Why Water Purifiers are Hefty Investments but Not a Solution to the Drinking Water Quality Problem

How many times have you visited various water purifier websites just to look at the high prices and go back to ordering your next water can? We are sure that you must have lost count but that’s alright because you were looking for a safe drinking water option.

While you may get drinking water of better quality from a water purifier, it comes at a price. Literally.

Here’s a question for you: Are you sure that your ₹20,000 investment in a water purifier is going to be worth it?

It may not be.

Here’s why. Water purifiers were designed to solve the problem of drinking water quality. But the bigger concern is that they purify every water the same way! So, you could get drinking water that is over-purified or under-purified depending on the quality of the water source.

Now that you are aware of the problem, read the article till the end to understand it better as we discuss:

1. Why water purification is a necessity in India
2. Why water purifiers do not purify drinking water as you think they do
3. The roadblocks to purchasing a water purifier
4. How to get safe drinking water in India without a regular water purifier

Let’s delve deeper to understand the necessity of water purification in India.

1. Why water purification is a necessity in India

Based on the result of a water quality test conducted by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) in 2019, all the samples collected from 14 cities failed to meet the required quality parameters. The cities included Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Dehradun, Jaipur, Jammu, Lucknow, Gandhinagar, Bengaluru, Guwahati, Bhopal, Patna, Thiruvananthapuram, and Chandigarh.

The other cities, Shimla, Amravati, Raipur, Ranchi, Bhubaneswar, and Hyderabad, had at least one of the water samples fail the quality test.

Given the water quality result and the fact that many people in India are dependent on tap water for drinking purposes, it does not come as a surprise that safe drinking water is scarce. In fact, 50% of the Indian population does not receive safe drinking water.

Now, there is another set of the population that depends on drinking water filled in water cans. Water cans may seem like the most convenient drinking water option, especially when you are moving into a new city. But you can never be sure of the quality of water that comes in a 20 Litre plastic can. If you have been using water cans or if you still do, you might want to know why water cans are not the ideal drinking water solution in India.

There is one thing that is clear from all of this. We cannot take the drinking water quality problem in India lightly.

If you are someone who has a water purifier at home, you might be thinking that you don’t have to worry about the issue. But guess what? You may have to worry even more because the water you get from regular water purifiers is not perfectly purified. Moreover, you have already spent about ₹20,000 on the device and are still spending more annually to maintain it.

2. Why water purifiers do not purify drinking water as you think they do

If you have purchased a water purifier, you already know how confusing it is to make a decision. And if you haven’t purchased a water purifier, you should know that there are so many varieties of water purifiers available; each with a different filtration system and design. It will probably take you a long time to get the water purifier within your budget as well.

But after you do all this, what if the water purifier does not give you perfectly purified water?

Don’t be shocked. It’s a fact.

Most of the water purifiers will give you either over-purified or under-purified water. You will never get perfectly purified water.

Curious to know why? This is because every water purifier comes with a fixed filtration process. So, when you purchase a water purifier, you are getting a device with a purification process that filters every type of water the same way. It is exactly the same as taking one medicine for all diseases. It just doesn’t work.

If you’re wondering why this matters, here’s what you should know: every area has a different water quality. They will never be the same. In fact, if you are living in an apartment in Bengaluru, the water quality in your place and the water quality in the neighbouring apartment will be different!

If water quality is different everywhere, how can a water purifier with a fixed filtration system purify the water perfectly?

It cannot. (Jaw drop moment)

For the same reason, the water purifiers either give you over-purified or under-purified water. Both are harmful to your health because under-purified water will still contain elements that shouldn’t be consumed and over-purified water will be devoid of essential minerals.

The National Green Tribunal (NGT), in 2020, had asked the government to ban the use of RO water purifiers in areas with less than 500 mg/litre total dissolved solids (TDS). RO water purifiers are those that work with the reverse osmosis process. When used to purify water with low TDS, these water purifiers demineralize the water.

Not purifying water perfectly is just one of the reasons why regular water purifiers won’t cut it. Let’s check out the other reasons below.

3. The roadblocks to purchasing a water purifier

The biggest roadblock anyone who decides to purchase a water purifier comes across is the price of the device. Haven’t you always looked at the price and thought, “Oh my god! Why am I having to spend so much to get drinking water?!”

You will have to shell out about ₹20,000 to get a “good” water purifier. Even then, as we mentioned earlier, you will get a device that either over-purifies or under-purifies the water.

And even if you decide to purchase it, you will probably have to look for EMI options and then finally, the EMI feels like having a monkey on your back all the time. You will also have to pay ₹4,000 to ₹5,000 as the annual maintenance cost (AMC). You will pay this amount expecting the maintenance checks to be done on time. But you will end up waiting for them to respond to your service request. Probably forever.

Moreover, if you are someone who has moved to Bengaluru, Hyderabad, or let’s say, Delhi, for work, you would be staying in a rented apartment or house. That’s what is convenient and affordable to you. In this scenario, why will you have a water purifier that you will have to move every time you shift your apartment?

4. How to get safe drinking water in India without a regular water purifier

By now, you must be clear about three things:

1. Water purification is absolutely necessary in India
2. Getting a regular water purifier does not guarantee perfectly purified water
3. A regular water purifier comes at a high cost along with more hassles

So, how do you access safe drinking water in India without creating a dent in your wallet? You can subscribe to DrinkPrime and get a personalised solution to your drinking water problems.

At DrinkPrime, we don’t make regular water purifiers. We assess the water quality in your area, identify the type of water purification necessary to keep intact the essential minerals, and then offer you a solution.

Here’s the best part, you pay us only for the water you consume! We will take care of the rest — device cost, delivery and installation charges, lifetime maintenance cost, and water quality monitoring every second.

With DrinkPrime, you also get access to the DrinkPrime mobile application. You can use the DrinkPrime app to monitor your drinking water quality, recharge your DrinkPrime and seek support at any time. No hassles. That’s a promise.

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