Category: Technology Comparison

Hot Water Dispenser vs Hot Water Purifier: Which Is Right for Your Home?

A hot water dispenser heats and chills water from a 20 litre jar; it does not purify anything. A hot water purifier treats your own supply with RO and UV, then heats it. If you are buying jars every week and want hot water at home, a purifier with hot water usually works out cleaner, cheaper over time and less effort. A dispenser still makes sense where you cannot install a purifier, or as a stopgap in a rented flat.

Two Machines That Look Alike

In a showroom, a bottle-top dispenser and a purifier with a hot button can look similar. Inside, they do completely different jobs.

A hot water dispenser holds a 20 litre jar upside down (or pumps from one at the bottom), and dispenses its water hot, cold or at room temperature. The water is whatever was in the jar.
A hot water purifier connects to your water line, purifies the water itself, stores it, and heats it when you press Hot.

Where the Water Comes From

With a dispenser, your water quality depends entirely on the jar supplier: how the water was treated, how the jar was cleaned and sealed, and how long it sat before delivery. Reputable suppliers do this well. Others do not, and from the outside you cannot tell the difference.

With a purifier, the treatment happens in your kitchen. You can see the input and output TDS on a monitored purifier, and you know when filters were last changed. Our comparison of bottled water vs an RO purifier covers this trade-off in more depth.

Jars, Handling and Hygiene

The 20 litre jar system has hygiene points that are easy to overlook:

Reused jars. Jars come back to the supplier, get washed and are refilled many times. Scratches inside an old jar are hard to clean.
Seals and caps. A broken or missing seal is a reason to send the jar back.
The dispenser’s own tanks. Water passes through small hot and cold reservoirs inside the dispenser. These need regular cleaning, which many households never do.
Changing jars. Lifting a heavy jar onto the machine is awkward, and the neck often touches hands and counters on the way.

Running Cost Over the Years

A dispenser is cheap to buy, but the jars are a cost that never ends. Add up your weekly jar bill for a year, and then for five, and compare it with a purifier’s price plus filter and membrane replacements over the same period. For most families buying jars every week, the purifier comes out ahead well within its life. Our guide to the true cost of owning a water purifier shows how to do the sum for your home.

Two other costs to count with a dispenser: electricity to keep its hot and cold tanks at temperature all day, and your time arranging deliveries.

Ready to stop ordering jars? Boon Homie Pro purifies your own water and heats it as you dispense. See Boon Homie Pro.

See Boon Homie Pro →

Convenience Day to Day

Running out. A dispenser runs dry when the jar does, usually at the worst moment. A purifier refills its own tank from the line.
Space. A dispenser and spare jars take floor space. A wall-mounted purifier takes none.
Power cuts. A dispenser can still pour from the jar at room temperature. Purifiers need power to purify, though some let you draw stored water by hand; see our guide to purifiers during power cuts.
Cold water. Many dispensers give cold water. Not every hot water purifier does.

Side by Side

Factor	Hot water dispenser (20 L jar)	Hot water purifier
Purifies water	No; depends on the jar	Yes, RO and UV at home
Water quality visible to you	No	Yes, on a monitored purifier
Upfront cost	Low	Higher
Ongoing cost	Jars every week, for ever	Filters and membrane at intervals
Runs out	When the jar empties	Refills from the line
Space	Floor space plus spare jars	Wall-mounted options take none
Installation	None	Needs a water line and installer
Cold water	Often	Depends on the model

When a Dispenser Still Makes Sense

Your landlord will not allow a purifier installation. Our guide for renters covers options.
You trust a jar supplier and buy jars only occasionally.
You need cold water and hot water in a spot with no water line, such as a shop or a site office.

Switching from Jars to Boon Homie Pro

Boon Homie Pro replaces the jar routine with purification at home. It is built around a stainless-steel storage tank, instant hot water heated as it is dispensed, and Track, which gives each family member their own profile and daily goal. It is a full UltraOsmosis RO with in-line LED UV before the tank, rated for input up to 2000 TDS, with WaterAI monitoring input and output TDS, temperature and filter health. Its five buttons are Active, Daily, Bev, Hot and Track. It is wall-mounted, installed by Boon’s own team, and ₹25,900 at the time of writing, with a 10-day money-back guarantee.

What you give up compared with a dispenser: Homie Pro has no cold water, so keep purified bottles in the fridge for that, and it needs a water connection and installation. What you gain: no jars, no deliveries, purification you can see, and hot water without a tank kept hot all day.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a hot water dispenser and a hot water purifier?

A dispenser heats, chills and pours water from a 20 litre jar but does not purify it, so the water is only as good as the jar supplier. A hot water purifier connects to your water line, purifies the water with processes such as RO and UV, stores it, and heats it when you press Hot.

Is a water dispenser cheaper than a water purifier?

A dispenser is cheaper to buy, but you pay for jars every week for as long as you use it, plus electricity to keep its tanks hot and cold. A purifier costs more upfront and needs filters and a membrane at intervals. For most families buying jars weekly, a purifier works out cheaper over its life. Add up your own jar bill to compare.

Is 20 litre jar water safe to drink?

It can be, if the supplier treats the water properly and cleans and seals the jars well. The difficulty is that you cannot check this from the outside. Reject jars with broken seals, clean the dispenser’s internal tanks regularly, and if you have a choice, purifying your own water lets you see the quality for yourself.

Do water dispensers need cleaning?

Yes. Water passes through small hot and cold reservoirs inside the dispenser, and these collect deposits and can grow microbes if left for months. Follow the maker’s cleaning instructions, usually draining and cleaning the reservoirs at regular intervals, and wipe the jar neck and the dispenser’s seat before fitting each new jar.

Can I replace my water dispenser with Boon Homie Pro?

Yes, if you can have a purifier installed on your water line. Boon Homie Pro purifies your own water with UltraOsmosis RO and LED UV, holds it in a stainless-steel tank and heats it instantly when you press Hot. It has no cold water, so keep purified water in fridge bottles if you want it chilled.

