WHAT TYPE OF WATER PURIFIER TO BUY?!
Are you clear which water purifier you need to buy? I wasn't and made a mistake 2 years ago by buying the wrong one. I’m making this video to make sure you do not make the same mistake!
If you saw on the many marketing pages of water purifiers - there are a NUMBER of technologies available - it’s all very confusing. I’m going to tell you today how to decide which water purifier to buy. This video will not do a comparison, my next video will compare various water purifiers in different categories. But I’ve already done my research, so you will find my best recommended ones in each category in the description.
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WHAT IS RO, UV, UF?
Let’s take a minute to understand these technologies and what they do - I’ll try to keep it short and not go into too much scientific detail about these technologies. You can skip it if you like and go to the next section directly.
RO - or reverse osmosis is used to remove water hardness (i.e., salt content), minerals, contaminants and bacteria too. But it also removes essential minerals from the water - which may make water consumed useless. It also makes the water too acidic - which can be detrimental to health. Filters upto 0.0001 microns.
UV or Ultra Violet kills bacteria and viruses from the water
UF - is ultrafiltration - it’s main job is to remove suspended solids in the water. So as opposed to UV which kills virus and bacteria, UF filters it out. When used with UV - all dead viruses and bacteria killed by UV filters can continue to be suspended in the water. UF filter removes that. Filters upto 0.01 microns.
MF - is micro filtration - only filters bacteria, no viruses - so is a step lower than UV. Filters upto 0.1 microns.
Alkaline or PH balance - alkaline filter is used to manage the PH level of water as too alkaline or too acidic water can be detrimental to health. The right ph level of water should be between 8.5 and 9.5. Ideally - if you are using an RO water purifier, you need one with both RO and Alkaline as RO water purifier makes water acidic.
WHEN TO BUY RO WATER PURIFIER?
You have hard water in your area - if you are getting water from a borewell or water is mixed i.e., corporation and borewell water and tanker water - it could mean your TDS is higher than 200ppm. What is the TDS - TDS is nothing but total dissolved solids in your water - measured in parts per million, PPM or mg/Liter. These solids contain salts, calcium, magnesium and many other minerals. You can measure the TDS using a TDS meter - which can be purchased for as little as 200 rupees. I’ve linked to a few in the description.
Upto 200ppm - you do not need RO. You can just make do with UV or UV or UV+UF water filters.
200-500 ppm - our Bureau of Indian Standards or BIS mentions water upto 500PPM is drinkable. WHO recommends below 200ppm. So if we go with WHO recommendation - recommend RO water purifier in such a scenario.
Above 500ppm - definitely use RO water purifier
DO I NEED BOTH UV AND UF?
Do you need UV or UF or Both - UV kills viruses and bacteria and UF traps viruses and bacteria. In case of UV - the bodies of the trapped viruses and bacteria could potentially remain. So I recommend to use a UV + UF filter.
DO I NEED RO + UV + UF?
Do I need RO + UV + UF - RO also kills bacteria during its filtration process. You could consider a pure RO or RO + UF to make sure the dead bacteria is removed. If it offers Alkaline, it is better to manage the PH of the water.
FILTER REPLACEMENT COSTS FOR WATER PURIFIERS?
Are there any ongoing costs? Yes! Most water purifiers will have a filter replacement alarm or indication. In general - RO filters need to be replaced every 6-8 months or after 700 hours of use. It costs about 700-800 rupees for replacement and most likely cannot be replaced by ourselves. RO membranes cost about 2500 for replacement. It is recommended to change this every 2-3 months! So it is very expensive to use. So go for RO only if you have to. Compared to that - UV / UF filters are lot cheaper to maintain - replacement costs are less than 500 per replacement and should be changed atleast every 6-8 months. It has a lower initial cost as well.
I DON'T HAVE CONTINUOUS WATER & ELECTRICITY SUPPLY
I don’t have continuous water supply or electricity supply - RO and UV water purifiers require a water supply connected via an inlet and require electricity for operation. If you have water supply and electricity supply for some time of the day, you can choose one of these with a water tank which stores a few liters of water. If you do not have continuous water supply - you can consider a UF only water purifier which is gravity.
HOW MUCH TIME DOES WATER FILTRATION TAKE?
How much time does it take for filtration? RO filters are slower filters about 20 liters per hour, UV+ UF about 30 liters per hour
HOW MUCH WATER DOES RO WASTE?
I heard that RO wastes water? RO wastes 80% of the water it consumes during the filtration process, there is no wastages with UV and UF water filters. There are some no wastage, green RO filters that are coming these days - but they still do waste ton of water or collect the water so you can use it elsewhere. But my opinion is that this water is so concentrated that unless you use it for flushing, it can be too toxic to use for washing vessels or even your plants.
WHAT SIZE OF WATER PURIFIER SHOULD I BUY?
What size water purifier should I take? If you have continuous supply of water and electricity - this does not matter so much. If not, since you have a need to store the water - assuming each person of the family consumes 2-4 liters of water and you need as much water for cooking - for upto 4 people, select one with a 6-8 liter tank, more than that, select a 10 liter+ tank.
DOES RO WATER PURIFIER CHANGE TASTE AND COLOR?
Do water purifiers change taste and color - RO water purifiers change the taste of water for the better - esp. In areas of high TDS. UV and UF water purifiers do not change the taste or color.
DO I NEED TO DO REGULAR MAINTENANCE OF RO WATER PURIFIERS?
What is the regular maintenance? UF water purifiers need to be cleaned more frequently to remove the trapped bacteria and viruses trapped in the filter. UV and RO require regular servicing - which is in general indicated in the water purifier. Most vendors recommend an annual AMC to clean out the water tank and replace the filters.
WHAT ARE UNDER THE SINK WATER PURIFIERS?
Under the sink water purifiers or over the top? If you are limited on space or want to hide out your water purifier, you can consider under the sink water purifiers. Almost all under the sink water purifiers are RO water purifiers and require a water inlet and electric supply under the sink to ensure the filtration unit can operate.
WHICH WATER PURIFIER IS BEST FOR ME?
Go for RO only if you have over 200PPM TDS in your water. RO has an issue of removing essential minerals - although the latest ones claim that they don’t or put it back.
Go for UV + UF rather than UV only if you have TDS below 200 PPM. It helps with both killing and separating the bacteria and virus from water
Factor in the costs of filter replacements to your overall purchase - which i will cover in the next video
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