Is it necessary to buy a water purifier? What should I choose if I want to buy one?

Nowadays, many families install water purifiers, thinking that drinking water will be cleaner and more secure.
However, there are some friends who think that tap water is enough for daily use, or worry that the water purifier will not be clean after a long time, or think that it is not as cost-effective as buying bottled water. Backstage to ask us about the water purifier friends are also particularly large, so we will talk about today:Is it necessary to buy a water purifier? To buy, how to choose?
I hope to give you some reference.

01 water purifier is necessary to buy?

Tap water from the factory, the water quality is required to meet GB 5749-2022 ‘drinking water health standards’.
However, after passing through the transmission pipeline, community high-level cisterns, there may be a risk of secondary pollution. Therefore, if you want to for better water quality, water purifier is a good choice.
As for the effect of the water purifier, the use of a long time will not be clean, and barrels of water than which is cheaper, mainly depends on the specific water purifier and the use of the situation, can not be generalised, we will expand in detail below.

02 What are the water purifiers? Which is worth buying?

When it comes to water purifiers, what comes to mind may be such a water purifier:
But in fact, according to the different installation locations of water purifiers, they can be divided into three categories:
Front water purifier, central water purifier/central water softener, end water purifier
1. Front water purifier
The front water purifier is the first filtration of tap water into the home, mainly filtering out some of the large particles of impurities, such as soil, sand, rust, etc..
It can enhance the quality of home water, but also to extend the service life of water-related appliances, is more recommended to install (not directly drinkable). In order to ensure the effect of coarse filtration and avoid affecting the water pressure, the general family choose the accuracy of about 40μm can be. If the water pressure at home is relatively low, you can use 90-100μm or so.
There are many types of pre-filter on the market, if you have the conditions, you can choose the one with backwash + scraping function. You can choose H62 copper spool, 316L stainless steel filter, and BPA-free filter bottle, which will be safer.

2.Central water purifier/central water softener
Central water purifier is in the front of the water purifier on the basis of further filtration of smaller particles, metals, chlorine, bacteria, etc., and at the same time to remove foreign colours and odours. If you want to significantly reduce the hardness of the water, you can also choose a central water softener (neither of which can be consumed directly).
Central water purifiers are generally more expensive, and because they need to purify all the domestic water in the house, the filter replacement cost is also higher.
Generally speaking, only purchase the front and end water purifier, you can meet the daily drinking and other domestic water. If you are particularly concerned about the health of water, you can choose to buy a central water purifier.
If you have more expensive and high-end water-related appliances or clothes at home, you can choose to install a central water softener.
When choosing a central water softener, you can look at the amount of resin filling, the greater the amount of resin filling is the greater the total amount of water purification. Then look at the flux, the larger the flux is the higher the efficiency of water softening, according to the family's situation to choose the appropriate flux, generally 1.5T / h can be.

3. End-of-pipe water purifiers

The end of the water purifier is generally divided into microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration and RO reverse osmosis.
The filtration precision is: RO reverse osmosis > nanofiltration > ultrafiltration > microfiltration.
Among them, the precision of RO reverse osmosis can reach 0.0001 micron. Except for water, most of the other things can be filtered by RO reverse osmosis membrane.
RO reverse osmosis filtered water is normally drinkable, but only after nanofiltration, microfiltration and ultrafiltration filtered water, it is recommended to boil before drinking.
If you need to drink a lot of water in your daily life, it is recommended that you install a RO reverse osmosis end-of-pipe water purifier.
According to the different ways of installation, the end of the water purifier can be divided into under the kitchen, countertop, embedded and so on.
Kitchen installation in the kitchen under the sink, mainly for the usual dishes cooking, the installation is more hidden, it is best to reserve sockets before installation.

Countertop water purifier can be placed on the countertop, easy to move, usually have a heating function, high-end models can also be cooled. However, it can only be used for drinking alone, and cannot be used to filter other living water.
Embedded water purifier and desktop water purifier is similar, but need to reserve the installation position, will be more space-saving. You can choose according to the actual needs of your home.
Generally speaking, if you choose the right water purifier, as long as you change the core on time and clean it in time, you can use it with peace of mind.

03 How to choose a water purifier under the kitchen?

Life said water purifier, said more under the kitchen water purifier, which is also a lot of friends do not know how to choose the place.
Next, we will talk about what to pay attention to when buying a kitchen water purifier from 7 points.
1. Replacement cost
Some manufacturers sell water purifiers cheap, but the cartridge is sold very expensive, earning is the money of the cartridge, before buying must be a good calculation.

