Total dissolved solids, or TDS, is a measurement of all dissolved materials in water, including metals, minerals, compounds, salts, and other elements. Because it is easy, quick, and inexpensive, a TDS test is frequently used by water filtration businesses and homeowners, to evaluate the quality of the water.

But, you may have one question! Why should you measure TDS in water? The results of a TDS test can be used to determine the general quality of your water, and to determine the amounts of dissolved salts or chemicals from industrial waste that are present. Also, you need to check the safe and unsafe levels of TDS in water!

Can we rely on TDS test to determine our water quality?

Remembering that water is an all-purpose solvent that easily takes up and dissolves pollutants is important. Depending on your region and provider, your water may contain a variety of pollutants that a TDS test cannot identify. Because of this, you cannot rely on this test to alert you of specific issues with the quality of your water, such as a salty taste, increased hardness, or corrosiveness.

Also, many water treatment products are designed to address the problems unrelated to TDS, like the elimination of chloramines, therefore it is useless to test the TDS of your water in these circumstances.

Thus, wh?en exactly is it advantageous to analyse the TDS in your water?

To understand more about TDS and to find out the answers to some frequently asked questions about it, keep reading.

What is TDS?

TDS stands for total dissolved solids, which includes both organic and inorganic substances dissolved in water. These mixtures are made up of salts, minerals, metals, and ions. Your drinking water's total dissolved solids come from a number of sources, such as industrial effluent, sewage, plumbing systems, natural resources, urban runoffs, agricultural runoffs, chemical fertilizers, and chemicals that are used in water treatment.

What makes up the total dissolved solids?

The TDS level in water can be either useful or detrimental for human consumption, depending on the types and amounts of chemicals dissolved in it. TDS is composed of a range of salts, metals, minerals, and organic compounds, some of which provide your body with essential minerals like calcium, magnesium, and potassium, in addition to its daily intake of these substances.

Others, like arsenic, cadmium, lead, and nitrate, can be harmful to your health. Furthermore, even though some of these might not be unhealthy, they can impart a salty or bitter flavour to water, and cause issues including scale formation, water hardness, and discoloration. This suggests that diverse components will be present as TDS in different water sources, which raises the following question.

What TDS values in water are regarded as safe and unsafe?

TDS levels may vary based on the source of your water. Depending on the source of your water, TDS levels in tap water can range from 200 to 1000 ppm or even more. In areas with high mineral concentrations, the TDS value of tap water may be much higher.

Activated carbon filters cannot remove TDS, however, water filtration techniques like reverse osmosis can.

TDS concentrations between 200 and 500 are frequently suitable, while values below 500 have not been scientifically connected to any unfavourable health impacts. However, a TDS reading of more than 1000 mg/l may indicate that, your water has dangerously high levels of dissolved solids.

Given that not all TDS concentrations in water are harmful for humans to consume, it is essential to understand the importance of different levels of TDS. The following findings from World Health Organization (WHO) study to determine the appropriate range of TDS levels are:

Remember that water with low TDS levels might taste flat and pleasant, whereas water with high levels can taste sour, salty, or unpleasant.

Why measure the Total Dissolved Solids in water?

Taste and odour: The sort of dissolved solids present determines whether tap water has a salty, bitter, or sulphuric taste. It could also make your water smell unpleasant.               

Cooking: A high TDS water concentration can change the flavour of food. For instance, cooking spaghetti in water with a lot of chlorine might give it a terrible taste.

Cleansing: Dishes and textiles that have been bleached by tap water with a high TDS content, may have unsightly yellow streaks left on them. While, this type of water is flowing in your home or office, it's common to see build-ups in your sinks, faucets, etc.

Plumbing and Appliances: High calcium and magnesium concentrations might result in hard tap water. The pipework may develop scale as a result of these distributed minerals, which will increase the cost of repairs and replacements, and shorten the lifespan of your water heaters.

Health: While, it may not always be unsafe to drink water with higher TDS levels, certain minerals, like lead or copper, can be harmful to your health if consumed in high concentrations on a regular basis.

How is TDS removed by RO Plants?

Reverse osmosis is distinct from standard filtration since it eliminates 99.9% of all pollutants and sediments from water, including Total Dissolved Solids and particles as fine as 0.001 microns. Only clean water can flow through the pressure-generating RO membranes in the system.

To ensure that your water is free of pollutants, it is advisable to get a reverse osmosis filtration system. If you have carbon water filter installed to remove chloramine or chlorine from your city water supply, your filtered water will probably have the same TDS level as your unfiltered tap water.

Therefore, using RO + Activated carbon filtration is done to prevent carbon filtration from handling dissolved particles in water. Thus, adsorption, a process used by carbon filters is used to remove chlorine, chloramines, and VOCs, and also enhancing the flavour and odour of the water.

Conclusion

Unless your water is over the recommended TDS level, you shouldn't be concerned.

It is also crucial to make the appropriate filtering equipment investments, in order to manage the TDS level in your drinking water.

Use our RO Plants to get rid of impurities and TDS!

Use of a RO plant with carbon filters is highly recommended for water purification. The greatest water filtration system must be purchased in order for you, your family, and your employees, students, etc., to have access to clean, secure drinking water.

Our experts at Netsol Water Solutions are available to help you whether you need assistance, choosing the ideal RO Plant for your needs or a high-quality water filter. We offer a contemporary range of commercial and industrial RO Plants in India, with cutting-edge features and technology to suit your requirements.

Get your RO Plants designed and installed from us!

Our RO Plants are ISO certified, BIS approved, and in high demand in the water treatment sector, due to their ability to convert untreated, contaminated water into usable and pure water. To guarantee you get the most out of your equipment, we also offer installation, training, commissioning, and support. For further information or to make a product purchase, contact us at +91-9650608473 or drop a mail at enquiry@netsolwater.com