Why not to use TDS meter to measure water quality

The LARQ Filters are designed to keep the beneficial minerals in your water and remove contaminants that have a negative health impact. TDS meters only measure the total amount of dissolved solids in parts per million or ppm. Some harmful contaminants can be dangerous in just parts per billion (ppb) or even parts per trillion (ppt). For example, lead, chromium-6, and arsenic are toxic at parts per billion concentration which the TDS meter cannot pick up. 

TDS meters are also a nonselective measurement and cannot differentiate among different ions. For example, you could have a high TDS meter reading but no harmful contaminants in your water. Some healthy minerals like potassium, magnesium, and calcium can actually cause your TDS meter to spike. 

For those reasons and more, we do not follow the TDS method. Our goal is to design filters that can be effective with the added benefit of having longer filter life (better for the environment), better flow rates, less prone to clogging, and overall better user experience compared to filters that target an arbitrary "zero" dissolved solid reading. For more information on why we don't follow the TDS method, check out our blog post, Don't use TDS meters to measure water quality.