This review with the photo, is to help you zero-in on RO water purifier for domestic use. I recommend Kent Pearl RO Water Purifier but it needs additional maintenance if you live in a dusty, dry and polluted place like Bengaluru. I waited for 7 months of usage before writing this review.
We were using Bisleri bottled water earlier for drinking and cooking purposes. On testing(several times) the water we use through taps showed close to 600 ppm & the results were identical every time. Bisleri water reading was around 80 to 90 ppm & notably none from the family had any water related illnesses during Bisleri usage. Ensure that after Kent installation, water shows similar reading.
Daily usage - 30 Ltrs= approx 1 & half Can - Each Can= 20Lts Water for Rs 70/-
Daily Cost - Rs 100/-
Monthly Average Outflow - Rs 3000/-
Yearly Drinking water Expense - Rs 36, 000/-
After days of reasearch, I concluded that there are two reliable brands fitting my requirement.
Aquaguard - Having earlier used their simple’paper’ filter based water filter for years and service levels on some other product, our confidence in the product was very high. This coupled with responsive call centre was a big positive. But, they did NOT have a single RO model(at the time of purchase) with detachable water storage option
Kent - Hemamaliniji & her daughters did provide some comfort through their smiles. But then I am not the one to fall for it so easily. To add to my worries, NO one picked up at customer care number on several attempts. A mail I sent to some senior folks in KENT requesting details has never received reply till date! But blame my IT background; I liked their WQA Gold certificate on Kent Pearl:) It also has pleasant dynamics to go well with the background of my utility area. I also visited WQA site and did some investigation of my own(https://wqa.org/index.cfm). WQA seems to be indeed a very reputed institute and Kent Pearl’s Gold Seal was valid and available on the site.
However, I believe that people make the difference & NOT machines. Hence was about to purchase a Eureka Forbe’s Aquaguard. But on the way, found a newly opened KENT distributor & service franchisee . They demonstrated a Kent Pearl model to show how it looks & we really liked the 8 ltr detachable/ portable storage which is easy to use, clean, & looked appealing. So as fate would have it, on 30th of Aug’2011 I ordered Kent Pearl Model RO Water Purifier. It was delivered and installed by next morning.
The guy who came to install KENT saw our old unused old paper filter based Aquaguard, and suggested to connect the water supply to the Aquaguard purifier first which eliminated any chance of visible floating particles entering Kent system directly. He then connected the outlet of the Aquaguard to the inlet of Kent Pearl which now received cleaner(NOT purified) water(refer the pic).
99% of the reviews which I read on the water purifier were impulsive and resultant of purifier breaking down within 1 month to 6 months of usage. Kent has a very low quality water tap on the storage unit which needs to be used very carefully. If you or your maid/ servants are mishandling the tap, then under rough usage it won’t last a day.
Remember that paper filter needs periodic gentle cleaning due to the bad quality of water. Moss/ fungus would grow and sediments would clog it beyond 15-20 days of use
Also, avoid exposing the water filter/ purifier to direct Sunlight. Replace the paper filters every 3rd month. It is not very expensive. We keep the Kent exterior clean all the time. This will keep the ants and cockroaches away.
I used to hate those dirty dusted Bislery cans arriving home. Imagine that in rainy season; though the water gets purified, I was NOT sure about how well they cleaned those re-usable cans and handled them. With Kent, I have peace of mind.
We are happy that our investment in Aquaguard did not go waste but is extended and confident that Kent will survive longer than I previously expected. Only thing I am worried about is the day I will have to depend on Kent’s notorious customer(don’t) care for repairs, replacements etc.
Considering I used to spend Rs 36K annually for drinking water alone, Kent cost me less than half that price. Only thing is you need to ensure re-using the waste water let out by the purifier. You can use it for watering the plants and for washing your balcony/ vehicles.
Bottom-line: I recommend Kent. Attach a pre-filter like I did & you will surely see your RO giving you far less trouble and working flawlessly atleast for the first one year.
Beware of duplicate parts which the service person may install. That would not only damage the RO membrane but will be a health hazard for your family.