controlled quantity of calcium and magnesium and restores the character. It is inexpensive, easy to retrofit, and it turns a technically excellent system into one people enjoy drinking from.
The mineral intake question, in proportion
The concern raised is that water stripped of calcium and magnesium removes a source of both from the diet. For most people eating normally, food supplies the large majority of intake and water a small share, so drinking reverse osmosis water is not going to cause a deficiency. It is a fairer consideration where a diet is already low in those minerals, and it is another argument for the remineralization stage, which returns some of what was removed while keeping the contaminant reduction intact.
Two practical points
First, demineralized water is chemically aggressive, which matters little over a short run of plastic tubing to a dedicated faucet but is a reason whole house systems remineralize or blend. Second, treated water sitting in a storage tank has no disinfectant residual, so a system that is used regularly stays fresher than one that sits for weeks, and a system returning from a long absence is worth draining and refilling before drinking. Neither is a reason not to drink it; both are reasons to keep the system in use and maintained.
Keeping the water actually good
Change prefilters on schedule, because they protect the membrane and their exhaustion is invisible. Confirm the membrane periodically by comparing a dissolved solids reading of the feed with one taken from the membrane output before the tank: converging readings mean it is spent and the system is quietly producing ordinary water. Sanitize when the housings are open at a filter change. Our RO water systems guide covers matching a system to a household's use.
Questions people ask about drinking ro water
Is it safe to drink reverse osmosis water every day?
Yes. The objections are about taste and mineral content rather than safety, and a remineralization cartridge addresses both.
Why does RO water taste flat?
The membrane removes the dissolved minerals that give water its taste along with everything else. A remineralization stage restores a small amount.
Will it cause a mineral deficiency?
Not for someone eating normally, since food supplies the great majority of calcium and magnesium intake and water a small share.
How do I know the system is still working?
Compare a dissolved solids reading of the feed with one from the membrane output before the tank. Converging readings mean the membrane is spent.