Which is better for an office, a dispenser or a purifier?

For most offices a purifier is better, because it ends jar deliveries, does not run out and lets you see the water quality. Choose one with enough capacity for the number of people and with hot and cold if staff expect chilled water. A dispenser suits small spaces with no water line.

No jars, no deliveries: purified water held in steel and heated as you dispense. Boon Homie Pro, ₹25,900 at the time of writing.

See Boon Homie Pro →

November 8, 2026

Hot and Cold vs Hot and Ambient Water Purifier: Do You Really Need Cold?

Most homes do not need cold water from their purifier. If you already keep bottles of purified water in the fridge, a hot and ambient purifier gives you instant hot water and room-temperature drinking water with fewer parts, less power and a smaller unit. Hot and cold earns its place in offices, large families in hot cities, and kitchens with no fridge space to spare.

Hot, Cold and Ambient: What Each Means

Ambient is purified water at room temperature, straight from the storage tank. Every purifier gives you this.
Hot is purified water heated for tea, coffee, warm drinking water or quick cooking jobs. It can be heated instantly as you dispense it or kept hot in a small separate tank.
Cold is purified water chilled by a cooling system inside the purifier and held in a small cold tank.

A hot and ambient purifier gives you the first two. A hot and cold purifier usually gives you all three. The question is whether that third temperature is worth what it costs in the machine.

What It Takes to Make Cold Water

Heating water is simple: a heating element and some control electronics. Cooling is harder. A purifier that chills water needs a cooling system, either a small compressor like a mini fridge or a thermoelectric cooler, plus a cold tank, insulation and somewhere for the heat it removes to go.

That has practical consequences:

More parts. A cooling system is one more thing to service, and one more thing that can fail.
More power. Keeping a tank cold all day means the cooling system cycles through the day, just as a fridge does.
More size. Cooling hardware and insulation make the unit bigger and heavier. Many hot and cold models are freestanding rather than wall-mounted.
Warm air out. The cooling system needs ventilation around it, which matters in a tight kitchen corner.

How Indian Homes Actually Use Cold Water

In most Indian homes, cold drinking water already comes from the fridge. Families fill steel or glass bottles from the purifier and keep a few chilled. That habit works well, costs nothing extra, and the bottles are there when the power is off too.

Where the habit breaks down:

Large households in hot cities where bottles run out faster than they chill in May and June.
Small fridges already full of milk, vegetables and leftovers.
Offices and shared spaces where nobody refills the bottles.

If none of those describe your home, cold water from the purifier is a nice-to-have rather than a need. Our guide to purifier storage for your family size helps with the volume side of the question.

The Case for Ambient

Many people, particularly elders, prefer room-temperature or warm water through much of the year, and in winter cold water is the last thing North Indian homes want. A hot and ambient purifier covers those needs fully.

There is also a simplicity argument. Fewer components mean fewer service visits and less to go wrong, and without cooling hardware a purifier can be compact enough to mount on the wall, keeping the counter clear. Our wall-mounted purifier guide covers why that matters in Indian kitchens.

Hot and ambient, done well: instant hot water and a stainless-steel tank, on the wall. See Boon Homie Pro.

See Boon Homie Pro →

Side by Side

Factor	Hot and ambient	Hot and cold
Temperatures	Hot, room temperature	Hot, cold, usually room temperature
Extra hardware	Heater only	Heater plus cooling system and cold tank
Power use	Lower, especially with instant heating	Higher; the cooling system cycles all day
Size	Can be compact and wall-mounted	Often larger; many are freestanding
Service	Fewer parts to maintain	More parts to maintain
Best for	Most homes	Offices, large families in hot cities, homes without fridge space

When Hot and Cold Is Worth It

Buy hot and cold if:

You are equipping an office, clinic, gym or shared space, where people want cold water on demand and nobody manages bottles. Our guide to water purifiers for offices covers capacity too.
You are a large family in a hot city and bottles in the fridge cannot keep up in summer.
You have no fridge space to give to water.

For those cases, Boon Tall is Boon’s freestanding RO with hot, cold and ambient water at 60 litres per hour, ₹55,000 at the time of writing. It suits large families and offices.

Where Boon Homie Pro Fits

Boon Homie Pro is a hot and ambient purifier, and it is honest about it: there is no cold water. What it puts the money into instead is a stainless-steel storage tank, instant hot water heated as it is dispensed so nothing sits hot all day, and Track, which gives each family member a user ID in the app and a daily goal.

It is a full UltraOsmosis RO with LED UV, rated for input up to 2000 TDS, with WaterAI monitoring and five buttons: Active, Daily, Bev, Hot and Track. It is wall-mounted, installed by Boon’s own team, and ₹25,900 at the time of writing. For a home that keeps cold bottles in the fridge and wants hot water on tap, it covers everything a hot and cold unit would, minus the cooling hardware.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a hot and cold water purifier for home?

Most homes do not. If you already keep bottles of purified water in the fridge, a hot and ambient purifier gives you instant hot water and room-temperature drinking water with fewer parts, less power and a smaller unit. Hot and cold is worth it for offices, large families in hot cities where bottles run out, and homes with no fridge space for water.

What is a hot and ambient water purifier?

It is a purifier that dispenses purified water at room temperature and hot water, without a cooling system for cold water. The hot water may be heated instantly as you dispense it, or kept hot in a small separate tank. Without cooling hardware, these purifiers are usually simpler, smaller and can often be wall-mounted.

Does a hot and cold purifier use more electricity?

Generally, yes. A cooling system keeps a cold tank chilled through the day, cycling on and off much as a fridge does, and many hot and cold units also keep a hot tank warm. A hot and ambient purifier with instant heating uses power for heating only while you dispense hot water. Ask the seller for the power figures of the specific model.

Is cold water from a purifier better than fridge water?

