GE GXRM10RBL Reverse Osmosis Filtration System Review

When you think about General Electric (GE), you might think of light bulbs and not Reverse Osmosis Filtration Systems.

Yet the company that has been a trusted name in America for over 125 years produces the GE GXRM10RBL Reverse Osmosis Under Sink 3 stage water filtration system for home use. 

Features of The GEGXRM10RBL

The reverse osmosis system is one of the products in GE’s home appliance line. 

  • Water is filtered three times 
  • Reduces 16 contaminants found in drinking water
  • Dedicated Faucet assembly
  • Filter reminder light on faucet
  • The system will filter 68,000 bottles of water. Based on a 16.9-ounce bottle and a five-year system usage
  • Large 9.8-gallon capacity
  • Four-gallon storage tank
  • You can install the system up to 30 feet from the point of use

A Refresher Course

Reverse osmosis, like the GE reverse osmosis water filtration system GXRM10RBL, is a water purification process that uses a partially permeable membrane to remove ions, unwanted molecules, and larger particles from drinking water.

This process removes foreign contaminants, solid substances, and minerals from water. It is also one of the few ways to take minerals and chemicals out of water.

It is the chemicals, bacteria, lead, arsenic, sediment, and sand, among other things, that you want to remove from your drinking water. The GE reverse osmosis filtration system can do just that.

Install a GE Reverse Osmosis System Yourself

One of the beauties of a reverse osmosis system, like the GE GXRM10RBL, is that you will be able to install the system yourself. 

You can, of course, hire a plumber to do it for you, but if you are even a little bit handy, you should be able to manage installation yourself.

If you are a visual learner, like me, this YouTube video from a very patient and competent guy will take you through the process step by step.

If you prefer to read how to install the unit, please see the instruction manual here.
Another good thing about purchasing a GE product is that you will get United States-side customer service for your reverse osmosis system.

Maintaining a Reverse Osmosis System

Just as with any appliance, a refrigerator, a washer, a refrigerator or a dishwasher. All appliances need filters changed or occasional maintenance. 

The GE GXRM10RBL is no different than other appliances. It will need to have filters changed or replaced regularly. 

Well worth changing, too, as these filters are your defense against the yuck in your water.

Always refer to your owner’s manual for information about changing filters and the time frame in which to do so. 

The Filters In Your GE RO system

First Filter: With an RO system, water first flows through a pre-filter. The job of the pre-filter is to get larger particles like dirt, silt, and sand. 

As a rule, these pre-filters need changing every six months. Besides blocking dirt and silt from getting into your drinking water, the pre-filter also protects the RO membranes. 

Since the pre-filter is your first defense line, it is important to remember to change this out regularly. 

GE will also send you reminders if you want.

Second Filter: The second filter is traditionally a carbon filter. This filter’s job is to remove chlorine and other taste and odor contaminants. 

This filter should also be changed every six months. Chlorine can ruin the RO membrane, so don’t skip changing this filter. 

Third Filter: This phase is the actual reverse osmosis phase. Pressure is used to force the water through a membrane. 

The membrane is like the work-horse of the unit. It will retain contaminants on one side and allow just the pure, filtered water to pass through to the other side and the dedicated faucet. 

This can be a slow process as the water passes through the membrane at about 35 pounds per square inch. 

This averages out to be about two drops every second. Understand that it comes out of the dedicated faucet faster, but if the holding tank water were all used, it would take the tank a bit to refill. 

You have to remember the adage: “all good things come to them who wait.” Clean water is worth waiting for.

The membrane on a RO system needs replacing every year.

I Forgot To Change The Filters

Your system is going to tell you when you need to change the filters if you don’t remind yourself. 

The filters will do their job, so they will become filled with the sediment they are preventing from entering your drinking water. 

If you forget to change the filter at the designated time, and for the GE GXRM10RBL Reverse Osmosis that is every six months for the filters and one year for the membranes, you will have a decrease in water production. 

Eventually, the system will not produce any water, as the filters will fill with collected sediment. 

If the water you are filtering has more sediments than average, or if you use a large quantity of filtered water every day, you may find that you need to change your filters more frequently. 

Yes, this adds to the cost of running a reverse osmosis system, but hydrating and cooking with clean water is worth every single penny.

Replacement Filters

One of the good things about buying the GXRM10RBL reverse osmosis filtration system from GE is that this is a company that has been in business for 125 years.

You will not have to concern yourself that you will purchase a unit and the company will fold the next month. 

With their headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts, they also have global holdings in over 170 countries.

Filters for the GE filtration system sell on Amazon.

1. GE FX12M Reverse Osmosis Replacement Membrane:

GE Membrane replacement for GXRM10RBL

This is an essential part of an RO system and needs to be changed out once a year. A replacement membrane is just under $50.

2. GE FX12M Combo Pack of Two Filters and One Membrane

GE FX12P and TFC-24 Replacement Combo Pack

This combo pack is an economical way to get two filters and one membrane for about $60.

3. GE FX12P Set of Two (total of four) GXRM10RBL filters

GE FX12P Replacement Filters for GE GXRM10RBL

Stock up on filters! This set comes with a total of four filters for the GE GXRM10RBL RO system. It is about $70.

GE FX12P Set of Two (total of four) filters and TFC-24 membrane

GE FX12P Replacement Filters and TFC-24 RO Membrane  

This set will carry you for the entire year. It has two sets of filters, for a total of four. 

They need to be changed every six months, so these four will take you through the year. It also includes the membrane that is changed once a year. It will cost about $90.

