9/18/2024

A good way to measure whether or not your drinking water is safe is by checking its TDS levels. It usually tells you the amount of dissolved solids your water may have, due to it being passed through pipelines that might carry inorganic salts or organic materials like minerals, metals, cations, etc. However, safe TDS levels don’t always guarantee that you’re drinking safe water, as TDS doesn’t differentiate between harmless minerals and harmful contaminants. This blog will dive into this in-depth, and talk about health implications of water with different TDS levels. What is TDS? The full form of TDS is Total Dissolved Solids. It is a measure of the dissolved content in water including inorganic as well as organic substances like minerals, metals, cations, or anions, due to the source where water comes from, such as agricultural and residential places. Understanding TDS and Drinking Water Safety Water with an extremely high TDS level of around 1000 ppm is generally considered unsafe for drinking. This is because it can lead to health problems due to the presence of toxic ions and chemicals like sodium, chlorides, potassium, lead, nitrate, etc. Safe TDS Levels for Drinking Water Safe tds in drinking water is neither too low, nor too high. Water with TDS level between 50-150 ppm is generally considered the safest for drinking, with safety ranking down as the level gets between 150-300, with 300 ppm being the maximum TDS for drinking water. However, it’s not till the TDS level gets higher than 300 ppm that the water is considered poor in quality. The Limitations of TDS Measurements Although TDS measurements are good for giving insight into the status of water and whether or not it is safe from harmful contaminants, it doesn’t tell you whether there is a specific health-related risk in consuming the water. It doesn’t give much information about the hardness, metal content, or salt content, as well as the bacterial quality of the water. To solve this, it’s recommended to get a comprehensive water quality test to be completely sure that your water is safe for consumption. TDS and Water Contaminants Contaminants that lead to high TDS in water can be biological, chemical, or physical: Biological contaminants: These consist of viruses, bacteria, protozoa, and parasites Physical contaminants: These consist of pesticides and fertilizers from agriculture that can add dissolved salts and chemicals Chemical contaminants: These consist of salts, and heavy metals like lead, mercury, etc. Is Low TDS Water Harmful? Although water with low TDS is considered safer than water with high TDS levels, it can also be harmful to your health. This is because water with a TDS below 50 ppm indicates that it doesn’t contain minerals like calcium, magnesium, and potassium which are essential for your health. Health Implications of Low TDS Water Water with low TDS can lead to health problems like: Digestive problems such as constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, or even heart disease. Cooking with low TDS water can cause weakness, muscle cramps, loss of appetite, numbness, abnormal heart rhythm, etc. It is more prone to drain metals like copper from water pipes. Misconceptions and Facts about TDS and Water Safety There are many misconceptions when it comes to TDS and water safety, such as: Low TDS implies better water quality Water with an extremely low TDS doesn’t contain minerals that are important for your health. High TDS implies poor water quality While there are unsafe TDS levels that make water very unsafe for daily consumption, some may contain minerals like calcium, magnesium, or potassium, that are good for your health. Is 25 TDS safe for drinking water? Water with TDS level of 25 is considered low. While it might be considered a safe TDS for drinking water, it might lack minerals that are required for your health. This can also impact the taste of the water, although both factors also depend on the source of the water. Is 100 TDS water is good for health? Yes, according to the World Health Organisation, water with TDS levels between 50-300 ppm is said to have excellent water quality and is considered safe for drinking. Proper Assessment of Drinking Water Safety Safety of drinking water is checked with the help of a comprehensive risk assessment and risk management approach. To test the microbial quality of the drinking water, a bacteria called Escherichia coli is checked to see if it has any fecalfaecal elements. Similarly, in order to testtes the chemical quality, tests are conducted to analyze for TDS, bacteria, viruses, heavy metals, and other such contaminants. It’s important to know where your water comes from and what kind of treatment it undergoes. How to Check Water Safety Water safety can be checked in many ways: By assessing the colour, smell, and taste of the water Check the amounts of dissolved calcium and magnesium in water See whether there’s a cloudiness, foam, or any floating particles in your water Simply boil your water, and once it gets back cold, touch the bottom of the container to see if it has any particles Conclusion TDS level of water might give a lot of insight about its quality, but it doesn’t tell you whether your water is safe. Safe TDS level ranges between 50-300 ppm, under which water is safe for everyday drinking. Where a high TDS might imply that the water is contaminated, water with extremely low TDS is usually devoid of healthy minerals, rendering both unsafe. By understanding safe TDS levels of water, and the fact that it doesn’t guarantee safe drinking water, you can protect your health and well-being.