Key Takeaways:
- Remineralization filters add essential, healthy minerals back to your water.
- Remineralization is an essential step often added to water filtration processes, particularly reverse osmosis, which removes both harmful and beneficial minerals from the water.
- Remineralizing water offers several health benefits, including improved digestion, lower blood pressure, and a strengthened immune system.
- You can purchase remineralization filters, like Tyent’s Soft Water Buddy, to ensure your water contains all the essential nutrients you need.
Local water quality affects your life and is essential to your health, but not all filtration systems strike the right balance. While reverse osmosis (RO) systems are excellent for removing contaminants, they also strip water of beneficial minerals, leaving it “flat” and less nutritious. That’s where water remineralization filters come in.
These filters restore essential minerals like calcium, magnesium, and potassium, ensuring your tap water is safe and supports your overall well-being. Whether you’re upgrading your current setup or looking for the best options on the market, our guide to the best water remineralization filters will help you make an informed choice.
In this article, we’ll cover what remineralization filters are, how they work, the benefits of using them, and the best remineralization filters available.
What is a Remineralization Filter?
Remineralization filters are water treatment systems that return healthy minerals to your drinking water after it passes through a reverse osmosis (RO) filtration system.
RO systems remove contaminants from water to prevent the ingestion of bacteria, viruses, and other harmful substances. The downside of RO water purifiers, however, is that they remove all minerals—even the healthy ones. According to the World Health Organization, drinking RO water long-term may lead to nutrient and mineral deficiencies and increased health risks.
That’s why some people turn to remineralization systems. The addition of minerals like calcium and magnesium carbonate also increases the water’s pH and makes it alkaline, which offers increased health benefits from the water’s antioxidant properties.
How Remineralization Filters Work
Remineralization filters are designed to restore essential minerals in your water. Here’s how they work:
- Pre-filters remove larger particles like rust, dirt, and dust.
- Water runs through a semipermeable membrane, which removes molecular contaminants like sediment, chemicals, heavy metals, and microorganisms.
- A post-filter polishes the water for drinking.
- Remineralization takes place in the fourth step. Water runs through another filter cartridge, which releases minerals like calcium, magnesium, or trace elements like sodium or potassium back into the water. Minerals like calcium and magnesium also raise the water’s pH to 8 or 9, making it alkaline.
Benefits of Remineralization Filters
Remineralization filters generate water with several important health benefits—let’s dig into how you can support a healthy lifestyle with these systems.
Improves Hydration and Digestion
Remineralizing your water ensures your body receives the healthy minerals it needs to function and absorb water effectively—enabling proper hydration. Being well hydrated can help your body breakdown food, soften stool, produce protective mucus in the digestive tract, and support a healthy gut microbiome.
Reintroducing minerals, like calcium and magnesium, to your water also benefits your digestion by encouraging proper muscle contraction in the digestive tract. Effective contractions lead to smoother food movement and potentially fewer issues with constipation.
Strengthens the Immune System
Remineralization helps you access the vitamins and minerals you need to maintain a healthy immune system.
Magnesium plays a major role in immune function and the regulation of inflammatory responses. Calcium also contributes to immune health, as it signals immune cells to kill microbes. It even helps balance the body’s response to infection against potential for self-attack, meaning it helps ramp immune responses up and down at appropriate times. Calcium helps balance the immune system’s need to destroy invading microbes and its instinct to attack the body’s own tissues, as it does in those with autoimmune diseases.
Lowers Blood Pressure
Studies have found links between dietary magnesium and cardiovascular health, with higher magnesium intake associated with a reduced risk of major cardiovascular factors, such as high blood pressure.
Potassium is also closely tied to blood pressure regulation. A diet lacking sufficient potassium can lead to increased blood pressure, greater salt sensitivity, a higher risk of kidney stones, and elevated urinary calcium excretion, all of which can amplify the impact of sodium on blood pressure.
Remineralization can add essential minerals like magnesium and calcium to your water, supporting overall mineral intake.
Boosts Nutrient Absorption
Remineralized water supports improved hydration, which plays a vital role in overall health and well-being. When your body is well-hydrated, it can more effectively absorb and utilize essential vitamins, minerals, and nutrients from the food you eat.
