Ultimate Water Purifier Buying Guide 2022: Which to buy?
We all know how water is necessary as air to live. But environmental degradation and growing water pollution seems to have taken a toll on our quality of life.
Water contamination is one of the crucial concerns today due to poor conditions of water sources such as rivers, lakes and seas. And, drinking contaminated water on a regular basis is like voluntarily inviting hazardous waterborne diseases. That is why, in today’s date, water purifier has become one of the must-have equipment for Indian homes to stay healthy.
Wondering where to start?
How to know which water purifier to buy?
Here’s a comprehensive water purifier buying guide to give you better insights and help you decide which one will be a best water purifier for your home.
Main Sources of Water Pollution:
Rivers are pure and clean primarily as they originate from the melting of snow and ice, running down a mountain slope. Some are even formed by the rainwater running off the plains.
Surrounding rocks and sand on the plains contribute in different salts and minerals getting mixed with these rivers.
- These natural salts mainly include chlorine, sodium, potassium and magnesium along with some amounts of nitrates and phosphates.
- But the problem arises when we see human beings contaminating these rivers with their contributions such as sewage, plastic waste and even excretions.
- Industrial waste further adds to the agony through their chemical dumps such as lead, iron, arsenic and mercury into these rivers.
All these components can be termed as TDS (Totally Dissolved Solids). TDS are originated from sewage, natural sources, industrial waste, human waste, animal matter, nature of the pipes through which water flows by and also from chemicals used to treat water.
All these contaminating components have found their way into our lives, causing life-threatening waterborne diseases. This in turn instigates the need to purify the water before drinking it.
And, this is exactly why water purifiers are designed and built.
Where does your drinking water come from?
Where does your drinking water come from?
Users need to ask this question to themselves before buying any water purifier. Because, the main water resource is what decides which type of water purifier will be suitable for your home.
- Lake: If your drinking water originates from a lake, know that this water is high in contamination with TDS level ranging from 1 to 200 ppm.
- River: Rivers are also at a higher risk of being polluted with biological and chemical components with TDS ranging from 1 to 200 ppm.
- Reservoir: Water coming from a reservoir has moderate contaminations with TDS between 1 to 200ppm.
- Groundwater/Bore well water: Groundwater is highly likely to have high TDS, ranging from 500 to 2000ppm, or even more in some regions.
Such water is likely to contain suspended animal and plant matter along with TDS and other impurities. Merely treating this water with chlorine is not enough, which is mostly practiced by municipalities in these areas. Chlorine in high amounts is also not good for the health.
Types of Water Purification Technologies in Water Purifiers:
As mentioned above, the drinking water that reaches you can come from different water sources and have different levels of TDS.
So now the real question is, which type of water purifier do you need to purify these impurities?
Below given are 5 main types of water purifiers available in the market, each featuring unique purification technology:
RO stands for Reverse Osmosis, which is the process of separating the TDS or contaminants from water with the help of a membrane.
This is an extremely popular water purifying method.
In RO purification, water passes through a semipermeable membrane where chemicals such as pesticide residues, mercury, lead, arsenic, etc. get trapped. This membrane does the job of removing viruses, microorganisms and bacteria. In this process itself, up to 90% TDS gets eliminated from input water.
RO water purifiers come with 5 or 6-stage purification technology, depending on its anatomy.
In these units, water does not pass through the membrane on its own. Hence, the unit utilizes a pump to force the water through the RO membrane.
As the name suggests, UV electric water purifier makes use of UV (Ultraviolet) radiation to eradicate bacteria and viruses from water.
This is the most commonly used water purifier type, as it kills germs as well as removes TDS with the help of UV and RO membrane combination. How?
Well, purified water from RO filtration can still include viruses and bacteria. That’s because RO membrane is not able to clear out germs having molecular weight lesser than 20. Hence, it is further passed through a UV chamber where UV radiation kills viruses, bacteria and other microorganisms.
UF water purifier is non-electric equipment that removes bacteria, viruses and cysts suspended into water. But, it is not capable of removing dissolved salts. Such unit is only recommended when the input water has low levels of TDS.
Some water purifiers come with a combination of RO + UF + UV water purification technologies.
UF (Ultrafiltration) chamber clears residual impurities from RO and UV treated water. The chamber consists of a filter membrane with minute hollow pores that trap any impurities that get skipped in RO purification.
Such equipment is recommended for people who drink water coming from multiple resources or from groundwater with high TDS.
Such types of water purifiers do not use electricity for operation, instead utilize gravity. Some models make use of UF (Ultrafiltration) process to remove larger contaminants like virus, bacteria, and other such suspended particles.
Whereas, few other gravity-based water purifiers use chemicals like bromine or chlorine to purify water. Some even use activated carbon to absorb all impurities from water.
For TDS levels less than 200 ppm, gravity water purifiers will be enough. It is an ideal type of unit for people with confined budget.
In gravity purifiers, you need to manually pour water from time to time and also maintain it occasionally.
Water Purifier Buying Guide based on TDS level:
According to WHO, following are the ratings on how the drinking water is differentiated based on its TDS level.