2. Rated total water
Rated total net water, refers to the standard test conditions, drinking water treatment devices, water quality, removal rate and water flow rate are in line with the requirements of the water production. The larger the rated total water yield, the more durable the cartridge.
The national standard stipulates that the rated total water purification capacity of grade 1 water efficiency should be greater than or equal to 4000L. when choosing, you can choose a higher one on the basis of 4000L.
3. Flux
Flux represents the maximum amount of water that can be produced in 24 hours without stopping the water purifier. The higher the flux, the faster the water will come out.
However, the higher the flux, the better.
Higher flux, the price will be expensive, sometimes the difference in the time to receive water 1 second, the price may be a thousand difference. For an ordinary family of three, 1000G is enough.
4. Wastewater ratio
Many businesses will advertise their RO reverse osmosis water purifier high wastewater ratio, but in fact, 2:1 is enough.
RO membrane residual material is flushed by the wastewater, wastewater ratio is too high, but will affect the life of the cartridge.

5. After-sales service
As a need for long-term use, and it is difficult to repair their own appliances, if the warranty period is too short, there is a machine failure, water leakage and other problems, each time a few hundred repair money can not help but make people hurt. Therefore, when you buy the best choice of warranty time longer.
6. Bisphenol A
Some manufacturers in order to reduce the difficulty of production, will use PC material, but PC material used as food contact materials will have Bisphenol A risk, endangering the health of pregnant women and children. So when you buy a water purifier, it is best to choose the Bisphenol A test qualified.
7. Stale water
Need to pressurise the water purifier after a period of time, will produce stale water, is not drinkable, so often need to pour out some water before drinking.
0 Stale water purifier solves this problem and is more convenient to use. It is an option if you have enough budget.

04 Which is more cost-effective, end-of-pipe water purifier or bottled water?

Some friends think, now the end of the water purifier is not moving to thousands of dollars per year, but also spend hundreds of dollars to change the cartridge, there will be wastewater is discharged, every day plugged is also very costly, it would be better to directly buy bottled water or to go to the community water vending machine to beat the water to cost-effective.

Let's do some simple maths:
Assuming a family of three, each person's daily demand for drinking water 2L, then the annual water consumption of 2 * 3 * 365 = 2190L.
For example, a barrel of 19L of a brand of bottled water for 22 yuan, a year of water costs about 2540 yuan. If you buy a 3000 yuan water purifier, a year of core replacement costs 500 yuan, a year of electricity costs 0.0584 yuan (according to the 1000G, power 100W, 1 degree of electricity 1 yuan), the cost of raw water 16.425 yuan (according to the wastewater ratio of 2:1, the cost of water 5 yuan a tonne). If it is used for 5 years (the actual service life will be longer), the cost of water in a year is about 1116.48 yuan.
Annual water consumption for a family of three
2L per day x 365 days x 3 persons = 2,190L.
Water Cost of Barrel Water
Water cost per litre: 22 yuan: 19Lx1.16 yuan / L - annual water cost: 1.16 yuan / x 2190L = 2540.4 yuan
Water purifier water cost
① water purifier cost: 3000 yuan of water purifier, according to the use of 5 years to calculate (Note: the actual normal service life will be longer), the cost of 600 yuan a year!
② change the filter cost: 500 yuan a year
③ cost of electricity: a family of three a day water consumption 6L, 1000G water purifier (daily water production 3785L) a day of work 6L: 3785 ≈ 0.0016h, assuming that the power of the water purifier 100W, a year of power consumption 100Wx0.0016hx365days = 0.0584kW-h, according to the calculation of a power of 1 yuan, the yearly cost of electricity for 0.0584 yuan
Raw water costs: 2:1 calculated by the ratio of wastewater, water consumption of 3285L a year, according to the cost of water 5 yuan / tonne (1 tonne of water = 1,000L of water), a year the cost of water for 3.285x5 = 16.425 yuan
In summary, the water purifier water costs for a year 600 + 500 + 0.0584 + 16.425 ~ 1116.48 yuan

As you can see, in the long run, installing a water purifier is not necessarily more expensive than buying bottled water.
And it is also very troublesome to order, wait for and carry water every time.
Community water vending machines, small brands of bottled water, although the cost of water is cheaper, but the quality of water is not good to ask a question mark (community water vending machine whether the timely replacement of filter elements, small brands of bottled water filling hygiene, etc.).
Of course, the above calculation is very rough, the actual situation of each family is different, there will be some error. But you can be based on this idea, their own actual to calculate the cost of water at home, and then a comprehensive decision.


Generally speaking:
If it is a family with high requirements for water quality, and usually more water at home, you can directly choose a water purifier;
If it is a high water quality requirements of the family, but usually stay at home and less, you can calculate the cost of water, and then decide whether to install a water purifier;
If the water quality of the home is better, or the water quality requirements of the family is not high, how to choose depends on the specific needs and personal preferences.
Above is this issue of the water purifier to buy all the content of the proposal, I believe that after reading the friends have their own answers in mind ~ I hope this article can help you, and welcome you to like, share with more friends! Let us enjoy a healthy, pure drinking water life together!