All guides
Water touches more than what comes out of your tap. These guides cover what “clean” actually means, what’s really in Indian water supplies, and — once that’s clear — how to treat it. Published one at a time, each to the same standard, brand-agnostic throughout.
Understanding your water
- 01Water quality
TDS levels explained: what's safe, what's too low
What TDS actually measures, the BIS and WHO limits, and why water that's too pure isn't a good thing either.
- 02Water quality
Fluoride, arsenic, nitrate: what's actually in your water
A region-by-region look at India's groundwater contaminants and what each one does to you.
- 03Testing
How to actually test your water
TDS meters, lab tests, and strip kits — what each one tells you, what it can't, and when you need which.
- 04Sources
Municipal, borewell, or tanker: why your source matters
The same city can have three completely different water problems depending on where your water actually comes from.
- 05Water quality
Why your tap water smells like chlorine, and if that's a problem
Why municipal supply is chlorinated on purpose, when the smell means too much, and what disinfection byproducts actually are.
- 06Water quality
Rust-coloured or metallic-tasting water: what's actually going on
Iron and manganese in groundwater and old plumbing — a nuisance more often than a health risk, and what actually clears it.
- 07Health
Typhoid, cholera, jaundice: how contaminated water actually makes you sick
What each disease is, how water transmits it, the symptoms that mean it's time for a doctor, and why monsoon is when this all spikes.
- 08Water quality
Lead and heavy metals in drinking water: what to actually worry about
Old plumbing, industrial runoff, and why lead gets treated differently from iron or manganese.
- 09Water quality
Pesticides and industrial contaminants: the pollution BIS testing doesn't always catch
Fluoride and arsenic occur naturally. This is the contamination that comes from farms and factories instead.
- 10Sources
Is harvested rainwater actually safe to drink?
Increasingly mandated in Indian cities for recharge — but drinking it straight is a different question.
- 11Health
How to actually report contaminated water in India
Jal Jeevan Mission, state pollution control boards, RTI for water quality data — the real complaint routes, not a generic helpline number.
Treating your water
- 12Choosing a technology
RO vs UV vs UF: which one your water actually needs
The three technologies do different jobs. Here's how to tell which combination fits your water, based on TDS and source.
- 13Alternatives
Purifiers that work without electricity
Gravity-fed UF, boiling, and what actually holds up during long power cuts.
- 14Maintenance
When to change every filter in your purifier
Sediment, carbon, RO membrane, UV lamp — each wears out on a different schedule. Here's the real one.
- 15Maintenance
How to clean your purifier's tank and housing
A proper cleaning routine for the parts filter changes don't cover.
- 16Troubleshooting
My purifier is doing something weird — troubleshooting by symptom
Slow flow, red lights, bad taste, leaks, constant dripping. Find your symptom, find the cause.
- 17Buying
How to actually choose a purifier, brand aside
Capacity, storage vs tankless, mounting — the decisions that matter more than the logo on the box.
- 18Buying
What a purifier really costs over 3 years
AMC pricing, filter costs, and the water and electricity a purifier quietly uses.
- 19Hard water
Hard water, explained: what it is and whether you need a softener
Hardness isn't the same problem as high TDS, and RO isn't always the right fix for it.
Myths & misconceptions
- 20Myths
Does RO water strip out minerals you need?
Separating the real science from the mineraliser add-on upsell.
- 21Myths
Does boiling remove everything harmful from water?
It handles what's alive in your water. It does nothing to what's dissolved in it — and that gap is where most confidence goes wrong.
- 22Myths
Is bottled water actually safer than purified tap water?
What the BIS standard for packaged water does and doesn't guarantee, and when bottled is genuinely the better call.