The water itself is the same purified water either way. The difference is convenience: a hot and cold purifier dispenses chilled water on demand, while fridge bottles need filling and space. Fridge bottles also stay cold during a power cut. If your household keeps up with bottles easily, a purifier’s cold function adds cost and parts for little gain.

Does Boon Homie Pro have cold water?

No. Boon Homie Pro is a hot and ambient purifier. It dispenses purified water at room temperature and instant hot water, with a stainless-steel storage tank and Track for each family member, but it has no cooling and no cold water. For hot, cold and ambient water, Boon Tall is the freestanding option built for large families and offices.

Which is better for an office, hot and cold or hot and ambient?

For most offices, hot and cold. People expect cold water on demand in a shared space, nobody refills fridge bottles, and demand is steady through the day, so the cooling system earns its running cost. Capacity matters as much as temperature: choose a purifier sized for the number of people, not a home unit stretched to serve a team.

If cold comes from your fridge, hot should come from your purifier. Boon Homie Pro: instant hot water and a stainless-steel tank.

See Boon Homie Pro →

November 8, 2026

Air Purifier vs Humidifier vs Dehumidifier: Which Does Your Home Need?

An air purifier removes particles such as dust, smoke and pollen. A humidifier adds moisture to dry air. A dehumidifier takes moisture out of damp air. They solve different problems, an air purifier does not meaningfully change humidity either way, and most Indian homes need at most one of the two humidity machines, depending on the season and the city.

Three Machines, Three Different Jobs

Air purifier. A fan pulls room air through filters. A pre-filter stops hair and coarse dust, a HEPA filter traps fine particles such as PM2.5, and activated carbon takes up some odours and gases. The air comes out cleaner, but at the same temperature and the same humidity it went in with.

Humidifier. Puts water vapour into the room. Ultrasonic types shake water into a fine cool mist, evaporative types blow air over a wet wick, and warm-mist types boil water into steam. Its only job is raising humidity.

Dehumidifier. Pulls moisture out of the air, usually by passing it over a cold coil where water condenses into a tank or drain pipe, the same physics that makes an AC drip. Its job is lowering humidity, which slows mould, mustiness and dust mites.

Because the jobs are different, the honest question is not “which is better” but “which problem do I have”. Many homes have a particle problem all year and a humidity problem for a few months.

Air Purifier vs Humidifier vs Dehumidifier at a Glance

	Air purifier	Humidifier	Dehumidifier
Main job	Removes particles, some odours and gases	Adds moisture	Removes moisture
Changes humidity?	No	Raises it	Lowers it
Removes PM2.5 and dust?	Yes	No	No
When it helps in India	Smog season, dusty and road-facing homes, cooking smoke, all year in many cities	Very dry rooms, such as heated rooms in a North Indian winter	Humid monsoon months, coastal cities, damp ground-floor flats
Upkeep	Clean the pre-filter, change filters when due	Refill and clean the tank often	Empty the tank or fit a drain, clean the filter
Main risk if misused	Dirty filters, false sense that the room is ventilated	Too much moisture, mould, mineral dust from hard water	Running it in already-dry air

Does an Air Purifier Dry the Air or Reduce Humidity?

No. An air purifier does not dry the air, reduce humidity or dehumidify. Water vapour is a gas, and neither HEPA nor carbon is designed to hold it, so the moisture passes straight through. It does not add moisture either, unless the unit has a separate humidifier built in.

So why do some people feel drier with one? Usually it is airflow. A purifier blowing steadily on your face makes skin and eyes feel drier, the way a ceiling fan does, even though the room’s humidity has not moved. Point the outlet away from where you sit or sleep. If the air really is dry, that comes from the weather, a room heater or long AC hours, not the purifier.

Which One by Season and City

India’s humidity swings far more by season and region than most countries’, which is why one answer does not fit every home:

North Indian winter (Delhi NCR, Punjab, Lucknow, Jaipur): the purifier matters most, because smog season and stubble smoke push particles up. Rooms with a heater running for hours can also turn dry, which is where a humidifier sometimes earns a place.
Dry pre-monsoon heat in the north and the Deccan: air is often dry, and long AC hours dry it further. Dust is high too, so the purifier stays useful.
Coastal monsoons (Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Kerala): humidity stays high for months. Walls sweat, cupboards smell musty and mould spots appear. Here a dehumidifier, or an AC on dry mode, is the right tool, and a humidifier would make things worse. Our guide on musty smells, damp and monsoon mould covers the damp side in detail.
Moderate cities such as Bengaluru and Pune: humidity is rarely extreme indoors, so most homes need a purifier for dust and traffic, and neither humidity machine most of the year.

Look at the actual reading before buying anything. Many homes that “feel dry” are actually fine, and many that “feel stuffy” are humid rather than polluted.

Boon Airvana reads humidity and temperature alongside PM1.0, PM2.5 and PM10, so you can see whether your room has a particle problem, a moisture problem or both.

See Boon Airvana →

Can an Air Purifier and Humidifier Be Used Together?

Yes, and in a dry, polluted winter room it can make sense. A few simple rules keep them from working against each other:

Keep them apart. Place them on different sides of the room so the humidifier’s mist does not blow straight into the purifier’s inlet. Damp filters do not work well and can start to smell.
Use clean, low-mineral water in an ultrasonic humidifier. Ultrasonic units can throw dissolved minerals from hard tap water into the air as a fine white dust. The purifier then has to filter it, and its particle sensor may read higher than the real pollution.
Clean the humidifier tank often. Standing water can grow microbes, which the mist then spreads.
Do not overdo it. Condensation on windows or a damp smell means the room is now too humid; turn the humidifier down or off.

A dehumidifier and purifier can also run together in a damp monsoon room. Our guide on where to place an air purifier in an Indian home covers spacing around fans, ACs and other appliances.

Which Is Better for Allergies, Asthma, a Baby or a Cough?

Allergies. For dust, pollen and pet dander, an air purifier is the device that removes the triggers from the air. Dust mites, though, thrive in humid homes and live in bedding and fabric, so in a damp climate a dehumidifier plus regular washing of bedding helps more than either purifier or humidifier alone. Our guide to dust mite allergy at home goes through the full routine.

