[lavanay]

Rule is to use RO if water has high TDS.

Now, if TDS in water is 1200 ppm and you use a UV water purifier, then there is great possibility that some bacteria will not be exposed to UV light as then hide behind particles. So, UV alone will not be 100% effective in killing bacteria in water with high TDS and suspended particles.

Other than that the primary use of RO of course is to reduce TDS and chemicals in water.

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?

[hondafanboy]

Originally Posted by lavanay

You should have checked input water TDS before purchasing RO water purifier.

Welcome to the forum and thanks for your insights on this topic. yes, I may have gone overboard while selecting the water purifier. Will be looking into it sort it as soon as possible.

[GTO]

Guys, which is the Toyota Innova of water purifiers? Need one for home (usual Mumbai water). Please suggest a make & model. Thanks!

[RajaTaurus]

Originally Posted by GTO

Guys, which is the Toyota Innova of water purifiers? Need one for home (usual Mumbai water). Please suggest a make & model. Thanks!

With due respect, this is like "guys, I want to buy a car.. suggest me which one. Must have 4 wheels."

First step is to test your water for TDS and TSS. Then look for options with regard to your needs.

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by RajaTaurus

First step is to test your water for TDS and TSS. Then look for options with regard to your needs.

What this means is, please suggest a brand / company which can visit my home, test the water for TDS / TSS and the brand should be reliable, service should be good, the purifier should last and should not require much maintenance. One time cost is not an issue.

I too came here for similar requirement. Please tell me, how can one check TDS / TSS at home without any professional help /aid?

[Gannu_1]

Originally Posted by Sheel

I too came here for similar requirement. Please tell me, how can one check TDS / TSS at home without any professional help /aid?

Sheel, you can buy a TDS meter off Amazon. Check the reviews. This will come in handy after the purifier installation as the TDS levels go higher during the usage suggesting that the filters have to be replaced beyond a certain threshold. I have one from Mi which I sourced from Aliexpress. Works fine.

GTO, there are too many players in the market today and some folks prefer even assembling a system depending on the daily consumption/usage. You can avail a comprehensive AMC from the vendor and he’ll cover you for the said period for the filter replacements and other issues should they arise.

I’ve been using an Aquaguard based RO + UV purifier at home for the last 5 years now. I sourced the unit off Flipkart for Rs 12k. I have also attached a pre-filter unit before the RO unit so the mud and other silts are filtered by this cheap filter before the water is fed to the RO unit. The pre-filters were sourced from Amazon for Rs 500 for 2 units.

I would suggest call Aquaguard and let the representative come home, test the TDS level of the water at your home and let them suggest what works best for you. They’ve been in this industry for quite some time now starting with their UV based purifier from 3 decades back.

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by Sheel

What this means is, please suggest a brand / company which can visit my home, test the water for TDS / TSS and the brand should be reliable, service should be good, the purifier should last and should not require much maintenance. One time cost is not an issue.

I too came here for similar requirement. Please tell me, how can one check TDS / TSS at home without any professional help /aid?

You can buy a TDS meter online from Amazon and do it yourself. Most of these water purifier dealers are thugs and suggest all unnecessary stuff. Then you know what kind of filtration system you need.

https://www.amazon.in/dp/B000VTQM70/..._hbR8QJwpGztR3

Raja is an expert in this field (purifier not the thug bit )

I use something called Drinkprime. Its a monthly contract/subscription which i can turn off anytime i want. And full maintenance of the device is with the supplier. I pay nothing else.

[Iyencar]

Originally Posted by GTO

Guys, which is the Toyota Innova of water purifiers? Need one for home (usual Mumbai water). Please suggest a make & model. Thanks!

For Mumbai, if you have a municipalty water connection you don't need an RO. It is a waste of money and water. The typical RO +UV units throw out as much water than they filter. Then there are the US EPA studies about the carcinogenic nature of the membranes. Better to go with a simple UV, UF system. All else is marketing. Saying this as an existing owner of an Aquaguard Superb. In terms of cost and spares it is to the water filter world exactly what the Skoda is to the automotive world. I am now trying to get the RO membrane bypassed but it's a bit of a hassle. Ridiculous that a guy like me who grew up drinking water from Welofil and fishing cricket rubber balls out of the building's trash heap now has to look up sensors and filter parts and pay attention to beeping lights. Not at all worth it. Get any simple filter and a TDS meter on Amazon and it will be more of a Qualis than even a Crysta of the water filter world.
Pro Tip: Once you buy the device from a Reliance or Croma, you'll probably have the same guy come in and do the 3 or 4 free services. Have a good relation with him and 9/10 times after the warranty period he will be more than happy to directly come and service the machine and pocket the money. i.e. your FNG with original spares. I'm out of automotive analogies now.

[hondafanboy]

Originally Posted by GTO

Guys, which is the Toyota Innova of water purifiers? Need one for home (usual Mumbai water). Please suggest a make & model. Thanks!

