Total Dissolved Solids
Does The Total Dissolved Solids (TDS)
Affect The Taste Of Water?
Yes. If your water has a
moderate to high total dissolved solids content, it can affect taste.
Taste is very subjective
however, and the ability to taste varies widely from person to person.
The higher the TDS level,
particularly when it reaches over 500 ppm (the recommended U.S. EPA aesthetic guideline), the more people will want to purify the water.
So how can water with high TDS be undesirable or harmful?
It may taste bitter, salty, or metallic and may have unpleasant odors.
High TDS water is also less thirst quenching. High TDS
interferes with the taste of foods and beverages, and makes them less desirable
to consume.
Some of the individual mineral salts that make up TDS
pose a variety of health hazards.
The most problematic are Nitrates, Sodium, Sulfates, Barium, Cadmium, Copper and Flouride.
If a person drinks 2 pints of water a day, his or her
body will have processed 4500 gallons of water over a 70 year span.
If the water is not totally pure, this 4500 gallons will
include 200-300 pounds of rock that the body cannot utilize. Most will be
eliminated through excretory channels.
 |
| Gall Stones |
The EPA Secondary Regulations advise a maximum
contamination level (MCL) of 500 mg/liter (500 parts per million (ppm)) for
TDS.
 |
| Kidney Stones |
A high level of TDS is an indicator of potential concerns, and warrants further investigation.
Most often, high levels of TDS are caused by the presence
of potassium, chlorides and sodium.
These ions have little or no short-term effects, but
toxic ions (lead, arsenic, cadmium, nitrate and others) may also be dissolved in the
water.
Where do Dissolved Solids come from after all?
Some dissolved solids come from organic
sources such as leaves, silt, plankton, and industrial waste and sewage.
Other sources come from runoff from urban areas, road salts used on street during
the winter, fertilizers and pesticides used on lawns and farms.
Dissolved solids also come from inorganic materials such
as rocks and air that may contain calcium bicarbonate, nitrogen, iron, phosphorous, sulfur, and other minerals.
Many of these materials form salts, which are compounds
that contain both a metal and a nonmetal.
Salts usually dissolve in water forming ions. Ions are
particles that have a positive or negative charge.
Water may also pick up metals such as lead or copper as they travel through pipes used
to distribute water to consumers.
You should note that the efficacy of water purifications systems in removing total dissolved solids will be reduced over time, so it is
highly recommended to monitor the quality of a filter or membrane and replace
them when required.
What are the different properties of High TDS and Low TDS
mineral water?
Higher TDS water have a heavier taste and a much more
prominent "mouthfeel," a term used by water connoisseurs to describe
the overall sensory impression.
The mouthfeel may include slight saltiness where there is
an appreciable Sodium content in the water.
Lower TDS water, particularly those with the very lowest
TDS, have virtually no taste, and "express" an airy or light
mouthfeel.
Consumers describe the lowest TDS waters as tasting
clean, with even a hint of sweetness.
Natural water are like snowflakes - no two are exactly
the same.
Unlike processed water that are de-bacterialized,
homogenized, filtered, polished, and subjected to other procedures that ensure
bottled products with 100% identical chemistry, natural water are organic and
behave like organic substances.
Samplings over time of the same natural mineral water
from the same point of effluence show small deviations in chemistry.
This occurs because the water is "alive" and is
affected by the geology, climate, and other environmental and terrestrial
factors.
High TDS water has a great variety of interesting
chemistries. Some are heavy in Sodium, or Bicarbonate, or Chloride, or Sulphate.
Others contain relatively high amounts of substances such
as Calcium, Potassium, Magnesium, and Silica.
There is usually not much fluoride, iron, or strontium,
except in very unusual water.
There are FDA regulations about the allowable limits of
certain minerals in natural (unprocessed) mineral water.
Low TDS waters are chemical microcosms of the High TDS
water.
While the total mineralization is low, the relative
distribution of suspended elements can vary greatly.
In combination with the pH the presence or absence of certain elements
will affect the taste of the water.
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