How to choose a water purifier for home guide

How to choose the best Water Purifier for home

Say thanks to Water Purifiers, now we can drink safe water at our Home. However, you might get confused by different advertising terms like RO, UV, UF, and TDS. This article guide will certainly provide you in-depth clarity about a water purifier.

Most of the RO water purifiers include the combination of UV, UF filters to make certain that the water is 100% without pollutants and impurities. RO water purifiers use Reverse Osmosis Technology with a thin membrane that filters out the bacteria as well as toxic chemicals from water, hence transforming hard water right into soft water. It eliminates the dead micro-organisms and disease triggering germs and bacteria from the water.

An RO System makes sure that every kind of impurity is removed from the water; and you have access just to the best, cleanest drinking water. These chemicals can typically prove to be fatal in the long run, which is why you need to take utmost care and also ensure that your RO Water Purifier is working well.

Difference between a water purifier and a water filter

Normally speaking, a water filter is designed to remove waterborne protozoa and bacteria, but not viruses. Whereas, a water purifier is designed to remove protozoa, microorganisms as well as viruses, providing a greater degree of protection.

Depending upon the water purification approaches water purifiers can be categorized right into 5 kinds;

1. Reverse Osmosis(RO)

RO water purifier uses a semipermeable membrane layer to detoxify water which uses a membrane to pass the water through. During this procedure dissolved solids like arsenic, fluoride, lead, chlorine, nitrates, and sulfates are entrapped, stuck in the RO membrane to get Purified water.

2. Ultraviolet( UV)

UV or Ultraviolet water purifier is shown modern technology that qualified to kill water-borne disease-causing bacteria, virus as well as cysts. This environmental-friendly technology really did not utilize any type of chemical throughout the filtration procedure. It consists of a UV light tube where water needs to pass for purification. When running water exposed to UV light, whatever germs like bacteria and viruses get damaged, and becomes non-active.

3. UltraFiltration( UF)

UF or Ultrafiltration uses hollow fibers of a membrane layer which is made from a thin layer of material that separates the water from various other particles. When water feed through the UF membrane layer, the solids, microorganisms as well as viruses stick, trap, and get retained. Primarily UF is similar to RO innovation, the just the distinction is RO can block very minute particles, whereas UF obstructs little big particles.

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UF water purifier is optimal for the regions where visibility of chemical contamination is low, due to the fact that UF does not eliminate chemicals existing in water, it just qualified to block, eliminate bacteria like germs as well as infections.

The crucial thing is to bear in mind that UF does not function with hard water, as UF does not get rid of dissolved salts existing in hard water, as a result, water remains hard only.

4. Activated Carbon

Activated Carbon in water purifiers removes numerous harmful organic chemicals like pesticides that might exist in the water. It also removes chemicals in the water which causes water to taste bad. So it is good to have an activated carbon water filter purifier for drinking water.

5. Sediment filter

The key task of a sedimented filter is to eliminate the bigger solid particles like mud, dust, sludge, and other such solid particles in water. The pore size of this filter is typically 20 microns.

Drinking-water TDS Chart

TDS or Total Dissolved Solids primarily consist of calcium, magnesium, potassium, salt, bicarbonates, chlorides, and sulfates, as well as percentages of organic matter in water (1).

Aside from TDS and other microbiological pollutants like microorganisms, viruses, protozoa, cysts, etc, there are four major impurities existing in water such as microplastics, pharmaceutical substances, and also antibiotic residue. Other pollutants like lead, arsenic, nitrates, and iron specify to certain geographies in India.

The table mentioned listed below provides the acceptable series of TDS in water and reasons which degrees are not acceptable for consumption:

TDS Level (Milligram/Litre)Remarks
Less than 50Unacceptable as it lacks essential minerals
50-150Acceptable for drinking. The TDS level is ideal for areas where the water polluted by sewage or industrial waste
150-250Good. The water is ideal for people with cardiovascular disease
250-350Good. The water is ideal for people with cardiovascular disease
350-500Fairly acceptable
500-900Less acceptable
900-1200Least acceptable. Avoid drinking water which has a TDS level of 900
1200-2000Water is not acceptable for drinking.
Above 2000Unacceptable
Source: www.kent.co.in

Usually, water from lakes, rivers, and collected rainwater has a reduced concentration of TDS, whereas the water drawn from bore wells or supplied by tankers has a greater concentration of TDS and also other dangerous chemicals. As an example, if you have municipal water, an RO may not be needed in any way. For those making use of bore wells or mixed resources, RO+UV+UF technology could make sense.

