Best Water Purifiers in India

Water purifiers have become a household essential, specially in city homes, where water from direct sources may not be healthy for consumption. Here's a detailed guide on everything you need to know about water purifiers and the best ones you can get your hands on. We've also detailed out the various types of water purifiers along with their comparison and advantages. Read ahead to know more and make an informed choice. 

Types of Water Purifiers:

Impure or contaminated water is a carrier of many diseases. To get rid of it and the ailments that it carries, water purifiers have come to one's rescue. Water purifiers, based upon their working technology, can be classified under five heads; let's take a look at each one.

1. Reverse osmosis (RO)
2. Ultraviolet (UV)
3. Ultra filtration (UF)
4. Activated carbon
5. Sediment filter

1. Reverse Osmosis (RO) Water Purifiers

RO water filters that are widely used across the country use semi permeable-membrane to purify the water. The water pump pressurises the hard water to pass through this semi-permeable RO membrane, and during this phase the dissolved impurities like arsenic, lead, fluoride, sulfate, nitrate, and chlorine are trapped by the RO membrane, resulting in purified water. Only the best water filters working on RO technology can remove these impurities and provide you clean and safe drinking water.

Advantages of Using RO Water Purifiers:

1. RO water filters remove dissolved solid particles.
2. RO water filters are also able to remove waterborne-disease causing microorganisms.
3. An RO water filter can also effectively kill and remove micro organisms
4. RO water purifiers also remove bad taste and odour causing contaminants

RO water filters are basically of two types- one that can be mounted on walls or kept on the countertop and others that can be fixed under the sink or under a counter. This is one of the most popular types and one of the best water purifier category to invest in.

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2. Ultraviolet Water Filters (UV)

This is one of the best water filter type, which uses a combination of technologies such as RO+UV filter. The UV water filters are capable of killing waterborne disease causing microorganisms. The UV water filters do not use any sort of chemical to purify the water. These purifiers feature a UV lamp tube, the light from which kills all germs in the water. This water purifier combines UV and RO technology for complete purification wherein the UV rays kill the germs and the RO purification system removes any remains of the killed germs from the water. 

Advantages of UV Water Filters:

1. Low maintenance cost
2. High purification rate
3. Fast action (can filter around 2-4 liters of water in a minute)
4. Low energy consumption
5. Simple UV filters do not alter the taste of water

UV filters are the perfect pick for areas where the the Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) in water are low (they are incapable to purify water with high TDS). UV filters also do not remove essential minerals from water. This is another kind of water purifier, which is popular among many as it is comparatively cheaper.

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3. Ultra Filtration (UF)

UF technology, when coupled with RO and UV technology, produces the best water filters that are capable of delivering purified, clean drinking water. The UF technology uses hollow fibers of a membrane made from a thin layer of material, which is used to separate water and other particles present in water. RO and UF technology work on the same principle.

Advantages of Using an UF Water Filter:

1. Can work even without electricity
2. No need of strong water pressure
3. Since the UF filtration technique does not use chemicals, the taste of water remains intact
4. UF filters can filter muddy water also
5. Removes any remains of the germs from water

UF filtration is suitable for places where water does not have any chemical contamination, as UF water filters are incapable of filtering such complex chemicals.

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4. Activated Carbon Water Filters (Gravity Based Water Filters)

Gravity based water filters use activated carbon, which is made from small size carbon granules, and can absorb impurities present in water. The water in this process is filtered via a normal gravity process-- the water moves from the upper compartment to the lower compartment without any external force. For filtration, the activated carbon filters use microfibre mesh along with a polisher for the removal of residual chemicals.

Advantages of Using Activated Carbon Filters:

1. Activated carbon water filters eliminate disease causing pesticides and toxic chemicals from water 
2. These filters also remove heavy metal particles
3. Since these filters eliminate toxic chemicals, they enhance the taste and odour of water
4. Activated carbon filters, when coupled with RO filters, help to increase the life of the RO membrane by eliminating chemicals like chlorine that can damage the RO membrane

The process used to purify water using activated carbon filters is called ‘adsorption'. In the process of adsorption, chemicals and metals stick to the carbon filter when the water passes through it. 

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5. Sediment Filter

The sediment filter is a pre-stage of filtration used along with other processes like RO or UV.  The particles collected at the bottom of the water are known as sediments. These filters of a purifier work to eliminate the collected sediments that may comprise of metal, sand, mud or any other turbidity. The best water filters use this technology to get best results along with other technologies.

Advantages of Sediment Filtration are:

1. Remove solid dust, mud, and sand particles
2. Eliminate visible pollutants before the filtration
3. Protect RO and UV filters from getting damaged by solid sediments

Most sediment filters are made of cotton or polyester fibers. These filters are placed just before the water inlet of any water filter.

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Editor's Choice

Eureka Forbes 20 Litre Water Purifier (Blue)

₹ 3,149

Buy on

RO Water Purifier vs UV Water Purifier:

Water Purifiers Buying Guide:

• TDS: Check the TDS of your water to decide what purifier will you need. TDS indicates the amount of dissolved impurities.
• Water Pressure : The water pressure should be optimum for a water purifier to work properly, it could be between 5-40 PSI.
• Size and Style: Make sure the size and design of the purifier fits into a place nearest to the water source and an electrical point.
• Storage Capacity: It's best to have a storage capacity equivalent to the consumption of water per day. It could be in between 6 litres to 9 litres.
• Double Purification: Your Water purifier should have a Double Purification system (RO + UV/UF) Reverse Osmosis and Ultraviolet technology .
• Filters : Depending on what minerals you could forgo or you definitely need, you could choose between Carbon filters or Ultraviolet filters or RO systems, as they all work differently.
• Electricity Consumption: Definitely check the electricity consumption of a water purifier.
• Extra Storage: You could go for an extra storage capacity water purifier as this will help save time and electricity.

Frequently Asked Questions About Water Purifiers