Water is life. Water is needed by our body from digestion to removing toxins. From brain function to joint lubrication, from muscles to cells, from liver to lungs, almost all our body parts are dependent on water for their proper functioning. Upto 60 % human body is made of water. Brain and heart are upto 70 % water. Lungs are 80 % made of water. Despite almost all our body organs primarily being made of water, we still do not pay adequate attention to the water which we drink. Let’s figure with the help of some simple science as to which water is the best for you.
What are the possible reasons for water contamination ?
- Physical contamination, soil, algae, other organic or inorganic particles.
- Chemical contamination, toxins, heavy metals, nitrogen etc
- Biological contamination with bacteria, parasites etc
- Radiological contimination
To get rid of these contimination, we use various methods. Some of these are
- Water filters
- UV
- UF Technology
- Carbon blocks etc
- RO or reverse osmosis which mostly removes all impurities and even minerals from the water
- Boiling
- Solar purification
- Desalination which is used for sea water
We used three methods that are used in common households to test the purity of drinking water
- TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) to test heavy metals and chemicals
- PH tester, to test water acidity and alkaline
- Electrolyser tester
We performed these tests on the following water
- Tap water
- RO water
- Boiled water
- Mineral water
- Added mineral water
TDS experiment
- A normal use, redily available TDS metre needs to dipped in water and held to take the reading
- Result
| Tap water | 121 | Good |
| RO water | 37 | Poor |
| Tap water boiled | 154 | Excellent |
| Bottled water | 36 | Poor |
| RO added mineral water | 66 | Good |
- The result showed that Boiled water was the best to drink, followed by tap water and then added mineral water
PH test
- 3-4 drops of liquid is needed to be added in the water
- After you stir, you’ll notice the colour change almost immediately
- Result
| Tap water | 7.6 | Neutral to alkaline |
| RO water | 6.6-7 | Neutral to slightly acidic |
| Tap water boiled | 9 | Alkaline |
| Bottled water | 6.6 | Acidic |
| RO added mineral water | 7.2 | Neutral to acidic |
Electrolyser test
- You just need to dip the rod in water and leave it for a few seconds, the results will start to show
- Result
| Tap water | Mix of dark blue. Green and touch of yellow | Not good |
| RO water | Dark yellow | Good |
| Tap water boiled | Lighter than tap water | Ok |
| Bottled water | Yellow | Good |
Overall Result
- Boiled water turned out to be the best for drinking (store it in copper or clay pot for best results)
RO water has almost no minerals present