Summer is a period of vacations and a pleasant pastime in the country, in the village or in a country hotel. Someone leaves their apartment for just a week or two, having a well-deserved rest and flying to the sea, but someone spends the whole summer in a country house.

In such a situation, the consumer has a question – what to do with the reverse osmosis system if it has not been used for a week, a month, maybe six months or a year?

In this article, we will figure out how to prepare the reverse osmosis system for a long period of downtime, how to restore it after such a period, is it worth draining the water from the storage tank and rinsing the reverse osmosis system after it has not been used for a long time?

General rules for the use of reverse osmosis systems.

Changing cartridges in prefiltration stages of RO systems.

Firstly, very often there is a question of replacing the cartridges of the preliminary stages of the reverse osmotic system. In addition to the fact that it depends on the degree of contamination of the cartridges, which is easy to check for AQUABRIGHT ABF-OSMO reverse osmosis systems without unscrewing the filter bodies, due to their absolute transparency, there are also sanitary standards. According to them, it is necessary to change the cartridges of the preliminary stages of reverse osmosis systems at least once every six months – in order to avoid possible reproduction of pathogenic bacteria that have fallen from water pipes. We conclude that if the cartridges of the pre–cleaning stages of the reverse osmosis system have not changed for a long time, after a long vacation they will still have to be updated – so you can throw them out in advance and rinse the flasks.

Safety precautions in the maintenance of reverse osmosis systems.

ТHere I would like to note the most important thing – since we leave the apartment or house for a long time, in order to avoid accidents, it is advisable to disconnect the reverse osmosis system from the water supply source. If you use the AQUABRIGHT ABF-OSMO reverse osmosis system or similar, it is enough for you to turn off the tap to connect to the water supply.

Connection to the water supply switched off.

It is also not superfluous to completely drain the water from the storage tank and filter flasks. You can empty the transparent bodies of the pre-cleaning stages of the reverse osmotic system carefully into a bucket or into a basin (do not lose the O-rings!). You can completely drain the storage tank of the reverse osmosis system by turning it over and opening the faucet located on top.

What should I do if I haven't used reverse osmosis for a week or two?

If you were absent for a short period of time and did not use the reverse osmosis system for only a week or two, while the water remained in the storage tank, you should not worry about its condition. In reverse osmosis systems AQUABRIGHT ABF-OSMO, a carbon linear cartridge (postfilter) AQUABRIGHT UGA-LINE is installed after the storage tank, which produces additional sorption purification of water after the storage tank. It is enough to drain a small amount of water (washing for 5-7 minutes is enough) through the tap of the reverse osmosis system, and then drink water from it without any fear. The main thing is that the water does not exude any foreign smell.

If you haven't used the system for about a month, it's betterto drain one or two tanks of water before you start using it. The drain is also carried out directly from the tap of the reverse osmosis system.

What to do if I didn't use (won't use) a reverse osmosis system for a long time? How to prepare a reverse osmosis system for a long period of downtime?

If you have not used the reverse osmosis system for a long period of time (more than three months or even six months), then you need to replace its filter elements, at least three prefiltration steps and make a thorough of the reverse osmosis system (at least 2-3 full storage tank capacities). Be sure to check the reverse osmosis system for possible leaks for some time after assembly!

It would not be bad to treat an empty system (without cartridges) with a mixture of sodium hypochlorite without additional flavors and surfactants before thorough washing. A mixture must be poured into the system, then there must be added soe water and left for several hours. After that, the system must be rinsed especially thoroughly!

If you have planned your long absence in advance, it is necessary to prepare the reverse osmosis system for a long period of downtime – to "preserve" your reverse osmosis system:

• Shut off the water supply (turn off the pressure boosting device from the mains if it is used together with the reverse osmosis system).
• Completely drain the water from the storage tank of the reverse osmosis system.
• Remove the cartridges from the pre-cleaning stages. If they are practically new, we send them in a cellophane bag to the refrigerator, otherwise it is better to dispose of them.
• Linear cartridges (such as the carbon postfilter AQUABRIGHT UGA-LINE and the MINERALIZER AQUABRIGHT MINERAL-LINE) must also be placed in a bag and put in the refrigerator.
• The reverse osmotic membrane must always be in water – it can be placed in the refrigerator directly in the membrane unit (after making sure that there is water in it), or put it in an airtight bag and put it in the refrigerator.

After you assemble your reverse osmosis system back, it needs to be rinsed with 2-3 volumes of a full tank of water. Be sure to check the reverse osmosis system for possible leaks for some time after assembly! 

Down below is a picture of AQUABRIGHT cartridges set for reverse osmosis systmes.