[chris turner]

My RO has been creeping up the last month, from 12 to 22 and output dropping, so I was about to replace the membrane but decided to see if I could clean it instead and save myself some dollars. Turns out you can!
Removed membrane,  bleached inside the housing, cleaned the outside of the membrane with bleach, then stuck the membrane in a long pot full of pure water and some HG washing machine descaler (whole bottle).
Left the membrane to soak overnight, reinserted back into housing, flushed for 30 mins and low and behold tds has dropped back to 12 and output is back to normal.
Not sure if this is a permanent fix or a short term remedy but if I get another 6 months or a year out of the membrane, then its definitely worth the £5 spend on the descaler for anyone who wants to try it!

[Stoots]

My 450 gpd R.O was producing high last year so i stripped it down, bleached it all and cleaned it etc.

It dropped a few TDS

The pipes and housings definitely do get contaminated over time.

[chris turner]

My 450 gpd R.O was producing high last year so i stripped it down, bleached it all and cleaned it etc.

It dropped a few TDS

The pipes and housings definitely do get contaminated over time.

I use a twin 4021 membrane setup, to replace both membranes it's about £500.
Its definitely worth giving them a clean and soak in descaler before thinking about replacing, especially if you live in a very hard water area.

[Stoots]

My 450 gpd R.O was producing high last year so i stripped it down, bleached it all and cleaned it etc.

It dropped a few TDS

The pipes and housings definitely do get contaminated over time.

I use a twin 4021 membrane setup, to replace both membranes it's about £500.
Its definitely worth giving them a clean and soak in descaler before thinking about replacing, especially if you live in a very hard water area.

The cost of membranes put me off buying a 4040 or 4021.

3x 150gpd membranes is about £120

I don't have a need to fill any faster as I produce into an ibc with a shut off valve so it works away overnight or whilst I'm out working.

[Richard Groves]

Thank you Chris. Thats interesting.
I have a 4040 membrane, a year old. It started out producing 07 now its 21.
I may have to try this myself. Just got to figure out what I could soak the membrane in overnight that would be big enough ( don't think the missus would be happy if I used the bath    ).

[chris turner]

Thank you Chris. Thats interesting.
I have a 4040 membrane, a year old. It started out producing 07 now its 21.
I may have to try this myself. Just got to figure out what I could soak the membrane in overnight that would be big enough ( don't think the missus would be happy if I used the bath    ).

I used a long plastic flower pot, get them in b&q for about £10. The one I used should easily fit a 40inch membrane.
I didn't want to over dilute the descaler so avoided using the bath.

[Jonny 87]

Wait......... if you can clean it with bleach, then why do we put a carbon filter in front that’s supposed to take out the bleach/chlorine from the water?

[Richard Groves]

Wait......... if you can clean it with bleach, then why do we put a carbon filter in front that’s supposed to take out the bleach/chlorine from the water?

" bleached inside the housing, cleaned the outside of the membrane with bleach "
I think there's probably a difference between cleaning with bleach to remove dirt and soaking the membrane in bleach overnight.

[Richard Groves]

Thank you Chris. Thats interesting.
I have a 4040 membrane, a year old. It started out producing 07 now its 21.
I may have to try this myself. Just got to figure out what I could soak the membrane in overnight that would be big enough ( don't think the missus would be happy if I used the bath    ).

I used a long plastic flower pot, get them in b&q for about £10. The one I used should easily fit a 40inch membrane.
I didn't want to over dilute the descaler so avoided using the bath.

Thank you Chris, have a B&Q near me so will look in to that 

[Shrek]

Wait......... if you can clean it with bleach, then why do we put a carbon filter in front that’s supposed to take out the bleach/chlorine from the water?

" bleached inside the housing, cleaned the outside of the membrane with bleach "
I think there's probably a difference between cleaning with bleach to remove dirt and soaking the membrane in bleach overnight.

If you clean the outside with bleach, then it will soak in to the middle - no?

