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Difference Between RO and UV Water Purifiers

Perhaps the only major difference between these two water purifiers is that a reverse osmosis purifier removes the dissolved solids in the water where as a UV does not.

Both the systems are equally effective at killing the bacteria and parasites in the water. However, the RO water purifier will also remove the dead bodies of these parasites where as a UV purifier will simply kill them, make them inert and the water safe for drinking.

The advanced reverse osmosis water purification systems also use UV along with RO to be more effective at killing the bacteria and parasites. This is because UV is thought to be more effective at eliminating more kinds of pathogens than just the RO filtration system.

The RO membrane can also develop small tears that can allow some bacteria to get through. The UV addition should take care of that possibility as well.

So the only job that a reverse osmosis water filter effectively does differently from the ultraviolet water purifier is that it removes the dissolved solids like calcium magnesium, copper, lead, cadmium etc.

Ultraviolet water filters usually comes with sentiment and active charcoal filter attachments. The sediment filter is capable of catching all the bigger dust particles as such as silt and rust whereas the active activated charcoal removes solvents like chlorine, organic compounds, bad odour, bad taste and many other solvents. These filters combined with the treatment through UV give the water that is largely safe to drink. The only exception is if you have dissolved the toxins in your water supply which the ultraviolet water filter will not be able to remove.

The question arises that does your water supply have any toxic solids dissolved in it? If you are drawing from an underground water supply or an old well or from a turbid surface water supply, yes you need a reverse osmosis system to purify the water as it may contain harmful dissolved solids.

It’s highly recommended that a well water supply be run through an RO water filter.

When the sales people come to your house, they carry a TDS meter and they will test the TDS of your regular water supply. One automatically believes that high TDS means that there are a high degree of dissolved impurities in the water. TDS does not imply impurities, although it can. And even if it is just salts, a higher limit than 500 is not recommended both according to Indian and US authorities.

Usually surface water sources should not contain excessive toxins. Underground water sources will absorb whatever minerals or compounds the water passes through from the layers of soil and rock above it. But the fact is that the surface water resources are also getting highly polluted due to industrial waste, human waste, pollution and general misuse.

Therefore, the high TDS levels may not just be from salts but also from all these undesirable sources. Underground water sources can also get contaminated and also naturally contain higher levels of iron, sulfur etc. This is one of the primary reasons why people prefer to use an RO water purifier today in their homes.

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