Asthma. A purifier lowers particle exposure, and keeping humidity away from either extreme makes mould and mites less likely. Neither device treats asthma; follow your doctor’s plan.

A baby’s room. A purifier with no ioniser or ozone feature is a sensible base. Add a humidifier only if the room is genuinely dry, keep it out of reach, and clean it daily.

Cough or blocked sinuses. Dry air can make an irritated throat or nose feel worse, and polluted air can cause irritation in the first place. Check the readings before choosing, and see a doctor if a cough or sinus trouble lasts beyond a couple of weeks, comes with fever or breathlessness, or keeps coming back.

Is a Purifier With Humidifier Combo Worth It?

Combo units save floor space and one plug point, but they trade off in ways that matter in India:

Water next to filters. A water tank sitting close to HEPA and carbon filters needs careful design and diligent cleaning.
Seasonal mismatch. Most Indian homes need humidification for a few weeks a year at most, and not at all in humid cities, while particle filtration is needed for months. You pay for a feature that sits idle.
One machine, one point of failure. If the humidifier side needs repair, you may lose the purifier too.

For most homes, a dedicated purifier, plus a separate small humidifier or dehumidifier only if the readings show a need, is the simpler and more flexible setup.

Rule of thumb: buy for the problem you can measure. Particles call for a purifier; dry air for a humidifier; damp air for a dehumidifier.

Find Out Which Problem You Actually Have

Boon Airvana is an air purifier, not a humidifier or dehumidifier, and it will not change the moisture in your room. What it does is filter the air through a washable pre-filter, two H13 HEPA filters and activated carbon, with no ioniser and no ozone, and show you what is going on while it does. Its AtmoScan sensing reads eight parameters every second, including humidity and temperature alongside PM1.0, PM2.5, PM10, TVOC, eCO₂ and NO₂.

That makes it a practical first step. If PM2.5 is high and humidity is normal, the purifier is doing the job you need. If humidity sits high through the monsoon, you know a dehumidifier is worth adding. If it drops very low in a heated winter room, a humidifier may help. Airvana is ₹14,900 at the time of writing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better, an air purifier or a humidifier?

Neither is better, because they do different jobs. An air purifier removes particles like dust, smoke and pollen. A humidifier adds moisture to dry air. If your problem is pollution, which it is in most Indian cities for much of the year, you need a purifier. If your room is genuinely dry, a humidifier helps. Some homes need both for a few weeks.

Does an air purifier reduce humidity?

No. An air purifier does not remove water vapour, so it does not lower humidity or act as a dehumidifier. The moisture passes straight through the filters. In a damp monsoon home, use a dehumidifier or an AC on dry mode to bring humidity down, and keep the purifier for particles.

Can I use an air purifier and a humidifier in the same room?

Yes. Place them on opposite sides of the room so mist does not blow into the purifier’s filters, use clean low-mineral water in an ultrasonic humidifier so it does not release white mineral dust, clean the humidifier tank often, and turn it down if windows start fogging or the room smells damp.

Is an air purifier or dehumidifier better for allergies?

For airborne triggers such as dust, pollen and pet dander, an air purifier is the device that removes them from the air. Dust mites and mould thrive in humid air, so in coastal cities or during the monsoon a dehumidifier can help as well. Many allergy-prone homes use both. See a doctor for diagnosis and treatment.

Should I use a humidifier or air purifier for my baby?

Start with what the room needs. A purifier with no ioniser or ozone feature reduces particles, which matters in polluted cities. Add a humidifier only if the air is genuinely dry, keep it out of reach, and clean it daily. Check any breathing or skin concern with your paediatrician rather than relying on either device.

Is an air purifier with a built-in humidifier worth buying?

For most Indian homes, usually not. Humidification is needed for a few weeks a year at most, and not at all in humid cities, while filtration is needed for months. A water tank near the filters needs careful cleaning, and one fault can take out both functions. A dedicated purifier plus a separate humidifier if needed is simpler.

Boon Airvana filters particles and shows humidity and temperature, so you know whether you also need a humidifier or dehumidifier. ₹14,900 at the time of writing.

See Boon Airvana →

November 3, 2026

LED UV vs UV Lamp in Water Purifiers: What’s the Difference?

A UV LED water purifier disinfects water with ultraviolet light from small UV-C LEDs, while a traditional UV purifier uses a mercury vapour lamp. Both do the same job, damaging microbes so they cannot multiply. LEDs switch on instantly, contain no mercury and are compact; lamps are a mature, well-understood technology. Neither touches TDS, chemicals or hardness, so on high-TDS water UV must work alongside RO.

If you are deciding between RO and UV purifiers in the first place, read our RO vs UV water purifier comparison or the three-way RO vs UV vs UF guide. This article is about the UV stage itself: the two ways to make UV light, and where it sits.

What UV does in a water purifier

Ultraviolet light in the UV-C band damages the genetic material (DNA or RNA) of bacteria, viruses and other microbes. A damaged microbe cannot reproduce, so it cannot cause infection. UV does not add anything to the water, does not change its taste and leaves no chemical behind.

How well it works depends on the dose: how strong the light is and how long the water is exposed to it. Two things reduce the dose that reaches the microbes:

Cloudy water. Particles scatter and block light, and microbes can hide behind or inside them. That is why UV always comes after sediment filtration.
A dirty or ageing light source. Film on the sleeve or window around the light, or a light source that has weakened with age, means less UV reaches the water.

Different microbes need different doses. Some protozoan cysts are more resistant than common bacteria, so whether a given UV stage deals with them depends on the dose it is designed to deliver. This is one more reason a UV stage works best as part of a full purification chain rather than on its own.

Traditional mercury UV lamps

Most UV purifiers sold over the past few decades use a low-pressure mercury vapour lamp, similar in principle to a tube light but made to emit UV-C. The lamp sits inside a quartz sleeve, and water flows around it.

