Many people rely on filters to keep their water clean and healthy, and while we trust these filters to work, many of us wonder if they truly do work for as long as intended. Companies like ZeroWater have thought this through and have come up with a solution: a TDS indicator. Many ZeroWater filters come with a free gift of a TDS indicator that allows us to check our water quality, but many of us have never used a TDS indicator before, so how does the ZeroWater filter indicator work?
As a general rule, the ZeroWater indicator works by measuring the TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) in your water. This tells you how clean, or purified, your water is. By removing the cap, turning it on, and sticking it under the water, your indicator will check your water’s TDS.
TDS indicators are a great way to ensure that your water is healthy without guessing or relying on a company’s word-of-mouth. Keep reading to learn more about ZeroWater filter indicators and how exactly they work.
Related article: Does Zero Water Filter Remove Fluoride? Uncover the Truth
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How Do ZeroWater Filter TDS Indicators Work?
A TDS indicator, sometimes called a TDS meter, is a device that is small enough to fit in your hand. It works by measuring the purity of your tap water. TDS stands for Total Dissolved Solids and is the amount of organic or non-organic matter floating in your tap water.
Organic matter refers to pesticides and herbicides, while non-organic matter refers to metals, non-metals, and radiological contaminants. These organic and non-organic particles must be removed from your water, as you don’t want to be drinking pesticides, herbicides, mercury, lead, or other harmful particles.
The indicator uses the conductivity of the water created by the ionized solids, such as salt and other minerals, to determine the water’s total dissolved solids in parts per million (ppm).
Watch this video on how the ZeroWater filter works.
How Do You Use Your ZeroWater Indicator?
To use a TDS indicator, you remove the cap, turn it on, and then place it into the water. If you are measuring the water inside your filter, many pitchers have a clip to hold onto the indicator, allowing you to measure the water hands-free.
Once your ZeroWater TDS indicator has measured the water, simply hit the lock button on your indicator to freeze the measurement so it doesn’t go away after removing the indicator from the water.
In the case of your ZeroWater filter, if your water measures 006, it is time to replace your filter.
Your ZeroWater filter indicator can be used to measure the tap water before filtering it and to measure the water after you have filtered it. Measuring before and after you filter your water will tell you exactly how pure your water was, to begin with, and how pure it becomes after filtering it with your ZeroWater filter. This is an excellent method to learn how much your filter actually filters from your water without educated guesses.
In case you’re wondering, Brita has a filter indicator on their pitcher filters. and PUR pitcher filters have a filter indicator, too.
What is a Healthy TDS Level to Have?
Reading your water’s TDS level is great, but if you don’t know what the readings mean, then it isn’t very helpful at all.
| TDS Level | Drinkability |
| 0 | The standard for bottled water |
| 50-150 | Excellent for drinking water |
| 150-250 | Good for drinking water |
| 250-300 | Fair for drinking water, but not the best |
| 300-500 | Poor and should be avoided |
| Above 1,000 | Possibly dangerous to drink |
According to the FDA, the average tap water measures around 500 ppm. This includes many gunky things that may be floating around in the water, depending on where you live, such as lead, chlorine, or fluoride. For a manufacturer to bottle water, they must filter the water down to 000 to 001 parts per million before it can be sold and consumed by you at home.
The FDA has determined a dangerous level of total dissolved solids is anything above 1,000 ppm. This is the point where your water becomes dangerous and undrinkable. Your TDS levels should never reach 1,000 ppm. If they do, stop drinking your water immediately and contact your local water provider for further instructions.
A ZeroWater filter filters your water down to 000 to 001 ppm, enough to be considered bottled water. For reference, the average filter purifies water to approximately 200 ppm. In the case of your ZeroWater filter, if your indicator reads 006 ppm or more, ZeroWater recommends replacing your filter.
The Benefits of Using Your ZeroWater Indicator
If you’ve never used a TDS indicator before, you may not realize the benefits of using one.
A great benefit of using a TDS indicator is something we’ve mentioned before: you won’t have to take a company’s word for it. You can measure exactly how much their filters filter out of your water, ensuring you are drinking clean water. This can give some people peace of mind about their drinking water, especially if vulnerable people, such as children and the elderly, are going to be drinking the water as well.
Another great benefit is that a TDS indicator allows you to periodically “check-up” on your water quality without relying on a calendar-based method. This means that instead of remembering exactly when you purchased or replaced your filter and counting down the days until you have to replace it again, you can simply measure your water’s quality to know when your filter needs to be replaced. This is a more accurate way to ensure that your water quality is always the best that it can be without worrying about whether you’ve used your water filter more or less calendar period and how that may affect its performance nearing the end of the marked calendar period.
Conclusion
It can be important to filter your tap water to avoid all of the gunk floating around in it, but it can also be important to know exactly what your water’s TDS is reading. TDS indicators are a simple-to-use yet vital part of maintaining healthy drinking water.
Simply take the end cap off, turn it on, and dip it in your water to measure your water’s total dissolved solids. Doing this can give you peace of mind that your water is truly healthy, allowing you more time to relax and less worrying.
Read my other articles about ZeroWater filters:
Do ZeroWater Filters Remove Chlorine?
Do ZeroWater Filters Remove Fluoride?
Do ZeroWater Filters Remove Hardness?
Do ZeroWater Filters Remove Lead?