Gift Your Family Pure Water and Good Health: Your Guide to the Best Water Purifier Jugs, Their Benefits Plus Critical Factors to Consider When Buying One (2021)

The water you drink has a significant impact on your long-term health. In India, you can’t directly drink water from the tap as it still contains several impurities – there could be remains of heavy metals such as lead and mercury, chemicals, and the other major pollutant found is chlorine. Although these may be found in traces, that is enough to cause long-term complications!

A water purifier, therefore, has become an utmost necessity in any Indian household. Although a standard water purifier is recommended, for whatever reason, if you are not able to buy one for your kitchen or you simply don’t want to buy one, you can go with these portable versions of water purifiers that come in the form of water purifier jugs. So, what exactly is this water purifier jug?

As the name indicates, it’s a pitcher that would help you get rid of all those impurities from your drinking water, making it safe for consumption. The best part about this product is its compact size and effectiveness. You can most comfortably carry it around for your long trips, such as a trekking or camping trip, where you don’t get access to clean drinking water. And it could help you save hundreds on those over-priced packaged water bottles!

Now, if you’re convinced of its utility and have decided to get one for yourself or to gift it to that travel-fanatic friend of yours, you must keep several things in mind before choosing one, and we discuss these important points below:

There are several water filtering mechanisms on which these filters can be based on, but we’ll only be covering the most common ones to give you an idea about what you must be looking for! Let us begin:

These work on the principle that tiny impurities can be physically filtered out using a screen, also known as a barrier. These can be used to filter out dust and other particles of size ranging from 0.5 microns (which is invisible to the naked eye) to 5 microns. So, if you will be going with jugs having mechanical filters, it is better to get one which can filter out the smallest particle possible, as obviously, it will be able to filter out the larger ones!

You must have seen the use of activated charcoal in several skincare, healthcare, and even household products as well. That’s because of the effectiveness it brings with it. Activated charcoal is one of the best substances discovered by mankind for the effective removal of impurities and pollutants from a variety of surfaces. This is based on the principle of absorption, and it also works based on particle size and helps get rid of the foul odour from water to a great extent. Activated charcoal is excellent for the removal of magnesium, chlorine, agricultural chemicals, among other smaller sediments.

These are generally what most water filters are based on, as these are highly effective in countering any impurities. The combination of reverse osmosis and UV-filtration is a deadly one (for those microbes and other particles). In reverse osmosis-based filters, unfiltered water is pressurised to parse through a semipermeable membrane (semi-permeable means that only a handful of substances are allowed to pass through), through which impurities are filtered out, and clean water becomes available for drinking. At the same time, UV radiation helps kill harmful bacteria that may be lurking around in the water.

TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) is the primary pollutant in drinking water after it has been filtered. These are impurities having a size of more than 2 microns. TDS levels are measured to identify the quality of water. For instance, TDS levels between 50-150 (in parts per million) tells that the water is excellent for drinking, and the quality of water gets worse as this level increases. Above 300 ppm TDS levels, the quality of water becomes poor, however drinkable to an extent, and above that, water must be purified at all costs before drinking. So before buying a water purifier, you should also first analyse the TDS levels in your home for deciding on the type of filter you want to get.

Based on the points mentioned above, we have curated the best water filter jugs which you can buy in India.

Kent is probably the first brand that comes to mind when you talk about “water purifiers” or “water filters”. This water filter by Kent uses sediment - carbon - alkaline media as filter materials for removing impurities such as chlorine and bring the water to drinkable pH levels, which is 8.5-9.5 (i.e. slightly alkaline) by decreasing the Oxygen Reduction Potential. The dimensions of the product are 300 (L) x 115 (W) x 255 (H) mm, and the material used to make this is food-grade plastic; hence you can rest assured that you would be drinking the finest water from this water filter jug. It comes with a capacity of 3.5 litres, a 1-year warranty, and is available for purchase on Amazon for ₹ 1,664.00.