This enhanced nutrient absorption ensures that vital nutrients are efficiently transported to your cells, tissues, and organs, where they contribute to energy production, immune function, and overall bodily maintenance. By improving hydration and mineral intake, remineralized water helps your body perform at its best.
Best Remineralization Filters
It can seem daunting to find systems that will give you the best water to drink. We’re here to help with the top remineralization filters.
1. Tyent “Soft Water Buddy” Remineralization Filter
Tyent’s Soft Water Buddy is a remineralizing filter for anyone with a water softener for hard water, or people who use reverse osmosis purifiers. You can connect it easily to your water softener or RO unit to address issues with hard water and improve your water quality.
The filter is composed of 50% Calcite, which neutralizes acidic (low-pH) water, and 50% Corosex, which raises the water’s pH levels. Tyent’s Soft Water Buddy provides healthier, nutrient-rich water by reintroducing essential minerals like magnesium and calcium. Additionally, it reduces scale buildup in home appliances and protects your soft water system. For optimal results, pair the Soft Water Buddy with a Tyent ionizer to enhance health benefits with alkaline and hydrogen-rich water—the best water to drink.
Specifications:
- Six-month lifespan
- Filtration media: 50% Calcite and 50% Corosex
- Tested to NSF/ANSI 14 and NSF/ANSI 61 Standards
Pros:
- Remineralizes water that’s been stripped of helpful, healthful minerals
- Easy installation and maintenance
- Affordable
- Increases pH levels
- Reduces corrosion by neutralizing low pH (acidic) water
- Improves your soft water system’s performance
- Dozens of premium certifications to demonstrate Tyent’s quality guarantee
- Tyent offers 100% lifetime warranties and a generous 75-day trial period
- A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau (BBB)
Cons:
- Can take 5-7 days to arrive
- Business hours are Monday through Friday, 9 am to 6 pm EST
Pricing: $54.95
Restore essential nutrients to your water with Tyent’s Soft Water Buddy.
2. Frizzlife PD600-TAM3 with Alkaline Remineralization
The Frizzlife PD600-TAM3 with Alkaline Remineralization is an RO purifier and remineralization system. It is a tankless, under-sink system to save countertop space.
Pros
- High water flow rate (600 GPD)
- Low drain ratio makes the system environmentally friendly
- Smart LED display and automatic filter change reminders
- 0.0001 micron rating
Cons:
- Some customers report lingering unpleasant water odor
- Requires power from an outlet, which may be taken up by garbage disposals for some customers
- Expensive
Pricing: $375.99
3. AquaTru Reverse Osmosis Countertop Water Filtration System
The AquaTru Reverse Osmosis Countertop Water Filtration System is a countertop water purifier with an optional Alkaline Mineral Boost add-on. It uses four-stage RO purification technology to remove dangerous contaminants.
Pros:
- 4-stage Ultra Reverse Osmosis® technology
- Six-month to two-year filter lifespan
- No installation or plumbing connections required
Cons:
- Not designed to handle water hardness above 10 GPG; requires regular descaling maintenance for higher levels of water hardness
- Expensive
- Remineralization function costs extra
Pricing: $449.00
4. Express Water R05DX 5- Stage Reverse Osmosis Filtration System
The Express Water R05DX 5- Stage Reverse Osmosis Filtration System is primarily an RO purifier, with optional filter add-ons. Filter system add-ons include their alkaline water filter, deionization water filter, and UV water filter.
Pros:
- Up to 99.99 percent filtration of lead, chlorine, nitrates, calcium, bacteria, and more
- One-year warranty on all Express Water Reverse Osmosis Water Systems
- Leak detection to shut off water flow upon detection of unwanted moisture
- Under-sink design
Cons:
- Short warranty
- Remineralization functionality requires add-on filter purchase
- Expensive
Pricing: $199.99
5. iSpring 6-Stage Reverse Osmosis System
The iSpring 6-Stage Reverse Osmosis System is a five-stage RO purification system with an additional sixth stage, which uses an Alkaline Remineralization filter to restore healthy minerals.