TDS LevelType of Purifier
0-200UV Water Purifier
200-300RO+UV water purifier
300-500RO+UV+UF

The researches have concluded that the intake of reduced TDS water, naturally occurring or received from a treatment process, does not result in harmful results to the body.

According to the Bureau of Indian Standards(BIS), the ceiling of the TDS level in water is 500 ppm. The TDS degree recommended by WHO, nevertheless, is 300 ppm. Water with TDS more than 500 yet less than 1000 is poor and also water with TDS greater than 1000 is not suggested for consumption. Water purified by reverse osmosis (RO) purifiers are lacking salts (minerals) with a TDS of 0 to < 10. It is not good for drinking.

The very first step to selecting a water purifier would be to examine TDS levels in your home itself. Nowadays, there are many basic kits are available to look for TDS to check for levels of lead, chlorine is readily available online. These standard TDS meters though will offer you an evaluation of the quality of water supplied to your home every time.

Based on Indian standards, total dissolved solids in packaged water will be a maximum of 500 mg/liter. TDS in all brand names was lower than the optimum allowable limitation. The highest TDS was observed in Bisleri (98 mg/liter), adhered to by DJB Jal (95 mg/liter). TDS was least expensive in Kinley (27 mg/liter).

Advantages of a Water Purifier

A research study in the American Journal of Medical Public health found that participants “who drink 5 or more glasses of plain water daily have a much lower threat of fatal coronary heart problem, contrasted to those that consume alcohol less than 2 glasses each day.”

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Drinking more water will certainly enhance your digestion by easing the movement of food with the intestines. Consuming plenty of water will moisturize your skin from the inside, maintaining it healthy and beautiful. Consuming water additionally helps in maintaining the pH equilibrium in our body.

Good for Your Health

It is totally safe and great for our wellness since it gets rid of dirt, chemicals, heavy metals as well as hazardous microorganisms from the water. It keeps the minerals in the water to ensure that the quality of the water continues to be exactly the same and lowers the germs by 99.9999%, viruses by 99.99%, and protozoa (such as Cryptosporidium parvum) by 99.9%.

Considered safe when compared to other additives

When we use liquid, tablets, or powder, water purifying chemicals to untreated water, the residues of chlorine or iodine can be found in treated water. Hence, the purifiers can be considered safe in treatment process tools.

Water purification removes toxic metals

Reverse Osmosis Systems will eliminate usual chemical impurities (metal ions, liquid salts), consisting of sodium, chloride, copper, chromium, and lead; may minimize arsenic, fluoride, radium, sulfate, calcium, magnesium, potassium, nitrate, as well as phosphorous.

Environmental Benefits

Instead of buying packaged bottles, you can obtain clean water at home, while aiding minimize the plastic use and environmental degradation.

DOWNSIDES

The study verifies that if one uses RO water purification in locations where it is not needed, after that it leads not only to ‘demineralized water‘. Among the major downsides of RO systems for the home is that they get rid of most of the minerals from the water leaving it with an acidic pH.

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Long term consumption of reduced pH water has adverse health and wellness results such as enhancing the risk of kidney disorders and also stomach difficulties.

Reverse Osmosis is indicated to remove high TDS (salt content), particularly heavy metals and also contaminants which are found in a couple of places, not all.

Water wastage

A typical RO purifier wastes roughly 3 liters of water for each 1 liter of purified water. That means just 25% of water is purified, but 75% of water appears as waste.

Water purification requires regular maintenance

Not all bacteria and also contaminants are eliminated from filtered water when the filters got used for more than the asked period. When the procedure is happening really little particles can go through the membranes used for water filtering.

Extensive maintenance of the device is very important to make sure that they can accomplish the water softening process with no hitch whatsoever.

All the cartridges should be disposed of after the water softening procedure. These cartridges include unsafe toxins that were detoxified from difficult water. If they are thrown anyways they may end up being contaminants to the atmosphere.

One more downside of reverse osmosis systems is they take long to filter water when they’re used for a big family. In such a scenario, the larger capacity purifiers are the need.

Best Water Purifiers in India (2020)

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