One of the major problems with RO water purifiers is that it even removes even the essential minerals from water that are required for our body.
A RO water purifier basically removes all the TDS ( Totally Dissolve Solids), be it good or bad. That is why water from the RO water purifier is often tasteless.
Now to get back that taste we need to either stop removing the good particles or add them back at the end of the process.
That is where the TDS controller and Mineralizer come into the picture. The job of both techniques is to make your water more healthy and tasty but both work in different ways. Let’s learn the difference between TDS Controller and Vs Mineralizer in this article.
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What Is A TDS Controller? How Does TDS Controller Works?
Before we learn about a TDS controller, we need to know what exactly TDS is. Right? The full form of TDS is totally dissolved solids.
What that means is the amount of solids that are dissolved into the water is called TDS. Now that TDS can be harmful to soils, viruses, and bacteria or it can be healthy metals like calcium, magnesium, or mineral.
What a typical RO does, is that it removes almost all the dissolved solids from water including the good ones which are not intended.
A TDS controller controls the number of TDS that should be removed from the water. It is a very inexpensive device that mostly comes with high-end water purifiers.
Let us look into the below diagram and understand how a TDS controller really works.
As you can see from the above diagram the TDS controller gets the input water from the RO membrane as well as from the UF filter in the case of the RO+UV+UF+ TDS controller water purifier.
In the case of the RO+UV+ TDS controller water purifier, the TDS controller gets the water from the RO membrane and from the activated carbon filter.
Now the question is why the TDS controllers get water input from two different directions. Well, there is a reason for that.
See, the TDS controller can not create TDS. Right? It can just control the TDS. To control the TDS there should be sufficient TDS in the water. Correct.
The water that the TDS controller is getting from the RO membrane does not have much TDS left. That is why the TDS controller also gets some water from either the activated carbon filter or the UF filter so that there is some amount of TDS available.
The TDS controller then mixes both the purified water ( From RO) and not-so-purified water ( From UF/ Carbon filter) and ultimately outputs the water that has a considerable amount of TDS removed but still it has enough TDS to make water tasty and healthy.
Now the question may come, Is the water coming out of the TDS controller really healthy?
The answer would be NO. The reason is, a TDS controller controls the TDS. But it can not differentiate between good TDS and bad TDS. So water coming out of the TDS controller may have bad elements too. That is why the TDS controller is not the best solution.
And that is the whole reason, manufacturers are using another technology called Mineralizer which is considerably better than using a TDS controller. We will talk about that in the latter part of this article.
We figured out that the TDS controller is not 100% safe, then in what scenario and circumstances we should use a RO water purifier with a TDS controller? We should use a TDS controller only if…
- The TDS level of water is very low
- Does not contain harmful chemicals and metals like lead or arsenic
Please make a note that TDS controllers are often called TDS modulated. Both terminologies is the same. It is just two different marketing terminology
Here is a nice video to understand how a TDS controller works.
What Is A Mineralizer Technology
The purpose of the TDS controller and Mineralizer is the same. But mineralized works in a different and it is much safer than a TDS controller. Safer in terms of safe and purifier water.
Unlike a TDS controller, a mineralizer does not control the TDS, but it adds the required minerals. It basically takes the best possible purifier water from the RO and adds the essential mineral, chemicals, and metals into the water so that it becomes healthy and tasty.
Now let us understand how a mineralizer work in a water purifier.
Here is an image of a mineralizer, in simple terms, water gets into the mineralizer from one adds, and left from the other end after adding the required chemical and minerals.
In technical terms, a mineralizer works on the principle of ionization and electrolysis. In the mineralizer, a low-voltage current always passes through. That does the electrolysis in the incoming water.
During the process the system releases positively charged ions live silver and copper. Both have antioxidant properties and can remove harmful particles.
When both the positively charged ions are released from the purification, it makes the water completely pure and safe to drink.
Now the question is, can mineralizers make water 100% pure?
The answer would be NO. No device that makes water 100% pure. But it is assured that it can make your water at least 99% pure. That is still better than any RO water purifier that can only purify up to 90%.
TDS Controller Vs Mineralizer
Now that we have enough knowledge about a TDS controller and a Mineralizer, it makes sense to put the differences in a tabular form so that it becomes easy for you to choose a certain type of water purifier.
TDS Controller | Mineralizer |
---|---|
Water may not be 100% pure | Water is at least 99% pure |
Chances of bad elements in the water | No chance of any harmful particles |
It controls the TDS | It adds the required mineral, chemicals, and metals |
TDS controller does not get 100% RO water | Mineralizer gets 100% ROO water |
It is just a mechanical device that controls the TDS | A chemical reaction occurs when water passes through the Mineralizer |
A water purifier with a TDS controller is considerably cheaper | A water purifier with a mineralizer is very costly |
Mineralizer Vs TDS Controller. Which one to choose?
My call would be the mineralizer. It can make water almost 100% pure and tasty too. Whereas a TDS controller can not achieve both.
So if you see that the input water TDS is very low and does not contain any harmful particles then you go ahead with a TDS controller.
But in case you are not sure how bad the input water is, it is always better to choose a mineralizer. After all, you should not take a chance when it is pure water.