Pros:
- Removes up to 99 percent of 1000+ contaminants
- NSF 58 certified
- 0.0001 micron rating
Cons:
- Some customers note lower pH levels rather than the higher ones advertised
- Some customers note the machine doesn’t effectively seal to prevent leaks
Pricing: $186.00
6. Waterdrop G3P600 Reverse Osmosis System
The Waterdrop G3P600 Reverse Osmosis System is an eight-stage RO purification system with an optional remineralization filter add-on.
Pros:
- Fast water flow (600 GPD)
- Smart display faucet with filter life tracker
- 2:1 pure to drain ratio (one cup of wastewater per two cups drinking water produced)
Cons:
- Expensive
- Product page doesn’t clarify that the remineralization filter is an optional feature for an additional fee
Pricing: $539.00
7. SimPure T1 6-Stage Under Sink Reverse Osmosis Alkaline Water Filtration System with Remineralization
The SimPure T1 6-Stage Under Sink Reverse Osmosis Alkaline Water Filtration System with Remineralization is a six-stage RO purification system offering five RO filtration stages, with remineralization in the sixth stage.
Pros:
- 2:1 pure to drain ratio
- 6-12 month filter service life
- Automatic filter replacement reminder
- 600 GPD flow rate
- Two pre-installed filters
- Under-sink design
Cons:
- Lower flow rate (75 or 100 GPD)
- Expensive
- Some customers note after a while the machine requires a system flush (running water for over a minute) to return to a lower amount of total dissolved solids (TDS) in your water
Pricing: $159.00
8. NU Aqua 6-Stage Alkaline Under Sink Reverse Osmosis Water Filter System
The NU Aqua 6-Stage Alkaline Under Sink Reverse Osmosis Water Filter System is a six-stage RO purifier for drinking water.
Pros:
- 100 GPD flow rate
- Removes up to 99 percent of contaminants
- Three-year warranty
Cons:
- Low flow rate
- Model with remineralization filter costs extra
Pricing: $229.95 (with remineralization filter included)
More About Remineralization Filters
Let’s dig further into the details of remineralization filters.
What does a remineralization filter do?
A remineralization filter returns healthy minerals to water. Reverse osmosis systems purify water by removing all harmful contaminants, but the process doesn’t differentiate between harmful and beneficial minerals, making RO water “flat” and deprived of nutrients. Since long-term RO water consumption can lead to certain vitamin and mineral deficiencies (and health problems), remineralization ensures you can access both clean and healthy water.
How often should I replace a remineralization filter?
Remineralization filters often have a lifespan of six to twelve months, depending on the manufacturer. Your water usage may also affect how often you need to replace filters. Several systems have automatic filter monitoring and alerts when they need replacement, but in general, you’ll likely need to change them about every six months.
Do you need to remineralize filtered water?
If you use a reverse osmosis filter, you’ll need to remineralize your filtered water. RO systems remove all contaminants, even beneficial vitamins and minerals, so remineralization will help you avoid certain vitamin deficiencies and health problems.
What is the cheapest way to remineralize water?
There are a few ways you can remineralize your water. The easiest way is to include an additional alkalinization stage in your RO system. You can also use electrolyte powders in your water that have some of the essential minerals for healthy drinking water, such as magnesium and potassium. Some people prefer to add mineral salts (like Himalayan or rock salt) to their water to remineralize it. These options are cheaper at first, but they may become costly in the long term.
Overall, the best way to remineralize your water is with alkaline water systems like Tyent’s water ionizers.
Choose the Best Water Remineralization Filter
The dangers of reverse osmosis are real, but you shouldn’t have to risk harmful mineral deficiencies to access clean water. If you use an RO system at home, use a remineralization filter to ensure you have access to all the vitamins and minerals you need.
Some RO machines offer additional remineralization filters, or you can turn to Tyent’s affordable, easy-to-install Soft Water Buddy Remineralization Filter. With our many certifications and ionizer lifetime guarantees, you know you can trust our products to help you and your family access the healthiest drinking water possible.
Add Tyent’s Soft Water Buddy to your household filtration today.
