Around the world, household drinking water purification systems, including a reverse osmosis step, are commonly used for improving water for drinking and cooking.
Such systems typically include a number of steps:
A sediment filter to trap particles, including rust and calcium carbonate
Optionally, a second sediment filter with smaller pores
An activated carbon filter to trap organic chemicals and chlorine, which will attack and degrade a thin film composite membrane
A reverse osmosis filter, which is a thin film composite membrane
Optionally, a second carbon filter to capture those chemicals not removed by the reverse osmosis membrane
Optionally an ultraviolet lamp for sterilizing any microbes that may escape filtering by the reverse osmosis membrane