If you are reading this article, then I suppose that you already know how important it is to consume pure water. Water from different sources contains different harmful pathogens which can cause waterborne diseases like typhoid, jaundice, diarrhea, cholera, etc.
Sometimes the TDS level of water that is supplied in your area can be high as it might contain some dissolved heavy metals or chemicals and pesticides. If you consume such water for a long period of time then it can cause serious diseases like cancer or might even damage your organs. And that is why it is important to install a water purifier.
But different water Purifiers come with different purification methods like RO, UV, and UF. So it can be difficult to figure out which purification method can best fulfill your requirements. And that is why we have come up with this article where will be talking about all three types of purifiers(RO, UV, UF) including their pros and cons.
Difference Between RO UV UF Water Purifiers
| RO | UV | UF |
|---|---|---|
| Requires Electricity to operate. | Requires Electricity to operate. | No Electricity required. |
| Kills and Removes all the Bacteria and Viruses from the Water. | Kills all Bacteria and Viruses but their Dead Bodies remain in the Water. | Kills and Removes all the Bacteria and Viruses from the Water. |
| An RO water purifier wastes 2 liters of water for every 1 liter of water it purifies. | It doesn't waste any water to clean it. | It doesn't waste any water to clean it. |
| Removes the Dissolved Toxins. | Doesn't Remove Dissolved Toxins. | Doesn't Remove Dissolved Toxins. |
| Treat the foul odor and taste of the water. | Do not treat the foul odor and taste of the water. | Do not treat the foul odor and taste of the water. |
| Energy consumption is a little high. | Energy consumption is a less. | No energy consumption since it uses standard home water pressure to push water through a semipermeable membrane and remove any contaminants. |
How does an RO(Reverse Osmosis) water purifier work?
The RO water purifier basically uses Reverse Osmosis technology to purify water. So, let us first understand what reverse osmosis is.
Reverse Osmosis is nothing but the exact opposite process of Osmosis. In Osmosis the fluid is transferred from a region with lower density to the region with higher density through a semi-permeable membrane. Exactly opposite of this process, in reverse osmosis the fluid travels from a region with high density to a region with low density using a selectively permeable membrane.
Now the selectively permeable membrane that is used has microscopic pores. These pores do not allow molecules that are larger in size than 0.0001 to pass through them. But water molecules can easily pass through this semipermeable membrane as they are smaller in size than 0.0001 microns. And the size of all the contaminants, dissolved and undissolved organic/inorganic substances is larger than 0.0001 microns. As a result, all of these unwanted/harmful substances are left behind giving you purified water to drink. And this exactly how an RO water purifier works.
Pros
- Many reasons help an RO water purifier to stand out. Firstly, RO water purifiers come with a storage tank. Usually, the capacity of these tanks varies between 6–10 liters. This makes sure you hardly run out of purified water.
- Another important advantage that other types of water purifiers usually lack is removing the dissolved toxins.
- It also eliminates the dead bodies of the killed germs, bacteria, and Viruses this makes your water the safest to drink.
- RO water purifiers nowadays come with a TDS controller which retains all the important nutrients of the water.
Cons
There are basically two disadvantages of an RO water purifier.
- It is not eco-friendly. An RO water purifier wastes 2 liters of water for every 1 liter of water it purifies. However, you can use this water for other household chores instead of wasting it.
- RO water purifiers can not work without electricity and their energy consumption is a little high.
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How does an Ultra Violet(UV) water purifier work?
A UV water purifier purifies the impure water using germicidal ultraviolet light. This ultraviolet light disrupts the DNA of the microorganisms present in the water.
A UV water purifier has a chamber inside which there is a glass quartz sleeve. This glass quartz sleeve contains a UV lamp through which the ultraviolet wavelengths are emitted. The glass quartz sleeve is transparent so whenever the impure water passes through the chamber ultraviolet light enters the chamber and destroys the harmful microorganism. The wavelength of this ultraviolet light is 254nm which enough to destroy the pathogens. As the lamp is inside a glass quartz sleeve, water does not wreck the lamp.
Pros
- The UV water purification method is one of the most reliable methods of purification. It disrupts the DNA of the pathogens present in the water hence ensures that they do not harm you even if they enter your body.
- It purifies the water up to 99.9%
- It uses less electricity and purifies the water instantly unlike the other types of purifiers.
- UV water purifiers are easy to use and easy to maintain
Cons
- They are incapable of removing other dissolved inorganic substances like pesticides, chemicals, arsenic, lead, etc.
- UV water purifiers do not treat the foul odor and taste of the water.
- A UV water purifier does not eliminate the dead microorganism from the water.
How does a UF water purifier work?
A UF water purifier also uses a selectively permeable membrane to purify water and the purification method is similar to the Ro purification process. In UF water purifiers water travels through the semipermeable member with the help of hydrostatic force. Like the semipermeable membranes in RO water purifiers, these semipermeable membranes have infinitesimal pores. These pores can not allow particles larger than 0.025 microns to pass through them.
Hence, the water molecules can pass through these pores as they are smaller in size but other particles like bacteria, macromolecular organics can not pass through the semipermeable membrane.
Pros
- It doesn’t require electricity for its functioning as it works using natural water pressure. Hence, UF purifiers are very cost-effective.
- It is lightweight and is easy to move and its installation is also quite easy.
- UF water purifiers do not waste any water unlike the other types of water purifiers.
- They can also clean muddy and dirty water as they come with two filters which are efficient enough to clean the water.
Cons
- The only drawback of UF water purifiers is that they do not remove dissolved metals and salts. Consumption of these dissolve salts and metals can be harmful to your health.
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RO vs UV vs UF
The RO water purifiers remove all the harmful dissolved solids in the water by separating them from the water as well they kill all the pathogens that can enter your body and cause you harm and provides you 100% safe water for consumption. But there are two disadvantages of using RO water purifiers, firstly they waste a considerable amount of water and are not very energy efficient.
UV purifiers can easily kill harmful bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens present in the water using ultraviolet light but unlike ROs they can not remove the carcasses of these pathogens also, they are not capable of removing the TDS. However, they are more energy-efficient than ROs and have a lower maintenance cost.
Talking about the UF water purifiers, they are somewhat similar to the RO water purifiers but a little less effective as they can eliminate pathogens, macromolecular organics but not the TDS. But they do not use electricity and are cost-effective, also they do not waste the water.
RO vs UV vs UF - Which one to choose?
If we ignore the two drawbacks of RO water purifiers - the high energy consumption and water wastage then it has the best purification method and can provide you with 100% safe water.
However, there are a lot of factors that one should consider before buying a water purifier like the TDS level of the water, source of your water, and contamination level of the water.
You can measure the TDS level of your water using a TDS meter and also can test your water to know the chemical impurities present in it.
But if you still are not sure that which one would best fulfill your requirements you can opt for a purifier that comes with all three purification methods RO+UV+UF. This type of water purifier will give the safest drinking water.
Hope the article helps you to choose the best type of water purifier for your home.