[Ultimate] The Best Water Purifier Buying Guide

Planning to Buy the Best Water Purifier?

Environmental degradation, growing population, and industrial development have made it difficult to find pure and clean drinking water. Contaminated water increases the risk of waterborne diseases which may be life-threatening at times.

Water pollution has made the water impure and the proportion of fresh potable water is drastically coming down. To make the water drinkable, it is necessary to install a water purifier that removes all the dissolved impurities.

These water purifiers not only remove impurities but also save the money you spend on buying bottled water. The availability of different types of water purifiers has made it difficult to shortlist a purifier that will meet your requirements.

Tips To Select Best Water Purifier

The article discusses some of the factors that you need to consider when buying the best water purifier to fulfill your daily water needs.

Quality Of Your Water Supply

One needs to be well aware of the quality of the water supply they get. Whatever might be your water source, it is highly essential to know the TDS (Total Dissolved Salts) level present in the water.

Total dissolved solids (TDS) is a combination of total organic and inorganic substances that are contained in a liquid. Some of the dissolved salts are dangerous for consumption even if these are present in small quantities.

Some of the dissolved salts come from sources such as leaves, fertilizers, rocks industrial waste, sewage, silt or plankton and, and pesticides used in farms, Phosphates, Nitrates, Sulphur, and other minerals.

In addition to these sources, water may also absorb metals such as copper or lead from the pipes that are used for supplying water to consumers.

In general, corporation water in India is filtered before supply hence it should have the least TDS. So, it would be fine to choose a gravity filter to remove bacteria or viruses if there are any which is a rare case.

If your water report contains warning quantities, it would be better to consider buying an RO filter which is the best to remove all TDS with high accuracy. The quality of the water plays a major role in selecting a purifier.

TDS levels with the normal acceptable range of ppm (parts per million)

Type Of Purifier You Need: RO, UV, EAT, or UF?

Technologies of water purification are getting upgraded day by day.

There are different types of such technologies available in the market like RO, UV, gravity-based, etc. Their selection is completely based on the water supply of your home.

Let’s have all elaborated one by one. A large number of people have a misconception that RO is the best water purifier for every home but that is not actually true in every case. If your water is hard then you can choose RO.

But if your water is soft then there will be no requirement for RO. You can choose a gravity-based UF or a UV purifier instead.

RO Water Purifier

RO is the full form of Reverse Osmosis. The most common use of RO is to reduce the hardness of water and eliminate contaminants like fluoride, Arsenic, etc. this type of water purifier works effectively for the TDS level between 200 and 2000.

RO purifier passes water through a pump to increase the pressure and then passes that water through the RO membrane. It moves water from a lower region to a higher region.

During this process, the solids dissolved in water are removed. It converts the hard water into soft water.

As RO has the capability to clean 90-95% of TDS (Total Dissolved Solids. Minerals, salts, dissolved metals like calcium, iron, and sulphate in water are referred to TDS). It improves the smell and taste of the water.

The main disadvantage of RO purifiers is that they produce a lot of wastewater.

UV Water Purifier

UV indicates Ultra Violet rays. This is another most common type of purifier available in the market.

This purification process works in support of ultraviolet rays to kill the microorganisms present in the water.

In this type of purifier, the water passes through tubes that are exposed to UV rays. UV rays kill the contaminants and germs in the water. The purified water is out for usage.

This is best suited only for soft water. The main disadvantage is UV water purifier cannot work well with the hard water.

EAT Water Purifier

The EAT (Electro Adsorption Technology) purifier is also well known and is available in both electric as well as non-electric alternatives. Some types of these purifiers too have the facility to store water in their storage tanks.

The quality of water of the EAT type of water purifier is the same as that of the RO purifier. Additionally, it does not waste water like RO purifier.

But, this EAT type of purifier works well when the TDS level is lesser than 500 ppm.

Gravity Based Water Purifier (UF Water Purifiers)

Gravity Based water purifier is based on UF (Ultra Filtration) technology which removes bacteria, cysts, microorganisms, and other harmful particles from water.

This type of purifier is similar to that of RO purifier but has larger pores than RO. Unlike RO and UV purifiers, UF works without electricity. Most of the gravity-based water purifiers are available with the storage tanks.

The only disadvantage of this type of purifier is that it is not capable of eliminating TDS from water. So UF or gravity-based purifier is not good for the water with high TDS levels.

Storage Capacity

Another essential point to consider is the storage capacity. Before buying a water purifier, check the amount of water you need to store and buy something that meets your storage needs.  

If the water purifier has adequate storage capacity, you can get clean and safe drinking water even if there is no electricity. For a smaller family, it would be the best choice to choose the purifier with 5-7 litres capacity. If you belong to a medium or a large family, choosing 10 litres would serve you the best. This capacity selection helps you save money and space.

Electric or Non-electric

There are electric water purifiers like RO and UV purifiers and also non-electric water purifiers like UF purifiers. One needs to consider the amount of electricity consumed, the requirement of the electric purifier, electric supply, etc. in order to finalize for electric or non-electric water purifiers.

If you are in the area where there are frequent power cuts, choosing an electric purifier would turn out as an impractical option.

Brand Selection and Ratings

By understanding the growing demand for pure and clean water, many companies are launching their water purifiers. Besides, there are many fake products also available in the market.

You should always choose a water purifier from a reputed brand as they use high-quality filters & membranes. Some of the popular brands of water purifiers available are Kent RO, Aquaguard, Bluestar,  LG, LivPure, and Pureit. Once you have finalized the brands you should compare the selected products of these brands.

You can check on the online stores. Purification process, purification stages, storage capacity, special features should be your key points of comparison.

It is also important to consider the overall rating of the product. Consider the product which has an average rating of 4 stars. Also, go through the reviews written by the real users. Consider the overall rating and then pick the product. You can compare various products and make your choice.

Installation, Warranty, and Maintenance

Some of the top brands of purifier manufacturing companies like Kent, Eureka Forbes, etc. offer free installation and a one-year warranty. Some companies may charge additional charges for installation. Always make sure to check the installation and warranty before buying the product.

All water purifiers require a minimum amount of maintenance to be done periodically. This maintenance difficulty level varies from manufacturer to manufacturer.

While selecting a water purifier, always keep an eye on the maintenance work to be done. It involves your time, energy, and money. Always choose the one which has a simple and minimum maintenance load.

Cost of Water Purifier

The cost of the purifier is also an imperative aspect to consider. You need to research a little about the market rates before you proceed to buy. There are a lot of price variations in the products.

It would be better to have a look at the prices of the product from different companies and e-commerce websites. It helps you to understand the price range.17

Always choose among the best. You can compare the prices of a single product on different sites and can avail of the best offer.

Wrapping up

Those were some of the essential factors that you need to consider when buying a water purifier. So, you now know how to choose the best one. Now, put your knowledge to good use and go get a good water purifier today. Enjoy the benefit of pure water for years to come.