Mature and well understood. Mercury lamps have been used for water disinfection for a long time, in homes and in large treatment plants. Their behaviour is well documented.
Need a warm-up. A lamp takes a short time to reach full output after it is switched on, so many purifiers keep it on for longer than the water is actually flowing.
Contain mercury. The amount is small, but a broken or spent lamp needs careful disposal, not the household bin.
Output falls with age. Lamps weaken over time even when they still glow, so they are replaced on a schedule rather than when they visibly fail.
Glass and heat. The quartz sleeve can break if mishandled, and the lamp warms the water around it slightly when it runs for long periods.

UV-C LEDs

UV-C LEDs are semiconductor light sources, like ordinary LEDs but designed to emit ultraviolet light. They are newer in water purifiers and have been improving steadily.

Instant on. An LED reaches full output the moment it is switched on, so it can run only while water is actually flowing past it.
No mercury. Nothing hazardous to dispose of in the way a lamp is.
Compact. LEDs are small, so designers can place UV in tight spaces, such as directly in the water line, without a long lamp and sleeve.
No warm-up and less standby running, since they do not need to stay on between draws.
Sturdier. No long glass tube to crack.

Like lamps, LEDs need clear water in front of them and a design that delivers enough dose for the flow rate. A compact light source is only as good as the chamber built around it.

LED UV vs UV lamp compared

Factor	UV-C LED	Mercury UV lamp
Start-up	Instant	Short warm-up to full output
Mercury	None	Small amount; needs careful disposal
Size	Compact, fits in-line	Longer lamp in a quartz sleeve
Running pattern	Can run only while water flows	Often kept on longer than the flow
Track record	Newer, improving steadily	Mature and well understood
What it disinfects	The same: bacteria and viruses, and other microbes depending on dose
What it does not touch	TDS, hardness, chemicals, heavy metals, taste

LED or lamp is a design choice, not a verdict. Both can disinfect well when the dose is right and the water is clear. Ask where the UV sits and what it treats, not just which light it uses.

UV disinfects, but it does not change TDS. Check typical TDS for your pincode to see whether you need RO before UV.

Check Your Water →

Whichever light source a purifier uses, a few questions tell you more than the label on the box:

What comes before the UV? Sediment filtration, and RO on a high-TDS supply, should come first so the light meets clear water.
How will you know the UV is working? Ask whether the purifier monitors it or alerts you to a fault, or whether you simply have to trust it.
What does servicing involve? Ask how often the UV stage is checked, whether the sleeve or window is cleaned, and who does it.
Where exactly does it sit? The next section explains why that matters.

In-line, in-tank or at the outlet

Where the UV sits matters as much as how the light is made. There are three common positions:

In-line before the tank. Water is disinfected as it flows from the purification stages into storage, so what goes into the tank has already been treated.
In the tank. A UV source inside the storage tank treats the water while it is stored, often switching on at intervals.
At the outlet. UV treats water as it is dispensed, just before it reaches your glass.

Each position has a logic, and some designs combine them. Whatever the design, remember that UV leaves no lasting disinfectant in the water. Treated water can be contaminated again by a dirty tank, tap or bottle, so a clean, sealed storage tank and regular servicing still matter.

What UV cannot do

UV is a disinfection stage. It does not remove:

Dissolved salts (TDS). Salty, brackish borewell water stays salty after UV.
Hardness. Calcium and magnesium pass straight through.
Chemicals and heavy metals, such as fluoride, arsenic, nitrate or lead.
Chlorine taste, which is carbon’s job.
Sediment and turbidity, which must be filtered out before UV can work.

It also does not fix smell or colour that come from dissolved substances. Yellowish water from rust, or a rotten-egg smell from some borewells, needs a different treatment step. UV is one part of the answer to “is my water safe”, and usually not the largest one on Indian groundwater.

This is why UV alone is not enough for high-TDS water. If your supply is above the BIS IS 10500 acceptable limit of 500 mg/L, or comes from a borewell or tanker, you need RO to reduce dissolved solids, with UV as a disinfection step afterwards. Our guide to water purifiers for high TDS explains the full chain.

Where Boon Homie fits

Boon is a water-technology company founded in 2013 by ex-IIT Kanpur engineers, backed by the Technology Development Board (Govt. of India), NITI Aayog and Roca, with systems running in 4,000+ organisations and 400+ hotels across nine countries. Boon Homie, our wall-mounted purifier, uses in-line LED UV before the tank.

That UV comes at the end of a full purification chain: sediment pre-filtration, carbon for chlorine and chemical taste, and an RO membrane rated for input up to 2000 TDS. Water reaches the LED UV clear and low in dissolved solids, and goes into the 8-litre tank already disinfected. Homie purifies at 20 litres per hour, and WaterAI monitoring shows input TDS, output TDS, temperature and filter health. It is ₹21,900 at the time of writing, with free installation by Boon’s own team and a 2-year warranty.

Where it does not fit: if your supply is above 2000 TDS, Homie’s membrane is not rated for it. And if your water is already low in TDS and microbes are your only concern, you may not need RO at all.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a UV LED water purifier better than a UV lamp?

Neither is better in every case. UV-C LEDs switch on instantly, contain no mercury and are compact enough to sit in the water line. Mercury lamps are a mature, well-understood technology. Both disinfect well when the water is clear and the dose is right. Ask where the UV sits and what water it treats, as that matters as much as the light source.

Does UV remove TDS from water?

No. UV light damages the genetic material of microbes so they cannot multiply, but it does not remove dissolved salts, hardness, chemicals or heavy metals. If your water is high in TDS, salty or from a borewell or tanker, you need RO to reduce dissolved solids, with UV afterwards as a disinfection step.

Is UV enough for municipal tap water?

It can be if your supply is low in TDS and your main concern is microbes, as with treated municipal water in many cities. Check the TDS at your tap first. If it is comfortably within the BIS IS 10500 acceptable limit of 500 mg/L, UV or UF may be enough. If it is higher, or your supply is mixed with tanker or borewell water, choose RO.

