TDS testing of Romanian water

I recently published a short trying to summarize some TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) measurements of drinking water in Romania, more precisely in Iasi. Since the video was cut by TikTok to some less relevant bits, it became necessary to (re)publish the results here.

Varianta în limba română pe FaṭăCarte Meta Zamolxis.

• What is TDS, what and how it measures
• The different kinds of water at my disposal and their test results
• I discuss various water filtration options and provide a playlist of video reviews from others

I linked the Youtube (yt-playlist) and TikTok (tk2) below; they’re identical, except that Youtube didn’t allow Agua de Beber as background music.

I bought a while back a “TDS meter” (from Temu) and couldn’t wait to test it. I also looked at a number of water filtration solutions on quite a few websites but I ended up buying a rather expensive Brita OnTap filter from Kaufland. When time came to replace the filter it came with, I bought a new filter (only 21 RON) and decided that now is the time to test all the different kinds of water I use, including the old and new filter. TDS is approximated based on electrical conductivity, and for these units, it is typically half that value.

I started by buying distilled water, also from Kaufland. Brand “Simplu” is 2,59 RON for 1L or 5,99 for 5L, whereas “AquaXpert” is 8,79 for 2L with the guarantee max 50 uS/cm, where “uS” stands for microSiemens, while ppm can also be expressed in mg/L; I chose Simplu 1L.

I also had some “Profi / Azuga (Parcului 2)” water I used to buy before purchasing the filter at 2 RON for 5L.

I got these results, the temperature being 29-30C or 84-85F (I might make a proper video out of the outtakes later):

1. Distilled (“demineralized”) water – 13ppm (26 uS/cm)
2. Tap water (Iasi, Pacurari, old pipes) – 229ppm (EC 458)
3. Profi Azuga “mineral” water – 143ppm (EC 286)
4. Brita old filter K3X06 – 221ppm (EC 442)
5. Brita new filter K3712 – 224ppm (EC 448)

I left the tap running for quite a bit before testing it, but then again Brita (as well as other similar filters) are known to NOT reduce TDS significantly (gc-brta). The best water filtration system for home use is a RO (reverse osmosis) system, but that is not an option for me as it is not portable. The OnTap filter is a better choice for me as it is simpler, more convenient and more portable and, theoretically, since it’s based on water pressure rather than gravity, it should allow for better filtration. It is also possible to purchase a distillation station but that is more expensive and distilled water might not be so well tolerated by one’s body, nevermind the lack of portability.

I made a YT playlist of a few reviews (from others) that might be of interest.

Sources / More info: tk2, brita-ro, brt-fltrs, altx-brt, amzn-pur, gc-brta, cnt-0brta, mnt-brta, wfg-brta, sp-brtvsaqf, tg-b8, rd-aqf, bbcgf-10bj, w-brita, aqf-kpou, cr-wfbg, cr-wf24, wrc-bwfp, wrc-busf, ghk-12bwfp, rs-6bwfp, brt-fqk, bdh-brtclal, rtrs-brtclal

zamo, apa OLD, #apa, water OLD, #water, filtrare OLD, #filtrare, water filter OLD, #water filter, water filtration OLD, #water filtration, ro OLD, #ro, reverse osmosis OLD, #reverse osmosis, osmoza inversa OLD, #osmoza inversa, brita OLD, #brita (Tags)