Non-Electric Storage

Purity Not Guaranteed in All Brands

BA water purifier is meant to remove the most common impurities found in drinking water including bacteria, chlorine, heavy metals (such as mercury, copper, and lead), pesticides and herbicides. There is no overstating the importance of choosing a suitable water purifier and the various safety issues that accompany it. Lower initial costs, reasonably good performance and overall convenience have ensured that the non-electric storage-type, chemical-based water purifiers remain a popular choice, despite factors such as varying degrees of efficiency in terms of output water, cost of refill/cartridge and annual maintenance support. It was time for ConsumerVoice to assess the cost–utility–effectiveness parameters of these vital fixtures in today’s homes. ased on the regular selling brands across the country, we conducted comparative testing (CT) of 10 popular brands of non-electric storage water purifiers. We developed the test programme including some key tests as per the guidelines based on relevant Bureau of Indian Standards. The testing was conducted as per standard test methods and also as per the claims of the brands and other related requirements applicable to the product for testing. Apart from the essential general efficiency and chemical tests, the purifiers underwent two critical tests for turbidity and E. coli to judge them on physical and microbial safety. All types of water purifiers are expected to effectively remove the physical and microbial impurities/ contaminations from the input challenge water so

that users are assured of safe and potable drinking water during the rated life/effectiveness period. The designated test laboratory conducted the various tests on masked and coded samples. Bureau of Indian Standards has laid down specifications for ceramic water filter candles for drinking water vide IS: 7402 – 1986 (amended from time to time). These filters remove suspended matters and bacteria but are not expected to filter dissolved solids or chemicals. Note that interpretation of results is based on IS: 10500 specification for drinking water. These days there are various other categories of water filters/purifiers that incorporate latest technologies of UV (ultra violet) and R/O (reverse osmoses), whereby a large number of impurities and undesirable minerals, solids and other permanent impurities can be removed, particularly by R/O system. Bureau of Indian Standards had some years back introduced the Indian standard for water purifiers incorporating UV technique in IS: 14724: 1999.