Do UV lamps in water purifiers contain mercury?

Traditional UV purifiers use a low-pressure mercury vapour lamp, which contains a small amount of mercury. It is sealed inside the lamp, so it does not touch the water in normal use, but a broken or spent lamp should be disposed of carefully rather than thrown in household waste. UV-C LEDs contain no mercury.

Where should UV be placed in a water purifier?

UV can sit in-line before the storage tank, inside the tank, or at the outlet. In-line before the tank disinfects water on its way into storage; in-tank UV treats stored water; outlet UV treats water as it is dispensed. Each has a logic. Because UV leaves no lasting disinfectant, a clean, sealed tank and regular servicing matter in every design.

Does UV kill all germs in water?

UV is effective against bacteria and viruses when the water is clear and the dose is right. Some protozoan cysts are more resistant, so whether a UV stage deals with them depends on the dose it is designed to deliver. Cloudy water reduces effectiveness, which is why UV always follows sediment filtration in a well-designed purifier.

Homie puts in-line LED UV after RO and before the tank, so stored water is purified and disinfected. WaterAI shows your input and output TDS.

See Boon Homie →

November 2, 2026

Hot Water Purifier vs Electric Kettle: Which Makes Sense at Home?

If you already drink purified water and only want a cup of tea now and then, an electric kettle is cheap, fast and perfectly sensible. A hot water purifier makes more sense when hot water is a daily habit for several people, because it purifies first and dispenses only what you need, with no refilling and reboiling of leftover water. If you need water at a full rolling boil, a kettle is still the tool for that.

How Indian Homes Use Hot Water in Winter

From November onwards, hot water stops being an occasional need in most North Indian homes and becomes part of the day. A typical list looks something like this:

Tea and coffee, often several rounds, made at different times by different people.
Warm drinking water, especially for elders and anyone who finds cold water uncomfortable in winter.
Haldi water, jeera water or lemon and honey first thing in the morning.
Formula feeds for infants, prepared to the instructions on the pack or from your paediatrician.
Quick cooking jobs: instant oats, soaking poha, a cup of soup, rinsing a flask.

Most of these need a cup or a glass at a time, not a pot. That detail is what decides whether a kettle or a hot water purifier suits you better.

What a Kettle Does Well, and Where It Falls Short

An electric kettle is one of the most useful appliances in an Indian kitchen. It is inexpensive, it is quick, and it brings water to a full boil. At sea level, water boils at 100 °C; that rolling boil is what some recipes and instructions specifically ask for.

Its limits show up with daily, repeated use:

It heats whatever you pour in. A kettle does not purify. Boiling inactivates most microbes, but it does not remove dissolved salts, chemicals or heavy metals. If you fill it from the tap, you drink tap water, just hot. Our comparison of boiling water vs an RO purifier explains the difference in detail.
People boil more than they need. It is easy to fill a kettle for one cup and heat enough for four. The leftover cools, and the next person reboils it, again and again through the day.
Scale builds up. Hard water leaves a white or brown crust inside the kettle. It is mostly calcium and magnesium salts, the same deposit you see on taps and showerheads with hard water. It flakes into cups and needs regular descaling.
You wait. Filling, switching on and waiting for the click is only a few minutes, but it happens many times a day in a busy winter home.

The quiet problem with kettles is the water, not the kettle. If your kettle is filled from a purifier, most of the drawbacks above shrink to convenience and scale. If it is filled from the tap, you are drinking unpurified water that happens to be hot.

How a Hot Water Purifier Works

A hot water purifier does the purification first and the heating second. Water goes through the purifier’s normal process, such as RO and UV, and is held as purified water. When you press the hot button, the unit heats water and dispenses it. Broadly, there are two designs:

Instant hot. Water is heated as it is dispensed, so only the amount you draw is heated. Nothing sits hot in a tank waiting for you, and there is no leftover to reboil.
Stored hot. A separate tank is kept hot through the day, so a glass is ready the moment you press. The trade-off is that the unit spends energy keeping that tank hot whether you use it or not, and the material of the hot tank matters more, because water spends hours in contact with it at temperature.

Either way, the water you heat has already been purified. For more on what to look for when buying one, including heating design, tank material and installation, read our guide to choosing a hot water purifier for home. This article is about the narrower question: does it replace your kettle?

Side by Side: Purifier vs Kettle

Factor	Electric kettle	Hot water purifier
Water quality	Whatever you pour in	Purified before heating
Upfront cost	Low	Higher; it is a full purifier
Speed for one cup	A few minutes of waiting	Dispensed on demand
Reboiling leftovers	Common	Not needed with instant designs
Scale	Builds up with hard water; needs descaling	Purified water carries far less hardness
Full rolling boil	Yes	Check the specification; do not assume
Large volumes	A full kettle at a time	Glass by glass
Counter space	Kettle, base and cord on the counter	On the wall, if wall-mounted
Portability	Moves anywhere with a socket	Fixed installation

The pattern is simple. The kettle wins on cost, portability and the full boil. The hot water purifier wins on water quality, convenience across many small uses, and the end of the reboil cycle.

Want purified water heated as you dispense it, held in a stainless-steel tank? See Boon Homie Pro.

See Boon Homie Pro →

Safety Around Children

Hot water and small children need a plan whichever option you choose.

Kettles sit on the counter with a cord that a child can pull, and the body stays hot for a while after boiling. Keep the kettle at the back of the counter, the cord out of reach, and never leave a full kettle near the edge.
Hot water purifiers put hot water behind a button. Some models have a child lock on the hot dispense; it is worth checking for one if you have toddlers. Mounting height matters too: a wall-mounted unit placed above a small child’s reach is safer than a countertop unit at their eye level.

Whatever you choose, teach older children that the hot button is for adults, and supervise anyone young using it. For infant feeds, follow the formula pack and your paediatrician on how to prepare water; our guide to water for baby formula covers the purifier side of that question.

