Considering a country like India with diversity everywhere there are several sources of water. Some are natural meanwhile some of them are man made.
But with increasing rate of pollution everywhere even the water we consume is not safe and pure. It does contain several impurities, contaminants or metals which are directly or indirectly affecting our health.
Water Purifiers
The water we drink these days is generated from different water treatment plants which do carry many chemicals. This treatment of water destroys the natural minerals. There are several of people dying every year just because of consuming contaminated water.
Some common diseases like diarrhea,cholera, typhoid fever, etc. generally occur because of this contaminated water. In order to avoid all these diseases people install different types of water purifiers at their home, offices and other places.
It is very important to understand that what type of purifier must be used at specific area because the quality and types of contaminants vary from area to area.
Keeping our health in mind, one should always have a proper knowledge of the filters as well as of the water.
There is a basic term used as TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) which means some organic and inorganic materials such as calcium, sodium, present in water. It is used to measure whether the water is in its pure form or not. One can measure the amount of impurities with the help of TDS. It can also help you know that is there any chemical in water and if yes then what is the amount of it. Having low amount of TDS is considered to be a good sign but at the same time we do need some of the salts or mineral salt present in it. As per WHO having a TDS more than 1000mg/litre is dangerous for health.
There are different types of purifiers which are available in the market as per different functions. We need to keep some points in mind whenever we get a purifier. In general we should go as per our budget, and the type of purifier we’re looking for but at the same time it is important to find one as per the water tendency.
Mechanisms for Water Purification
- RO (Reverse Osmosis)
RO is a technique where the water is purified with the help of pressure. This technique is done to remove the metals and impurities present in the water. This is the only type of purifier which helps to remove metal particles like chlorines, lead, etc. If this type of water supply is at your house or your house is at a hilly location then you should try to get RO purifiers to get purified water containing less or no impurities.
There are some advantages and disadvantages of RO purifier as well which are as follows :
Advantages
- Water purified from RO does not contain any impurities.
- The viruses or bacteria are blocked and flushed away.
- Impurities like chlorine and arsenic are also being removed with the help of RO purifiers.
- It also helps to improve the taste and smell of the water.
- Most of the Ro purifiers are cost effective.
Disadvantages
- RO purifier need electricity to run.
- It needs more pressure than the normal water supply.
- A plenty of water is wasted.
- Some of the necessary minerals get wasted as it flushes all the minerals including the good one.
- Regular use of RO purified water also decreases the immunity.
There are generally two type of RO water purifiers
Under sink water purifiers – As the name describes these RO purifiers can be kept under the sink or under the counter as well.
Table top or wall mounted water purifier – These are quiet in fashion and can be attached to the wall or can be kept on the kitchen table.
2. UV Purification or UV Purifiers
UV or ultraviolet purifier does not use any kind of chemicals in purification. These are very helpful to kill the microorganisms like bacteria or viruses. You can also call it an eco-friendly procedure for water purification. This is more helpful in the areas having soft water and less pollution. It is not suitable for the water containing high level of TDS, as it’s not capable to remove chemicals like chlorine and fluoride.
Advantages
- This does not need any high water pressure.
- UV purifiers remove all germs including the bacteria & viruses.
- In UV purifiers the taste of the water remains the same as it does not contain any kind of chemicals in it.
- It does not remove the necessary minerals that are needed by a body.
- As compared to other purifiers UV purifiers can purify more amount of water in less time.
Disadvantages
- The purifier does need the electricity to use same as RO purifiers.
- Another disadvantage is it cannot change the taste, odor or color of the water.
- These purifiers are unable to remove the chemicals like chlorine or fluoride.
- UV purifiers do kills microorganism like bacteria but those are not totally flushed out of water, which could later be consumed by the people.
- Only soft water can be purified by UV purifiers, it does not purify the hard water.
3. UF Water Purifier
Ultra Filtration is a purifier where there is a membrane kind of layer of a material which is used to purify the water. This layer is basically a type of sheet which tries to separate the particles present in water. This purifier normally functions on running water so when the water runs through this membrane the impurities of the water are being trapped. It does not allow the particles present in water to go through. It is not helpful in case of hard water as it is not capable to remove the dissolved solids or salts from hard water. Although we can use it in case of soft water, as the particles like viruses and bacteria can be removed. If the water in your place contains high level of chemicals then you should avoid UF purifiers.