- Excellent to drink: TDS less than 300 mg/litre
- Good to drink: TDS ranging from 300 to 600 mg/litre
- Fair to drink: TDS between 600 to 900 mg/litre
- Poor to drink: TDS ranging from 900 to 1200 mg/litre
- Totally unacceptable to drink: TDS greater than 1200 mg//litre.
All the values stated above are analytic.
For example, groundwater might have TDS concentration below 900 ppm. Referring to the above table, does that mean it is fair and safe to drink groundwater? The answer is- Absolutely NO.
Know that the concentration level of single element of TDS holds greater importance than just looking at overall TDS value. There might be water with 300 TDS level, yet contain higher levels of mercury or lead and low levels of natural salts.
In such cases, it is safe to drink such water? Obviously, no.
That’s when water purifiers come into the picture.
Water purifier buying guide based on TDS level:
| TDS Concentration | Other Impurities present | Suitable Water Purifier |
|---|---|---|
| Less than 300 ppm (soft water) | No turbidity or mud | Gravity Water Purifier |
| Less than 300 ppm (soft water) | With mud and bad taste | UV or UF Water Purifier |
| More than 300 ppm (Hard water) | No turbidity or mud | RO water purifier with TDS controller |
| Between 300-2000 ppm | With turbidity or bad taste | RO + UV/UF water purifier with TDS controller or Mineralizer |
| More than 2000 ppm | With bad taste and turbidity | Industry-grade water purifier |
Key Components Integrated in Water Purifiers:
Sediment Pre-filter:
Sediment pre-filter is integrated in a separate case at the outer side of main RO equipment. It consists of a micro filter (nearly 5 microns) which removes sediments or dust at primary stage.
From time to time (anywhere from 3 to 6 months), you need to change this micro filter. Changing this micro filter timely will enhance the lifespan of the main inner membrane.
Pre-activated Carbon Filter:
The pre-activated carbon filter removes undesirable odours and chlorine from water by trapping volatile components and other organic substances.
RO or UF membrane:
- The pre-treated water now passes through RO membrane or RO filter- which is the most important part of a water purifier.
- The RO membrane separates dissolved minerals, particles and ions, allowing only purified water to pass through.
- Since essential minerals are removed from water, there are additional cartridges integrated in an RO unit which will add essential minerals back in water to make it potable.
UV Filter:
UV filter, more like a UV lamp, equipped inside water purifier will kill harmful viruses and bacteria present in the water via UV light. This is done by attacking their DNA directly.
But, UV light alone is not capable of removing TDS. Water first needs to be RO purified before treating it under UV lamp. This is why most water purifiers come in combination of RO+UV or RO+UV+UF.
TDS Controller:
Many water purifiers today come equipped with TDS controllers.
What does a TDS controller do?
It is mechanical equipment that allows essential minerals to mix with RO treated water, since RO process removes even good and healthy salts.
This is done by separating the tap water (input water) in two parts; one part goes through RO membrane, and second part goes to UV/UF chamber where all microorganisms are killed, but TDS remains intact. Water from the second chamber is considerably mixed with RO treated water to restore essential minerals.
Mineralizer
The main drawback of TDS controller is that RO treated water is again mixed with input water. This somehow defies the actual purpose of a water purifier.
And, a mineralizer will solve this problem.
It will release those essential minerals that were eliminated during RO purification, thus, improving overall quality of RO treated output water.
Post Carbon Filter:
The task of post carbon filter is to remove any odour remaining in the RO treated water and to improve its overall taste.
Storage Tank:
Storage tank is where the treated water is finally stored, which is safe to drink. Water purifiers come with different tank sizes viz. 7L, 8L or 9L.
Larger the storage tank, greater will be the space it occupies. And, its weight will also considerably increase.
Other Significant Features of a Water Purifier:
- LED Display panel: Some advanced water purifiers feature LED display which shows cleaning alerts, error indicators, lifespan of filters and even time.
- Smart Touch: Along with LED display, some units come with smart touch feature, where users can sync their smartphone with water purifiers and operate them remotely via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.
- Hot water: Few water purifier models are able to provide hot water for drinking.
Best Water Purifier Brands in India
Following are some of the top leading brands that manufacture water purifiers in India. All of these brands are renowned and build premium quality products whilst providing good after-sales service as well.
- Kent
- Eureka Forbes (Aquaguard and Aquasure)
- Hindustan Unilever Ltd. ‘Pureit’
- Blue Star
- AO Smith
- Havells
- Livpure
Few More Things to Check before Buying a Water Purifier:
- Maintenance cost per year
- Installation costs
- Manufacturer’s warranty
- Filtering speed
- Lifespan of included filters
- Customer reviews
- Brand value
- Number of free services provided after purchase
The Final Word:
This brings us to the final conclusion of our detailed water purifier buying guide. By now, we have understood how water purifiers play a vital role in eliminating harmful components from drinking water, making it absolutely safe to consume. Hope this guide for water purifiers helps in deciding your best water purifier to buy in India.
