Reverse osmosis takes out most of the dissolved minerals that make Utah's water hard, along with sediment and the chlorine taste and smell from city treatment. For water coolers and ice machines, that means cleaner-tasting water and ice, and far less of the mineral scale that slows machines down and wears them out.
Here's what's in Utah tap water, what each stage of a reverse osmosis system does with it, and why it matters in a break room.
What's in Utah tap water?
Most Wasatch Front tap water starts as mountain snowmelt and groundwater, and cities treat it before it reaches you. Still, by the time it reaches your break room it carries a few things you can taste or see.
Hardness minerals. As water moves through rock and soil, it picks up calcium and magnesium. Utah's water is hard, and in some places very hard:
- Salt Lake City: about 7 to 12 grains per gallon (121 to 198 mg/L) from the city's treatment plants, and 9 to 29 grains per gallon (157 to 487 mg/L) from city wells, according to the Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities 2025 Water Quality Report.
- Provo: typically 10 to 15 grains per gallon, which Provo City's 2024 Water Report describes as moderately hard.
For scale, the U.S. Geological Survey calls water above 120 mg/L hard and above 180 mg/L very hard. Salt Lake City's plant water runs from hard into very hard, and well water can go well past that.
Chlorine. Cities disinfect water with chlorine or a related compound so it stays safe on its way through the pipes. That's a good thing. It's also the taste and smell many people notice in a glass of tap water.
Other dissolved substances. EWG's tap water reports for Utah water systems flag a few contaminants above EWG's health guidelines, which are stricter than the legal limits.
There's more on local water on our page for offices in Salt Lake City.
What does each stage of a reverse osmosis system do?
Every system we install uses multi-stage reverse osmosis. A typical setup works like this:
- Sediment filter. Catches sand, rust and other particles so they don't clog the stages after it.
- Pre-carbon filter. Takes out the chlorine taste and smell, and protects the RO membrane from chlorine.
- RO membrane. The main event. Water is pushed through a membrane fine enough to hold back most dissolved minerals and many other dissolved substances. What it holds back is rinsed away to the drain.
- Post-carbon and/or pH polishing filter. A final pass for taste. A remineralizing stage can add a little back so the water doesn't taste flat.
Many of our coolers also have UV sanitizing in the tank.
Why does it matter for water coolers?
Taste. With the chlorine and most of the minerals gone, the water tastes clean and consistent from one glass to the next. People notice.
Scale on hot tanks. Hard water leaves chalky scale on anything that heats water. In a cooler, that's the hot tank. Purified water going in means far less buildup.
Why the UV matters. Taking out chlorine is good for taste, but it also means purified water sitting in a tank has nothing to keep it fresh. That's why many of our coolers keep their tanks clean with UV light, and why the filters need changing on a schedule.
Why does it matter for ice machines?
Ice machines feel hard water more than anything else in the building. As water freezes, the minerals stay behind in the water that's still circulating, so it gets harder with every cycle. Eventually those minerals come out as scale on the parts that make the ice. That slows the machine down, makes the ice cloudy or small, and wears parts out early.
Reverse osmosis takes most of those minerals out before they reach the machine. It doesn't replace cleaning, but it slows scale down a lot. We go deeper in why Utah's hard water is brutal on commercial ice machines.
Why does a reverse osmosis system need a drain?
Because the membrane doesn't trap what it removes. It rinses it away. A reverse osmosis system sends some water to drain as it works, which is why every install needs a drain nearby, along with a water line and power. We check for all three at the site visit.
Does the RO system need maintenance?
Yes. The filters wear out over time, faster with harder water and heavier use. A system nobody maintains slowly stops doing its job, and the water starts tasting the way it did before.
We schedule preventative maintenance about every 12 to 18 months and change the filters then, so the water keeps tasting good. If a system stops working between visits, service calls are free: we fix it or swap it, and most are completed the same day.
What about the whole building?
Reverse osmosis at the cooler or ice machine treats the water people drink. If your building has a lot of equipment fighting hard water, a water softener, whole-building filtration or a custom RO/DI system can treat it at the source. Those are our custom systems, designed at a site visit.
Want to taste the difference? We'll install a bottleless water cooler free for a week, and 98% of businesses that try one keep it. Get a free quote and we'll reach out within 1 business day, or call 801-609-4321.