Water is the elixir of our lives and our survival depends on it. Unfortunately, water is soon becoming a scarce commodity and scientists warn of disasters of epic proportions, if we fail to save water.
Besides water scarcity, another major issue faced by today’s world is its contamination. It is hard to get ‘pure drinking water’ these days and we all know that 80 per cent of the diseases, infections, allergies are waterborne.
How Pure Is Your Water?
The purity of water is often measured by estimating the amount of Total Dissolved Salts (TDS) present in the water. TDS comprises inorganic salts like magnesium, calcium, potassium, sodium, bicarbonates, chlorides and sulfates, besides fluoride, arsenic, chromium, perchlorate, heavy metals, bacteria and viruses, depending on the source.
In these days and times, water has become quite contaminated with the presence of various disease-causing viruses, bacteria and other pollutants than beneficial minerals.
If you are worried how clean is your drinking water, go for a simple TDS testing. It can be done at home with the help of small digital TDS testing meter.
What Is TDS?
Total Dissolved Salts is a concentration of positively charged and negatively charged ions in water and it will provide a general idea about the quality of water for our regular drinking needs.
Total dissolved salts are measured in milligrams per unit volume of water or parts per million (PPM). For drinking water, the maximum concentration level set by The Bureau of Indian Standards is at 500 ppm.
High or Low TDS Affects The Taste:
Water with high levels of TDS around 1000 ppm is considered unfit for human consumption. High levels of TDS are caused due to the presence of potassium, chloride and sodium and toxic ions in larger amounts. It is also undesirable to drink as it may taste salty, metallic or bitter.
Low levels of TDS, 100 ppm may have a flat or diluted taste to it and unpalatable.
How TDS Affects Health:
High levels of TDS means it is unfit for consumption and several diseases like nausea, lung irritation, rashes, vomiting, dizziness etc., Drinking water with elevated amount of TDS for longer periods will expose body to various chemicals, toxins and may cause chronic health conditions like cancer, liver, kidney failures, nervous system disorders, weaken immunity and may also cause birth defects in the new born.
Several studies suggest that consuming water with low TDS may cause mineral leaching from healthy tissues in the body.
What You Can Do?
Test your drinking water to know the levels of TDS. If you have a water purifier at home, change filters periodically.
If you don’t have a water purifier, drink only boiled water. Boiling water kills several viruses and bacteria and can save health from various infections.