When a Kettle Is Still the Right Answer

A hot water purifier is not the right buy for every home. Keep, or buy, a kettle if:

You already have a good purifier. If your RO works well and hot water is an occasional need, filling a kettle from it gives you purified hot water for very little money. Replacing a working purifier just to get a hot button is hard to justify.
You need a rolling boil. If your doctor, a formula pack or a recipe asks for water brought to a full boil, use a kettle with purified water. Do not assume a purifier’s hot setting is the same thing.
You need a lot of hot water at once. A big pot for cooking or water for a hot water bag is kettle or stove work; a purifier dispenses a glass at a time.
You need cold water too. Some hot water purifiers have no cold option at all. If chilled water in summer matters to you, check before buying.
You rent or move often. A kettle moves with you; a purifier needs installation.

Where Boon Homie Pro Fits

Boon Homie Pro is built around three things. First, a stainless-steel storage tank, so purified water is held in steel rather than plastic, with a stainless-steel nozzle. Second, instant hot water: water is heated as it is dispensed, not stored hot, so there is no hot tank running all day and no leftover to reboil. Third, Track: each family member gets a user ID in the app, presses Track on the unit to switch to themselves, and can set a daily goal.

It does everything Boon Homie does: UltraOsmosis purification with sediment pre-filtration, carbon, an RO membrane rated for input up to 2000 TDS and in-line LED UV before the tank; WaterAI monitoring of input and output TDS, temperature and filter health; and the Active, Daily and Bev Water Profiles. Bev is meant for water used to brew tea and coffee. The five buttons are Active, Daily, Bev, Hot and Track. It is wall-mounted, installed by Boon’s own team, and ₹25,900 at the time of writing, with a 10-day money-back guarantee.

Where Homie Pro is not right:

It has no cold water. If you want chilled water from your purifier, this is not it.
If you have small children, plan the mounting height so the Hot button sits above their reach.
If you need water at a rolling boil, keep a kettle for that job.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a hot water purifier better than an electric kettle?

It depends on how you use hot water. A kettle is cheaper, portable and reaches a full boil, but it heats whatever water you pour in and leftovers often get reboiled. A hot water purifier purifies first and dispenses hot water on demand, which suits homes where several people want tea or warm water through the day. If you only need hot water occasionally, a kettle filled from a good purifier is enough.

Does boiling water in a kettle purify it?

Boiling inactivates most microbes, which is why it has long been used to make water safer. It does not remove dissolved salts, heavy metals, pesticides or other chemicals, and as some water evaporates those stay behind in what is left. If your tap water has high TDS or chemical contamination, boiling alone is not enough. Fill the kettle from a purifier instead.

Why does my kettle get white scale inside?

The white or brown crust is mostly calcium and magnesium salts from hard water. When water is heated, these minerals come out of solution and stick to the kettle’s surfaces. Regular descaling removes it. Filling the kettle with purified RO water reduces it a great deal, because RO removes most of the hardness before the water is heated.

Can I use hot water from a purifier for baby formula?

Follow the instructions on the formula pack and your paediatrician’s advice on how to prepare the water, including whether it needs to be boiled first. If the instructions ask for water brought to a full boil, use a kettle filled with purified water rather than assuming a purifier’s hot setting is the same. Ask your doctor if you are unsure.

What is the difference between instant hot and stored hot water purifiers?

An instant hot purifier heats water as it is dispensed, so only what you draw is heated and nothing sits hot in a tank. A stored hot design keeps a separate tank hot through the day, so a glass is ready immediately, but it uses energy keeping that tank hot even when no one is drinking, and the hot tank material matters more.

Does Boon Homie Pro give cold water?

No. Boon Homie Pro gives instant hot water and purified water at room temperature, held in a stainless-steel tank, but it has no cold water. If chilled water from your purifier matters to you, Homie Pro is not the right choice. It is ₹25,900 at the time of writing and does everything Boon Homie does, plus Hot and Track buttons.

Boon Homie Pro purifies first, heats water instantly as you dispense it, and holds purified water in a stainless-steel tank.

See Boon Homie Pro →

November 2, 2026

Air Quality Monitor vs Air Purifier: Do You Need Both?

An air quality monitor measures the air; an air purifier cleans it. If your purifier has good built-in sensors and a display, most homes do not need a separate monitor for the room the purifier is in. A standalone monitor still earns its place when you want to check other rooms, verify that a purifier is working, or keep a close watch on the air because a doctor has advised it.

The Short Answer

The two devices answer different questions. A monitor tells you “how bad is it?”. A purifier answers “what are we doing about it?”. A monitor on its own can tell you the bedroom air is poor, but it cannot change that. A purifier with no sensor can clean the air, but it cannot tell you whether it has worked. A purifier with sensors does both for the room it is in, which covers the main need in most homes.

What Each Device Does

	Standalone monitor	Purifier, no display	Purifier with built-in sensors
Measures air	Yes	No, or only a coloured light	Yes, for the air around it
Cleans air	No	Yes	Yes
Portable between rooms	Easily	With effort	With effort
Adjusts fan to the air	Not applicable	No	Yes, in Auto mode
Shows whether cleaning worked	Yes, if placed in the room	No	Yes
Best use	Checking several rooms, verifying	A room you never need to check	Most bedrooms and living rooms

What a Standalone Monitor Is Good For

A small battery or plug-in monitor is cheap to move around, and that is its strength. Good uses:

Surveying the home. Carry it from room to room over a week and you learn which rooms are worst, when, and why. That tells you where a purifier should go first.
Verifying a purifier. Place the monitor on the far side of the room from the purifier. If that reading falls too, the whole room is being cleaned, not just the air next to the machine.
Catching the causes. Watch what happens when you cook, light agarbatti, sweep, or open the balcony door at rush hour. The jumps are often more useful than the averages.
Comparing indoors and outdoors. Read your indoor number against your city’s outdoor AQI on the AQI by city page and you can see whether your windows and doors are keeping smog out.

