An elixir of life, you cannot survive without water. But you cannot consume just any water. It needs to be safe to drink, be odorless, and sweet to drink. Unfortunately, the water we receive barely meets any of the standards. We need to treat it to make it potable or fit for consumption.
For it, the water is tested for several contaminants and steps taken to eliminate each contaminant. One such pollutant indicator is the water TDS. Here, we would understand what exactly a TDS is and how it impacts potability.
What is Water TDS?
Water TDS or Total Dissolved Solids refers to the total concentration of all the dissolved solids in water. It comprises all inorganic salts and organic matter. Primarily it includes all inorganic salts and some organic matter which gets dissolved in water.
Under the inorganic salts umbrella, you find cations or positively charged ions, along with anions or negatively charged ions as carbonates, nitrates, chlorides, bicarbonates, and sulfates of calcium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium.
These contaminants are often larger than 2 microns and cannot be eliminated by simple filtration including a very fine filter. These contaminants impact the taste of water. Moreover, they also pose a severe health risk and make the water unfit for drinking or other human consumption needs.
The organic dissolved contaminants found in drinking water might include algae, bacteria, fungi, hair, herbicides, pesticides, fertilizers, disinfectants, pharmaceuticals, etc.
Why is TDS present in water?
Water is hailed as a universal solvent since it can effortlessly dissolve and absorb molecules from various sources and substances. Because of this solvent characteristic, the soluble particles get dissolved in it whenever encountered.
Now, water reaches us from various sources like mountains, springs, rivers, lakes, etc. Minerals and other dissolved substances present in water come from both natural and man-made sources. For instance, spring water has plenty of minerals, and while flowing over rocks, they tend to absorb all the organic salts present.
Apart from it, sewage, urban-run-off, chemicals used in water treatment, industrial wastes, etc., dissolve in water and render it a TDS value, measured in ppm or parts per million.
Need & importance of measuring TDS value of water
A high TDS value need not automatically indicate a health hazard. For instance, mineral water has a naturally high content of dissolved solids. In fact, a low concentration of TDS gives water a flat taste, which most people do not like.
Most often, the presence of potassium, sodium, and chlorides increases the TDS level of water. But the presence of toxic ions like lead, arsenic, etc., can cause serious health issues, not to mention organic contaminants like viruses, fungi, and bacteria.
The TDS level of water is a strong indicator of whether it is fit for human consumption. As a rule, a high TDS value of water is a strong indicator of:
- High concentration of dissolved ions, particularly calcium, magnesium, etc., makes the water brackish or salty to taste, lends it a hardness level that leads to scale formation, decreases the efficiency of water heaters, etc.
- Elevated levels of secondary ions like that of lead, arsenic, nitrate, aluminium, etc., can pose serious health concerns.
All this impacts your health and significantly changes the taste of water to render it even unpalatable and risky to drink. It might also be unfit for cooking as it would alter the taste of food. Likewise, it would leave ugly stains on your utensils and clothes and a nasty buildup on your sinks, faucets, and any place exposed to that water.
Hence, it’s important to measure and know the TDS value of water. Simultaneously, it is critical that any water sample is tested thoroughly and analysis is done of the salts and dissolved solids that are imparting it the TDS value. The harmful contaminants need to be eliminated by various procedures like filtration, purification, distillation, deionization, boiling, etc.
The most popular way of getting the desired TDS value for household consumption is the RO purifiers that significantly reduce it. But the TDS value and the extent to which an RO purifier can decrease it plays a crucial role in nailing the right purifier.
Acceptable TDS level of water
We are still vague about what TDS value of water is safe for drinking and human consumption. The TDS value decides the potability of the drinkability of water.
A TDS value ranging from 50-150 is considered potable or best for drinking. A value ranging from 150-250 is considered good, while a value between 250-300 is considered fair. TDS value between 300 to 500 is rated as poor, while anything above 1200 is considered unfit for human consumption.
A TDS value of less than 50 is also unacceptable as it lacks all essential minerals and gives a flat taste.
Wrapping up
A high TDS value can be both healthy and unhealthy. Finding its value using a TDS meter and getting an analysis of water test to find out the exact nature of dissolved inorganic and organic solids would indicate if the water is fit for consumption and the best path of treatment to make it fit for consumption.
