What Is TDS?
Water containing dissolved minerals and salts doesn’t taste or look right. The dissolved minerals and salts are also known as total dissolved solids (TDS).
TDS in water refers to dissolved ions level in water. These ions include calcium, potassium, magnesium, sodium, and nitrates, and they occur naturally in water after filtering through bedrock and soil. Although a certain level of TDS in water is normal and beneficial, increasing TDS levels beyond what should accumulate naturally cause problems.
Why Is TDS Measurement Necessary?
The best way to understand your drinking water quality is through water TDS levels measurement. Total dissolved solids are organic and non-organic sediments found in water, contributing to water’s taste, odor, and appearance. Sources of TDS in water include old piping, fertilizers, pesticides, and run-off from road salts.
When Are Total Dissolved Solids A Problem?
When total dissolved solids become a nuisance, they become a problem. Low TDS levels in water make water corrosive to metal piping and fixtures, causing corrosion byproducts that make water have a bitter or off-taste. In addition, it also indicates high levels of trace metals leached from home piping or aquifer. High TDS levels in water give the water a salty taste while eroding the metal piping in your home and causing a premature failure of your appliances.
Although a high concentration of total dissolved solids in water is not a health hazard, it is a secondary drinking water standard. Therefore, regulating TDS is more aesthetic than it is a health hazard.
Elevated TDS levels in water indicate that the concentration of dissolved ions causes water corrosion and a salty or brackish taste, resulting in scale formation and decreasing efficiency of water heaters. Furthermore, elevated TDS levels suggests that the water contains ions above primary and secondary drinking water standards. These ions include arsenic, nitrate, copper, lead, and aluminum.
How Does High TDS In Drinking Water Affect Your Health?
Elevated TDS levels affect water’s taste; however, they are not harmful to human health. Nevertheless, TDS levels above 500ppm need further investigation for heavy metals and toxic particles, while TDS levels above 1000ppm are unsafe for consumption. When considering your health, the type of dissolved solids in water is more essential than the amount of the contaminants. Using a home water test kit or laboratory analysis, you can test your water for harmful substances like lead, pesticides, and herbicides.
How To Remove TDS In Water
Specific water treatment systems effectively reduce or remove TDS from water even if the TDS level is higher than 500ppm. Although there are several useful filtration systems for removing TDS in water, depending on its type, reverse osmosis systems, deionization, and water distillers are more comprehensive for removing a majority of TDS in water
Reverse Osmosis
The reverse osmosis (RO) system is a comprehensive filter for removing contaminants. The system pushes water through a semipermeable membrane using pressure. In addition, the membrane has tiny pores for blocking contaminants, including total dissolved solids, while allowing clean water to flow through to the other side.
The Waterdrop 800GPD Tankless RO System with UV Sterilizing Light
The G3 P800 reverse osmosis (RO) filtration system has powerful 3-stage filters and a water scale inhibitor for preventing water scale build-up. In addition, with its improved 7-layer RO membranes, the system effectively reduces water contaminants, including chlorine and heavy metals.
Water Distillation
Distillation is a water purification method mimicking natural purification through atmospheric water evaporation. Water distillers eliminate total dissolved solids and water contaminants by converting water to steam – TDS cannot convert to steam, unlike water. Afterward, it is free of contaminants when the water converts to liquid.
Conclusion
Although TDS in drinking water is not harmful to your health, concentrated levels of the contaminants are not safe for consumption. You can employ water purification methods like reverse osmosis and distillation to make your water contaminant free.