I remember reading sometime back that tap water in Mumbai is the most cleanest in India. So you may not need the full RO UV UF system which I learned the hard way. My tap water TDS is around 170 and the LG one that i have reduces tds level to 10-15. The product is well made , looks very classy and service is ok in my area. Service could be more than ok in other cities.

Otherwise two other common and well known ones are Kent and Aqua guard. In my hometown we have been using Kent RO system from 8+ years . Service is great and bit expensive but that is because of the input water which is a very hard bore well water.

For now, I am back to Bisleri 20L + hot and cold water dispenser setup. I am also looking to replace my LG RO with something that is suitable for our source water and also looks good, well made etc.

Looking forward to see which one you will get and why.

[Lalvaz]

Originally Posted by GTO

Guys, which is the Toyota Innova of water purifiers? Need one for home (usual Mumbai water). Please suggest a make & model. Thanks!

Mumbai BMC water supply is pretty clean, so a normal UV filter is good enough. One very reliable brand is Alfa. Check out the e water model. https://www.alfaauv.com/products/ewa...ater-purifier/

Service is excellent, with a local area technician, and very reasonable rates. Used them, and can vouch for them.

If you do get borewell water, then you need an RO model. The easiest to use RO model is the Mi water purifier. No hassle of technicians coming home to service the unit. Everything is via your mobile app, and all cartridges are user replaceable. Check it out here: https://www.mi.com/in/mi-smart-water-purifier/
No personal experience using Mi water purifier, but excellent reviews.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XA9mOJYymO4

[msdivy]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

Sheel, you can buy a TDS meter off Amazon. Check the reviews.

This is more or less one-time activity and no need to spend on a meter for just 1 or 2 reading. You can borrow it if someone has it.

I would suggest call Aquaguard and let the representative come home, test the TDS level of the water at your home and let them suggest what works best for you.

The sales rep will carry the TDS meter.

If TDS is less than 500, non-RO unit is fine. So just provision for water inlet and electric plug point is enough for the unit.
If TDS is above 750, RO unit is recommended. Note that RO units give out wastewater and you must plan on disposing of this water. So electric plug point, water inlet and water disposing outlet must be available.

Options for clean water. Folks swear by their preferred choice.
1) Packaged water - Bisleri, Kinley (20L/25L - Rs 60/70 per can) - No plumbing required but the quality is suspect.

2) Water purifier units as service - Livpure, Drinkprime, (Approx Rs 3,000 for 6 months) - No owning of the unit or its maintenance. Just pay for water.

3) Own water purifier units. (10 to 20K for unit and approx 2K annual maintenance for RO units. Non-RO units will cost less)

• Non-RO: Aquaguard
• RO: Kent, PureIT

Brands in bold have a 15% market share each in purifying units. Others are small players. Brands try to differentiate like, MI units are DIY filter replacement, LG claim they have steel storage tank (others are plastic).

You may choose what works out best.

Originally Posted by GTO

Guys, which is the Toyota Innova of water purifiers? Need one for home (usual Mumbai water). Please suggest a make & model. Thanks!

Eureka Forbes is the oldest (1982). Kent is 1999. PureIT & Livpure are newer players. Based on this Aquaquard is the Innova of water purifiers. But they are known for their non-RO units and I have seen those still going fine after 20 years.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Ion Exchange is a more "industrial" RO maker.

[Altocumulus]

I am using Mi Smart water purifier with Ro+UV for the last 6 months and am very happy with it. The main reason for choosing it is the fact that the servicing and change of filters is DIY and super simple. Just buy the 3 filters of the internet and change it yourself in 5 mins. Also it has wifi connectivity so you can monitor the input/output TDS, health of the filter from your mobile phone as well as push any firmware updates. As a bonus it looks fantastic, arguably the best looking purifier.

[Candy$Cars]

Originally Posted by msdivy

This


Eureka Forbes is the oldest (1982). Kent is 1999. PureIT & Livpure are newer players. Based on this Aquaquard is the Innova of water purifiers. But they are known for their non-RO units and I have seen those still going fine after 20 years.

Noob question from someone looking to buy a new water purifier, do we need to get a pre-filter? Reading reviews from Amazon, I see that the installation technician persuade to sell pre-filter claiming that it will increase the life of the RO filters. So, is it required?

Originally Posted by Altocumulus

I am using Mi Smart water purifier with Ro+UV for the last 6 months and am very happy with it. The main reason for choosing it is the fact that the servicing and change of filters is DIY and super simple. Just buy the 3 filters of the internet and change it yourself in 5 mins. Also it has wifi connectivity so you can monitor the input/output TDS, health of the filter from your mobile phone as well as push any firmware updates. As a bonus it looks fantastic, arguably the best looking purifier.

How do you get this installed? How is the taste of water from this and can the output TDS be controlled (in the video from above post, the output tds the reviewer is getting is 39-40 which I guess is too low)? Also, the output water speed is also looking very slow int he video, is it so? Lastly, is the DIY process easy or cumbersome?
Sorry for asking too many questions but I needed to know!

[Sebring]

Agree on every point. Even ours is 6 months old. Did you change the filters already?

Originally Posted by Altocumulus

arguably the best looking purifier.