[andyM]

CIP Procedure
Chemical clean

https://www.gapswater.co.uk/acatalog/sroinstall.pdf

During a chemical cleaning process, membranes are soaked with a solution of chlorine bleach, hydrochloric acid or hydrogen peroxide. First the solution soaks into the membranes for a number of minutes and after that a forward flush or backward flush is applied, causing the contaminants to be rinsed out.

[Windy Miller]

Nice one Chris, will give this a try soon as mine is creeping up 👍

[Perfect Windows]

My RO has been creeping up the last month, from 12 to 22 and output dropping, so I was about to replace the membrane but decided to see if I could clean it instead and save myself some dollars. Turns out you can!
Removed membrane,  bleached inside the housing, cleaned the outside of the membrane with bleach, then stuck the membrane in a long pot full of pure water and some HG washing machine descaler (whole bottle).
Left the membrane to soak overnight, reinserted back into housing, flushed for 30 mins and low and behold tds has dropped back to 12 and output is back to normal.
Not sure if this is a permanent fix or a short term remedy but if I get another 6 months or a year out of the membrane, then its definitely worth the £5 spend on the descaler for anyone who wants to try it!

Hi Chris,

Did the fix last?

Vin

[chris turner]

My RO has been creeping up the last month, from 12 to 22 and output dropping, so I was about to replace the membrane but decided to see if I could clean it instead and save myself some dollars. Turns out you can!
Removed membrane,  bleached inside the housing, cleaned the outside of the membrane with bleach, then stuck the membrane in a long pot full of pure water and some HG washing machine descaler (whole bottle).
Left the membrane to soak overnight, reinserted back into housing, flushed for 30 mins and low and behold tds has dropped back to 12 and output is back to normal.
Not sure if this is a permanent fix or a short term remedy but if I get another 6 months or a year out of the membrane, then its definitely worth the £5 spend on the descaler for anyone who wants to try it!

Hi Chris,

Did the fix last?

Vin

I got another 6 months out of the membrane before it started creeping up again.
Decided to replace at that point rather then trying to clean again.
I replaced with this one
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4040-RO-Membrane-for-4-x-40-Reverse-Osmosis-Membrane-Housings-/263437782685
Alot cheaper then axeon and its been brilliant so far, gets water down to same ppm as axeon and same production as well.

[NWH]

Very weird my RO it was reading 06-07 after RO a few weeks ago I didn’t and haven’t flushed it since I checked it Monday and it was reading 03 very strange.

[Perfect Windows]

My RO has been creeping up the last month, from 12 to 22 and output dropping, so I was about to replace the membrane but decided to see if I could clean it instead and save myself some dollars. Turns out you can!
Removed membrane,  bleached inside the housing, cleaned the outside of the membrane with bleach, then stuck the membrane in a long pot full of pure water and some HG washing machine descaler (whole bottle).
Left the membrane to soak overnight, reinserted back into housing, flushed for 30 mins and low and behold tds has dropped back to 12 and output is back to normal.
Not sure if this is a permanent fix or a short term remedy but if I get another 6 months or a year out of the membrane, then its definitely worth the £5 spend on the descaler for anyone who wants to try it!

Hi Chris,

Did the fix last?

Vin

I got another 6 months out of the membrane before it started creeping up again.
Decided to replace at that point rather then trying to clean again.
I replaced with this one
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4040-RO-Membrane-for-4-x-40-Reverse-Osmosis-Membrane-Housings-/263437782685
Alot cheaper then axeon and its been brilliant so far, gets water down to same ppm as axeon and same production as well.

Thanks.

[Smudger]

Yes Vin it works - best to leave it in for a complete weekend if you can

I do this treatment twice before junking the membraine - recently I am getting around 8 months out of a membraine before it starts rising - when it gets to 016 I descale it it drops back to 006 - and lasts for about 2 months - so effectively I add 50% to the service life

Darran

[jk999]

Whats the tap tds smudger

[windowswashed]

I have an Axeon 4040 RO membrane fitted two years ago and it's still reading 002, amazed. Previous one lasted a year (different make). Change the filters regularly and backwash daily.

[Smudger]

My tds is anywhere from 320 to 380 - I make between 2000 and 3000 litres of pure per day

Darran