It is very important to know about RO, UV, UF, TDS before buying a water purifier. I had explained all these terms in a simple way. Read it thoroughly I have covered all the basic things you will hear while purchasing the best water purifier that suits your needs.
Table of Contents
Comparing sizes of all the Filters
| Type | Size |
|---|---|
| RO | 0.0001 Microns |
| NF | 0.001 Microns |
| UF | 0.01 Microns |
| MF | 0.1 Microns |
What is RO?
RO (Reverse Osmosis) is a water purification technology in which water passes through an RO membrane in which there are small pores of 0.0001 microns.
Water passes through these pores and comes out as pure water which is without impurities, without solid particles and it removes almost all the minerals in the water. The major drawback of the RO water purifier is that it filters out essential minerals like calcium, magnesium present in natural water. The best solution is to use a TDS controller or RO+Alkaline Cartridge.
What is UF?
UF (Ultra Filtration) works the same as RO but the only difference is that the size of pores present in UF filters is smaller than RO filters. UF has small pores of 0.01 microns. It filters out solid particles and impurities, but as it has larger pores than RO, it is good that it does not remove natural minerals present in water. Minerals are essential for the body so it is a good choice to buy a UF water purifier. Make sure that the water coming into your home is less than 500 TDS.
What is UV?
UV (Ultraviolet) is not a filter like RO or UF, it is a chamber through which water passes through ultraviolet rays and kills all the harmful bacteria present in the water.
Note: RO and UF filters cannot kill the bacteria, it only filters water. UV Chamber is used to kill bacteria and viruses only.
What is TDS?
All the impurities like solid particles, metals that make water hard are called TDS(Total Dissolved Solids). The water that comes into your house is mostly hard. TDS can be measured by a device called a TDS meter which is easily available online. Generally, the TDS level between 100-150 ppm is considered the most suitable and acceptable for drinking. Due to pollution, the water becomes dirty and the TDS level becomes higher which is more than 500 ppm and that water is not good for drinking purposes as it leads to many health diseases.
What is NF and MF?
NF (Nano Filtration) is a water purification technology in which water passes through small pores of 0.001 microns which is larger than RO and smaller than UF, It comes in the middle of RO and UF. As of now, no water purifiers are giving NF membrane in their product but you can buy NF membrane online.
MF (Micro Filtration): In Early times when there are no electric water purifiers that time gravity-based water purifiers are used to filter water. Candles are used to filter out pure water. MF has small pores of 0.1 microns which is larger than other water filters. Around 15 years ago the water was clean so it was very helpful at that time but as of now, the water is too polluted so it is of no use. Now some water purifiers are giving MF filter in RO water purifiers, It is just used for double purification