In recent years, the topic of Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) in drinking water has sparked many debates online. Some articles and social media posts claim that drinking water should fall within a certain TDS range, and that low-TDS water is harmful because it lacks essential minerals.
But how accurate are these claims? To understand the reality, it is important to look at what official health organizations and water quality standards say about TDS. Let’s explore!
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) refers to the total amount of dissolved substances present in water, including minerals such as calcium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium, along with salts, heavy metals, and other dissolved compounds.
Higher TDS values often indicate the presence of more dissolved minerals or salts, while low TDS water contains fewer dissolved solids. Water treated through purification processes such as Reverse Osmosis (RO) typically has lower TDS because the process removes a high proportion of dissolved solids, often around 90–95%, depending on the source of water and membrane performance. However, a key point many people overlook is that TDS is primarily used as a water quality indicator, not as a direct measure of health safety.
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) levels can influence both the taste and mineral content of drinking water. Understanding the typical TDS ranges can help clarify what is considered comfortable for drinking water.
Common TDS Ranges and What They Mean
The World Health Organization (WHO) does not set a minimum health-based TDS requirement for drinking water. In its Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality, TDS is discussed mainly in terms of taste and palatability, rather than health risk.
According to WHO:
In India, drinking water quality is guided by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). The BIS standard recommends 500 mg/L as the acceptable limit for TDS in drinking water, mainly to ensure good water quality and taste.
Most importantly, BIS does not specify a minimum TDS level for health. This means water with lower TDS is not considered unsafe.
As pointed above, low TDS simply indicates that the water contains fewer dissolved minerals, it is not the sole factor that determines whether water is healthy to drink. Most of the essential minerals required by the body, such as calcium, magnesium, and potassium, are obtained primarily through food rather than drinking water; water cannot be considered a primary source of required minerals.
For individuals with a balanced diet, drinking water with relatively low TDS is generally not considered harmful from a health perspective.
TDS is mainly used to evaluate taste, palatability, and overall water quality, not as a strict health parameter.
In general, modern water purifiers have mineral filters which add back good minerals back into the purified water which also enhances the taste of water apart from increasing the TDS. Several A. O. Smith water purifiers feature mineral enrichment technology that adds essential minerals back to purified water, helping improve taste while maintaining safe drinking water quality.
Nowadays, water purifiers are designed to improve overall water quality while maintaining a safe and pleasant drinking experience. A. O. Smith continues to be a dependable choice for households looking for reliable and high-quality drinking water solutions. It offers a range of RO water purifier models suitable for borewell/tanker water with TDS>250 ppm, along with a range of UV water purifier options designed municipal water, TDS<250 ppm.
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