Advantages
- One of the main advantages of this purifier is that it does not need electricity to use. We can even use these in rural areas where there is less or no electricity.
- This purifier can help to remove the muddy water as well.
- No need of high pressure water. These can even work with low pressure.
- There is no use of chemicals to remove the impurities.
- Unlike UV purifiers there are no dead bodies of the bacteria or viruses in the purified water.
Disadvantages
- UF purifiers need a lot of attention. These needs to be clean time to time as if these are not cleaned on time it is possible that the bacteria or viruses present there can get out of the membrane.
- UF purifiers are not a good option for hard water. These are unable to remove dissolved solids in water.
- As there is no automatic process to clean it, these purifiers need to be cleaned manually which makes it a time consuming process.
4. Activated Carbon Water Purifier
Charcoal is being used from a very long period for filtration. In the ancient time people used charcoal beds to filter the water. Activated carbon is similar; the difference is just that now it is being activated from high temperature treatments. The activated charcoals or carbon which are generally used in filters are made up of wood, coconut shell or nut shells which are activated using steam. This carbon present in purifiers removes many organic chemicals such as pesticides and heavy metals as well. It is very helpful to remove chlorine from water. People use these filters for drinking water as activated carbon helps removing the chemicals which cause bad taste or smell of water.
In these purifiers a term called Adsorption is used which means that the chemicals or impurities present in the water stick to that activated carbon. While the water is passed through the activated carbon, the heavy metals, chemicals and dangerous pesticides stick to the carbon whereas the purified water passes to the other storage area.
Advantages
- It helps in removing heavy metals.
- The water which passes through is good in taste and smell.
- By blocking particles like chlorine, it helps to protect the RO membrane.
- It removes pesticides and chemicals like chlorine which might leads to several diseases.
Disadvantages
- The hardness of water is not removed as the dissolved salt does not get affected by activated carbons.
- Activated carbons do not remove bacteria and viruses.
- The microorganisms like bacteria and viruses starts growing on the surface of the activated carbon if it is not used for some period of time.
5. Sediment Filter
These filters are generally used to remove visible particles from water. Although it cannot remove things like chemicals, dissolved solids, bacteria or viruses but it can remove sand, dust and dirt from water. It is also used to remove turbidity from water. It is known as sediment filter as it works on the procedure where the dirt particles are settled down in the water. These filters are generally used with other filters like UV or RO so that the visible or hard particles are removed before getting into the other filters. It makes it easy for the other filters to perform their action. These would hardly be used alone. Most probably it would be connected to the other purifiers for better results.
Advantages
- It helps to remove visible particles from the water which does not create resistance for other purifiers.
- Removes mud particles, rust and dust from water.
- Reusable after cleaning.
- Works as a helping hand for other purifiers like RO or UV.
Disadvantages
- It does not remove the dissolved solids, bacteria and viruses.
- The chemicals like chlorine and alkaline cannot be removed from sediment filtration.
6. Gravity Based water purifier
Gravity based water purifiers are one of the most used filters in India. These filters generally contain different levels of filtration. In this purifier there are filter elements like filter paper and activated carbon. This helps to purify water at its best level. As per its name the water flows from the top, passing through the filter cartridge then through the activated carbon tube.
Advantages
- It is inexpensive and easy to place anywhere.
- It does not require electricity to use.
- Having multiple purifying level helps to clean the water properly.
- It is easy to install.
Disadvantages
- Limited amount of water can be purified at a particular time.
- Needs to fill water again and again.
These are some of the commonly used water purifiers nowadays. Multiple technologies are assembled in one now. There are many of the purifiers which do have two to three techniques combined, which starts from low range to high range cost as well.
These days brands like Kent, Hindustan Uniliver’s Pure it, Eureka Forbes’s Aqua sure, Blue-star are popular these days. All these companies are having a cut throat competition. Making more compact products, it is seen that all the water purifier companies are trying to give their best to their customers.
However people should keep in mind the space they have at their house and the budget as well.