[diyguy]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Did so but at a usurious price of Rs. 1,850.

Thats a preposterous price. I got one branded as getPure for 355 from a local water purifying agency near my house.

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by diyguy

Thats a preposterous price. I got one branded as getPure for 355 from a local water purifying agency near my house.

Was in a fix on a Saturday evening so was forced to pay up.

[ShankarG]

Hi all. Any recommendations from any Noida resident on a sustainable water softener. Most of the apartment complexes here uses ground water for daily water usage and claim it to be treated. How do we really check the quality other than TDS.

As a follow-up question, how reliable is TDS reading for bathroom water as some articles say that softener focuses on reducing hardness not sediments. And hence a high TDS may still mean better water quality (for bathroom) and vice versa. Seeking inputs on this front as well please.
Thanks

[pandey.jai]

I was looking at some water purifiers and I saw amazon had this reference point (below). Can someone please confirm if this sounds about right?

TDS < 200 - UV, UF water purifier
TDS > 200 - RO purifier

[RajaTaurus]

Originally Posted by pandey.jai

I was looking at some water purifiers and I saw amazon had this reference point (below). Can someone please confirm if this sounds about right?

TDS < 200 - UV, UF water purifier
TDS > 200 - RO purifier

This is just about right. But there are preconditions to avoid RO. Input water must be free of coliforms which can't be fully stopped by UF. It is possible for TDS < 200 to have harmful elements like Arsenic, Fluoride or Boron above allowed limits.
So, when these conditions are taken care, then less than 200 ppm TDS may even not need any filter. You may even be able to drink directly.

[Mortis]

Originally Posted by ShankarG

Hi all. Any recommendations from any Noida resident on a sustainable water softener. Most of the apartment complexes here uses ground water for daily water usage and claim it to be treated. How do we really check the quality other than TDS.

As a follow-up question, how reliable is TDS reading for bathroom water as some articles say that softener focuses on reducing hardness not sediments. And hence a high TDS may still mean better water quality (for bathroom) and vice versa. Seeking inputs on this front as well please.
Thanks

This is true. Most water softeners work by replacing the Calcium and Magnesium Ions which make up hard water by substituting them with Sodium (majority) or Potassium Ions to soften the water, so ideally the water might be softer but you will not see much change in the TDS. I guess there will be test kits available to confirm this. You could try an aquarium GH test kit also.
If you want to drop the TDS also post softening then you could use a Deionizing (DI) resin post the softener although it may not be economical.
For the bathroom a Sodium salt based softener is fine but for the kitchen an RO unit or Potassium based softener would be better

[pkulkarni.2106]

Hello all,

Can anyone please suggest a good water purifier which is good at killing bacteria?
The point is - we've shifted to our new home. The water is still being delivered through tankers (it's municipal water delivered through tankers).
Since the day we moved in here, we're having stomach infections every now and then.

It all boils down to the water, because we've completely stopped eating outside food since last year.
Note that we're already using Aquaguard Verve (provided by the builder). We also get the water filtered again through PureIt (which we already had).

That makes me thinks the water we're getting is contaminated to a great extent. And therefore my expectations from the new purifier are high
So, which brand and specific model I should go for?
As far as I've read, there's no need to go for one with RO since it's municipal water, but please share if the understanding is incorrect.

Thanks in advance!

[msdivy]

Originally Posted by pkulkarni.2106

Since the day we moved in here, we're having stomach infections every now and then.

Please get the water tested from one of the testing labs. It will prove if the source of infection is water (even after existing purification). A bacteriological test will cost around ~650.

[pkulkarni.2106]

Many members had complained this to the builder (the society is not yet handed over), and he got the water tested. The results were normal (no bacteria were found).

Originally Posted by msdivy

Please get the water tested from one of the testing labs. It will prove if the source of infection is water (even after existing purification). A bacteriological test will cost around ~650.

[RajaTaurus]

Originally Posted by pkulkarni.2106

Many members had complained this to the builder (the society is not yet handed over), and he got the water tested. The results were normal (no bacteria were found).

"No bacteria were found".! Unbelievable. Did you see the results? What was Coliform count? Zero? I suggest you take samples and test as per IS10500.