Brita is an international best-seller brand of some of the best water purifiers you can buy today. This 10 Cup Everyday BPA-Free Water Pitcher by Brita is no different but is on the costlier side. This water filter jug claims to purify even metallic impurities such as mercury, copper, and cadmium, among other common tap water impurities. Also, it comes with an indicator that will notify you once its filter needs replacement. The filter will need replacement after every 40 gallons (approx. 150 litres) or so. Do not forget to see the instructions manual before you start using this product. The dimensions of the product are height 10.47 (H) x 5.59 (W) x 10.94 (L) inches. It can be bought from Amazon for ₹ 7,750.00.

If you’re looking for an affordable water filter jug, then this would be your best bet! This activated carbon-based water pitcher by Watamate, as suggested by its name, uses ADSORP filter technology that uses multi-layer composite activated carbon filtration to bring you clean, drinking water.

Overall, it’s a great product for the office, home, or even outdoors. The cartridge is meant to last for about 60 days (with 5 litres of consumption every day). Its dimensions are 16 x 22 x 27.5 cm, with 2.6 litres capacity, and it’s available for purchase on Watamate for ₹ 1,299.00.

This is another budget-friendly product, which would help you bring water to a healthy, drinkable alkaline level. The Korean bio-ceramic technology used in making this product ensures that you get the purest water for drinking. It regulates the oxygen levels in the water while also providing essential nutrients. The product’s dimensions are 25 x 10 x 10 cm, and you can buy it from Amazon for ₹ 1,599.00.

Along with bringing the water to drinkable alkaline levels, this water filter jug will also help you remove almost every major impurity most efficiently. The filter contains ORP balls, an alkaline bar, ceramic balls, tourmaline balls, and activated carbon balls which all work together to purify and bring you the healthiest, drinkable water. It will help you remove bad odour, impurities, and bad taste of your tap water. It is available on Amazon and can be bought for ₹ 1,930.00.

If you’re looking for a water filter jug with a long-lasting filter, then your search ends here! This Alkaline Antioxidant Jug Filter by Biocera claims to help you flush acidity in your body by reducing the ORP of the water while also supplying many essential minerals required by the body which include calcium, potassium, sodium and magnesium. It also contains huge amounts of hydrogen that helps remove activated oxygen, which is considered harmful for the body. Now comes the best part, a single cartridge can filter out almost 4,000 litres of water, so it’s a great buy if you’re looking for a long-lasting filter. Its dimensions are 29.2 x 28 x 12.6 cm, and it’s available for purchase on Amazon for ₹ 4,448.00.

This water purifying jug is almost an all-round product, which comes with numerous benefits and specifications. To begin with, it uses patented HaloPure technology, which purifies water in 3 steps. Its cartridge can filter approx. 375 litres of water, and would last about 100 days from the first day of use. The jug can hold about 6 regular-sized cups of water at once. It also comes with an indicator to tell you about the time when the filter has worn out, and you need to buy a new one. This Astrea water filter jug can be purchased from Seniority for ₹ 1,999.00.

All the products as mentioned above are portable ones only; however, if you want something even more portable such as a water bottle that can also filter out water for you, which you can fit in the side pocket of your backpack, here are some suitable options:

This might just be the best portable water purifying product available in the market! The reusable water purifier bottle by LifeStraw claims to remove up to 99.99% impurities, including E. coli, Giardia and Cryptosporidium oocysts, and many other waterborne contaminants, and the lowest sized particles that it can filter out are 0.2-micron particles. The filter comes with a filtration capacity of about 1,000 litres, after which the filter will itself stop taking in any water. However, the carbon activated capsule is meant to last for about 100 litres only. So, it is advisable to keep filters ready beforehand. This 650 ml capacity water filter bottle can be purchased from Amazon for ₹ 1,950.00.

And saving the best for the last, another fantastic product from the house of LifeStraw; this portable water purifier will especially come in handy for those of you who are always out for exploring nature! You can fit this filter even in your pocket! Using this, you can drink water from even rivers and reservoirs. This product is being used worldwide for providing cleaning water in places where there is no availability of drinking water. You can buy this compact and portable water filter on Amazon for ₹ 1,290.00.