Yearly Filter Costs

Prices, just as with anything else, may vary. But you can expect it will cost you around $100 a year to change your filters and keep your RO system running effectively.

When you think about how quickly that would add up buying bottled water, whose water is also coming from a municipal system, the cost to run a system for a year is well worth it.

Cleaning the RO System

Once a year, your system should be sanitized and recharged. Once a year is the same time frame that the membrane needs replacing.

Plan to do both things at the same time. Your RO system owner’s manual on page ten of the GE GXRM10RBL Reverse Osmosis Filtration System Owners and Installation Manual tells you how to sanitize your system.

Lifespan Of A Reverse Osmosis System

If you change the filters as needed and maintain the sanitation schedule, a reverse osmosis system will last for about five years.

Water Softeners And RO Systems

Both of these systems have different jobs to do. Fortunately, they make great teammates. 

If your softener uses salt to soften the water, the RO system will remove 98% of that salt from your drinking water. 

Calcium and magnesium make for hard water, and they are also very hard on an RO membrane. Your water softener takes out the hardness before it reaches the RO. 

So working together, a water softener and an RO system can tag-team your water issues.

Helpful Tips

DIY Installation

Before installation, get all of the tools that you will need together. It can be frustrating to look for tools or not have what you need once the installation process has started. Prepare yourself.

Phone A Friend

If you are less than handy, you might want to do what they do on game shows when the answer is not obvious: phone a friend. 

Although you should install an RO system yourself, there are times when a second set of hands or an encouraging word is helpful.

Where To Install

The most obvious place to install an RO system is under the kitchen sink. That is where you get your drinking water from and water for cooking. 

If you have a basement that does not have a finished ceiling, you might want to consider installing the RO system in the basement directly under the kitchen sink. 

It leaves the room under the sink free for kitchen stuff, and it can sometimes be easier to change filters.

Check Periodically

As with any appliance with water running through it, like a  dishwasher or refrigerator (for ice makers), just check your RO unit periodically for leaks. 

It is good just to double-check and save yourself a headache if something is leaking.

Make A Schedule

Establish a maintenance schedule for your reverse osmosis system. Put it in your phone or on your calendar and stick to it. It will keep your system in good working order.

Test The pH

You might want to compare the pH of water from your reverse osmosis system and regular tap water. 

If you check the levels regularly, you will be able to monitor the effectiveness of your system.

The Importance Of Clean Water and Your Source For It

We spoke before about the importance of controlling the water that you ingest and use for cooking. 

The United States Geological Survey, created by Congress in 1879, researches groundwater, ecosystems, and environmental health, among other things.

In an article entitled The Water in You: Water and the Human Body, they explain that an adult male needs about 3.2 quarts of water every day and an adult female about 2.3 quarts.

The article explains that besides just hydrating, water:

  • Is a vital nutrient to the life of every cell, acts first as a building material
  • It regulates our internal body temperature by sweating and respiration
  • Carbohydrates and proteins that our bodies use as good are metabolized and transported by water into the bloodstream
  • It assists in flushing waste mainly through urination
  • Acts as a shock absorber for brain, spinal cord and a fetus
  • Forms saliva
  • Lubricates joints

If the necessary water that you ingest every day is not clean, safe water, your body will react much the same way a car would if you put sand in the gas tank. Both scenarios would spell trouble. 

The Environmental Protection Agency

That brings you back to the need for assuring that your source of water is safe and clean. 

While municipalities have guidelines from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the implementation of those guidelines can be subjected to human error.  

The guidelines also provide for “acceptable allowances”  of contaminants in public water, not eliminating them. 

We are fortunate to have the EPA and all that they do, but even they cannot police all of the water sources.  

How Can You Help Protect Source Water? is one of the informational pages on the EPA website. 

It has excellent tips on what to do to protect water sources, and while you may be all in, your neighbor might not be. And that means pollutants are being released into groundwater.

Your Body, Your Water, Your Control

Which again brings us right back to the fact that you need to have control over the water that you drink and cook with every day.

You can do just that by installing the GE GXRM10RBL Reverse Osmosis Under Sink 3 stage water filtration system.

You will be able to know that your reverse osmosis system has removed lead, iron, chlorine, bacteria, and contaminants from the water you drink and give to your loved ones. 

Being able to carry your own water instead of purchasing bottled water. Not having to rely on others for your water’s purity will provide you with peace of mind. 

You can go without pizza (maybe), and you could go without desserts (never), but you can’t go without water on a daily basis. 

It is more than a necessity; it is life itself. You owe it to yourself to drink water that you know is clean, pure, and safe.

Clean Water Is Peace Of Mind

Having clean, pure water straight from a tap in your home is the best peace of mind there is!

With so many things uncertain in the world today, it is especially important to be confident that the water you and your family are drinking is free from chemicals and contaminants.

Only You Can Control Your Water Quality

There are guidelines set up by the Environmental Protection Agency to safeguard our water and municipal water facilities must adhere to those guidelines.

Yet even with guidelines in place, there are instances where water systems can be compromised and people, including children, can be adversely impacted.

Most recently, authorities found that Reopened Schools Find Health Risks in Water

In Ohio, five schools in various towns and four Pennsylvania districts have Legionella in the water system.

These situations just confirm that authorities can have the best intentions and follow guidelines, but systems fail. With something as important as water, you need to control its purity yourself. 

By controlling your own water with a reverse osmosis system, you can help keep you and your loved ones safe by drinking your own tap water and carrying it with you in your own sports bottle. 

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