Secondly, your best option for bacteria free water will be RO Unit. Municipal water it is transported in tankers. So, RO is must.

[carboy]

Originally Posted by RajaTaurus

Secondly, your best option for bacteria free water will be RO Unit. Municipal water it is transported in tankers. So, RO is must.

How is RO better than UV for bacteria? Both kill bacteria. A dead bacteria can't give you stomach infections. Considering he is using both UV & Pure-It, it's highly unlikely it's pathogens.

May be it's chemical gastroenteritis because of some chemicals in the water?

[RajaTaurus]

Originally Posted by carboy

How is RO better than UV for bacteria? Both kill bacteria. A dead bacteria can't give you stomach infections. Considering he is using both UV & Pure-It, it's highly unlikely it's pathogens.

May be it's chemical gastroenteritis because of some chemicals in the water?

RO doesn't "Kill" bacteria or virus or any other living organism. It just "stops" those from passing through the membrane to the other side.

UV is supposed to 'kill' bacteria, though I don't agree entirely with it. Bacteria might escape UV. But it can't pass through RO. Hence RO positively "stops" bacteria and safer.

[hondafanboy]

Originally Posted by RajaTaurus

RO doesn't "Kill" bacteria or virus or any other living organism. It just "stops" those from passing through the membrane to the other side.

UV is supposed to 'kill' bacteria, though I don't agree entirely with it. Bacteria might escape UV. But it can't pass through RO. Hence RO positively "stops" bacteria and safer.

Do you have any idea how LG's RO water filter works compared to others?

If the source water TDS is e.g 180 and that source water passes through its mechanism/ RO etc. the TDS of the output water goes down to between 10-30. LG technician says its fine because after water is filtered by RO and others , there is a mineral filter that adds required minerals . If i just relay on the before and after TDS numbers then I am not convinced with what LG guy is saying. I tried escalating but no luck yet.

[RajaTaurus]

Originally Posted by hondafanboy

Do you have any idea how LG's RO water filter works compared to others?

If the source water TDS is e.g 180 and that source water passes through its mechanism/ RO etc. the TDS of the output water goes down to between 10-30. LG technician says its fine because after water is filtered by RO and others , there is a mineral filter that adds required minerals . If i just relay on the before and after TDS numbers then I am not convinced with what LG guy is saying. I tried escalating but no luck yet.

Please understand how Reverse Osmosis membrane works. It has a particular pore size. When inlet water is pressurized to a particular pressure (osmotic pressure), pure water permeates through the membrane to the other side and the rest of inlet water with whatever contamination it had, is 'rejected'.

Now, the osmotic pressure varies based on inlet TDS. For 500 ppm TDS it could be around 2 bar while for 40,000 ppm TDS (seawater), it is 70 bar. And at lower pressures, no permeation happens. No output water.

TDS increase = Osmotic Pressure increase. The out put TDS doesn't vary proportionate to input TDS.

Talking about minerals, well I might stay away from that for the moment. Me, being a desalination engineer, don't bother much about minerals in drinking water. 😊

[lavanay]

We should actually worry about the mineral content in drinking water. If TDS of water goes below 30, then it becomes acidic in nature and can cause harm to body over long term use.

Now RO water purifiers from most of the reputed companies including LG will reduce TDS by at least 90%. It is for this reason that National Green tribunal in India is advocating the banning of RO water purifiers in areas where TDS of input water is less than 500 ppm. You can confirm this here: https://www.thehindu.com/news/nation...le32075468.ece

Now, because the input water at your home has TDS of 180 only, you should have gone for a UV or UF water purifier. RO was not required. There is nothing that LG can do about it now. You should have checked input water TDS before purchasing RO water purifier.

Originally Posted by hondafanboy

Do you have any idea how LG's RO water filter works compared to others?

If the source water TDS is e.g 180 and that source water passes through its mechanism/ RO etc. the TDS of the output water goes down to between 10-30. LG technician says its fine because after water is filtered by RO and others , there is a mineral filter that adds required minerals . If i just relay on the before and after TDS numbers then I am not convinced with what LG guy is saying. I tried escalating but no luck yet.