How To Choose Water Purifier In India : 5 Steps You Should Take
As we all know, water is the source of all life on earth, and having access to pure water for drinking is a basic necessity everyone should have.
But due to the high level of industrial and sewage pollution, all the natural water bodies in India are contaminated to the core.
In fact, a recent study showed that approximately 80 percent of India’s drinking water sources are polluted and not suitable for drinking without filtration.
All these indicate that water purifiers are no more a fancy equipment, instead a necessity for a healthy lifestyle.
Also, gone are the days when water purifiers were reserved only for riches. Nowadays, you can get a full specked water purifier for well under 10000 Rs.
So, in this article I will discuss how to choose water purifier with all the necessary steps you should take in order to select the model that suits your needs best.
Without any more fluffs, let’s get started.
Inorder to choose the perfect water purifier for your home, you need to consider three parameters. And they are,
Let’s discuss each parameter in detail one by one.
1. Input Water Source
The source of water is actually not the direct parameter, but it determines the TDS in the water available to you.
TDS or Total Dissolved Salt is the total amount of harmful and essential salts dissolved in the water.
The TDS value is measured and expressed in ppm (parts per million).
From the laboratory research, the common constituents of TDS are calcium, phosphates, nitrates, sodium, potassium, chlorine, and iron.
The technology used to treat the water is solely based on the TDS value of input water.
Let’s have a look at different sources and their TDS values along with which technologies are implemented to purify.
| Water Source | TDS Level | Technologies Used |
| Municipal/Tap water | Less than 200 ppm | UV + UF |
| Ground/Borewell water | 200 – 2000 ppm | RO + UV/UF |
| Mixed Water | 1 – 2000 ppm | RO + UV + UF |
By referring to this table, it’s pretty clear for you to decide which kind of water purifier you need.
If you have borewell water, then the purifier you purchase must have RO technology along with either UV or UF.
If you are currently living in an area where the municipal supply of water is present then you will be happy with a UV purifier and no need to spend extra money on RO models.
Check out our latest article on best UV water purifiers in India for exciting low-cost UV purifiers.
But if you are in a confusion, then go ahead and purchase a purifier with RO technology. Because it can purify any type of input water with maximum safety.
Now let’s see how these three technologies differ from each other.
| Ultraviolet (UV) | Ultrafiltration (UF) | Reverse Osmosis (RO) |
| Electricity is needed | Electricity is not needed | Electricity is needed |
| Suitable for water source with low TDS | Suitable for water source with low TDS | Suitable for water source with low and high TDS |
| Cannot be used to treat hard water | Cannot be used to treat hard water | Only technology used for treating hard water |
| Effective in destroying bacterias and viruses | Not effective in destroying bacterias and viruses | Effective in destroying bacterias and viruses |
| Dissolved salts cannot be removed | Dissolved salts cannot be removed | Dissolved salts can be removed |
| No desalination is possible | No desalination is possible | Only technology used for desalinating water |
| Very fast purification | Very fast purification | Very slow process |
| No water wastage | No water wastage | High water wastage |
| Low price | Low price | Expensive |
Generally, an RO purifier has all the three technologies implemented in a certain order which maximizes the purification efficiency and safety of the output water.
2. Storage Capacity
Storage tank capacity is not a big deal like the type of water source, but still, you need to consider it before purchasing one.
Storage capacity needed is directly related to the number of members in your family.
Water purifiers last for 3-5 years on average, so you need to consider the possible family changes in the next couple of years.
As a general rule of thumb, follow the below table to see how much capacity you need.
| No of Members | Capacity (Litres) |
| 2 – 3 members | Less than 5 litres |
| 3 – 5 members | 5 – 8 litres |
| More than 5 members | 10 Litres or more |
But don’t give too much importance to the storage, because not everybody drinks water at a time.
3. Annual Maintenance Cost
The filters present inside the purifiers have an expiry date.
The life of filters is typically measured by the number of litres it can purify.
The average life of filters in Indian market varies from 3000 Litres to 6000 Litres, but it depends on the TDS level of input water.
If TDS is very high, life will be less and vice versa.
Annual maintenance cost (AMC) is the cost required to change the expired filter, clean up the tank or change other electronics or parts inside the purifier.
The cost varies depending on the type of water purifier, expensive purifiers have high AMC compared to cheaper purifiers.
4. Dependence Of Electricity
As we already mentioned, RO and UV requires electricity to remove the contaminants from the water.
But the latest generation of purifiers use electricity for much more functionalities.
For example, HUL Pureit Ultima water purifier (not Ultima Nxt) is a smart water purifier with lots of exciting features.
The stylish design and touch buttons were a revolutionary feature when they launched the model.
But it had a major problem, you won’t be able to dispense water if there is a power failure!
But thankfully they upgraded the model (Ultima Nxt) with an option to add a manual pipe.
So if you are living in a locality where power cuts are a common thing, then it’s not a good idea to purchase expensive smart water purifiers because without electricity they are just the same as that basic RO purifier.
5. Special Features
The latest generation water purifiers have a lot of special attractive features.
Few of the really useful features are copper infusion, filter change alarm, water purity indicator, automatic shut off, etc.
5.1. Copper Infusion
According to health professionals, copper improves immunity, digestion and fights against obesity.
In fact, ICMR recommends a 2L of copper charged water per day for adults so that 30% RDA of copper is consumed.
In the beginning, water purifiers with copper infusion were very expensive. But nowadays, you can easily get reliable ones for less than 10000 Rs.
Some of the best water purifiers with copper infusion technology are HUL Pureit Copper+, Aquaguard Aura, Aquaguard Marvel, etc.
5.2. Alkaline Filter
Havells is the brand that popularized the alkaline water in water purifiers.
Also, natural drinking water sources are alkaline in nature, so drinking alkaline water is definitely a healthy choice.
All the alkaline water purifiers in India try to maintain the pH of dispensing water in the range of 8 to 9 which is perfectly healthy for drinking purposes.
Some of the high quality water purifiers with alkaline options are Havells Alkaline Pro, Kent Supreme Extra, etc.
Apart from these some other features you should look into are automatic shut off, water level indicators, filter change alarms, UV fail alarms, etc.
Conclusion
It is always advised to read a proper buying guide before purchasing a product so that you don’t end up buying the wrong product.
And, I highly believe that this article really helped you to find out which type of water purifiers suit your needs best.
If so, then the next step is to choose the exact model that you need.
For that check out our dedicated articles on best water purifiers of different categories and price ranges.
For now, thanks for reading.
Have a great day and have a happy shopping experience.