For a step-by-step method to test your home, with or without a device, see our guide on how to check air quality at home.

Many purifiers have no particle sensor at all, or only a coloured light with no number. They still clean the air, but you are left guessing about three things:

Is the fan on the right speed? Without a reading, you either run it on high and live with the noise, or run it low and hope.
Did it work? A cleaner-feeling room is not a measurement. On a Severe AQI day you cannot tell by smell or sight whether the air indoors has improved.
When should the filter change? A fixed calendar ignores how polluted your air has been. A filter in a smoggy Delhi winter fills faster than one in a mild coastal city.

If you already own a purifier like this, a standalone monitor is the cheapest way to give it eyes.

The simple rule: one sensor per room you care about. That sensor can live inside the purifier or in a separate monitor, but a room with neither is being cleaned on faith.

Built-In Sensors: What They Cover and What They Miss

A purifier with good built-in sensors covers the main need for its own room. It drives Auto mode, so the fan speeds up when cooking or a door opening pushes particles up and slows down once the air clears. It shows the reading, so you can see the room improve. And it can time filter reminders to the air the filter has actually handled.

Its limit is location. A built-in sensor reads the air near the purifier. In a well-mixed, closed room that is a fair picture of the whole room. In a large or oddly shaped room, the corner farthest from the purifier, or the space near an open window, can be worse than the display suggests. A built-in sensor also says nothing about the next room, the corridor, or the bedroom with no purifier in it.

Two other points apply to every home sensor, built-in or standalone:

Particle sensors measure size, not type. A laser sensor counts particles and sorts them into PM1.0, PM2.5 and PM10. It cannot tell you whether a reading is smoke, dust or pollen.
Many CO₂ readings are estimates. Some sensors infer an estimated CO₂ value (eCO₂) from other gases rather than measuring CO₂ directly. Treat it as a guide to when a room needs fresh air, not a laboratory figure.

Boon Airvana reads eight parameters every second and shows them on a full-colour display, so the purifier and the monitor are one device for that room.

See Boon Airvana →

When a Separate Monitor Still Makes Sense

Even with a sensor-equipped purifier, a separate air quality monitor is worth buying in these cases:

You want to check rooms without a purifier, such as a child’s room, a home office, or a parent’s room in the same flat.
You want to verify coverage in a large living-dining area, by reading the far end of the room.
A doctor has advised close monitoring for someone at home with a breathing condition. Follow that advice on what to measure and where. A monitor tells you about the air; it does not tell you about the person, so see your doctor for symptoms such as breathlessness, wheezing or a cough that will not settle.
You want a direct CO₂ reading. Some standalone monitors measure CO₂ directly with an infrared (NDIR) sensor, which is useful if ventilation is your main concern.
You are checking a new home before moving in, or the air in an office or school room, where you cannot install a purifier.

If none of these apply, a purifier with built-in sensors in each room you care about is usually enough.

What the Readings Mean

Indian devices usually show AQI on the CPCB National AQI scale, plus raw PM2.5 and PM10 in µg/m³. The bands:

AQI	CPCB band	What to do indoors
0-50	Good	Open windows and ventilate freely
51-100	Satisfactory	Ventilate; run the purifier on Auto if you like
101-200	Moderate	Short airing only; purifier on in occupied rooms
201-300	Poor	Keep windows shut; purifier on with the room closed
301-400	Very Poor	Closed room, purifier on; limit time outdoors
401-500	Severe	Closed room, purifier on; follow local advisories

For raw particle numbers, the Indian NAAQS 24-hour limit is 60 µg/m³ for PM2.5 and 100 µg/m³ for PM10. The WHO 2021 guideline is far stricter: 15 µg/m³ for PM2.5 over 24 hours and 5 µg/m³ as an annual average. For CO₂, outdoor air is roughly 420 ppm, and around 1,000 ppm indoors is a widely used sign that a room needs more fresh air. That is a ventilation rule of thumb, not a health limit.

Expect a home reading to move far more than the official figure. The published AQI is built from averages over hours, while a home device shows the air right now, so cooking or sweeping can spike it for a few minutes. Watch the trend over an evening or a night. Our guide to a safe indoor AQI level explains what to aim for, and the PM2.5 vs PM10 guide explains why the two particle sizes are reported separately.

Where Boon Airvana Fits

Boon Airvana is a purifier with the monitor built in. Its AtmoScan sensing, developed by Boon Labs over two years, reads eight parameters every second: PM1.0, PM2.5 and PM10 by laser-based particle sensing, plus TVOC, eCO₂ (estimated, not a direct NDIR measurement), NO₂, temperature and humidity.

Watch faces on the full-colour display: full metrics, AQI only, an AQI graph, or a High AQI alert screen.
Charts, trends and insight cards in the Boon app, so you can see the night’s pattern, not just the current number.
Smart alerts for fresh air (eCO₂ rising), cooking fumes (TVOC), traffic pollution (NO₂) and allergy conditions (PM2.5 and PM10 rising), plus pre-filter and filter reminders.

It reads the air of the room it is in, like any built-in sensor, so a separate monitor is still useful for rooms without a purifier. Airvana is ₹14,900 at the time of writing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need an air quality monitor if my purifier has a sensor?

Usually not for that room. A purifier with a good built-in particle sensor and a display shows the room’s reading, runs Auto mode and times filter reminders. A separate monitor is still useful for checking rooms without a purifier, verifying the far end of a large room, or when a doctor has advised close monitoring.

Is an air quality monitor the same as an air purifier?

No. An air quality monitor only measures the air, showing readings such as PM2.5, PM10 and sometimes CO2 or VOCs. An air purifier cleans the air with a fan and filters. A monitor can tell you the air is poor but cannot improve it. Some purifiers include sensors, which makes them both for the room they are in.

How accurate is the AQI on an air purifier display?

A laser particle sensor gives a useful live reading of the air near the purifier, and it is good at showing trends. It measures particle size, not type, and many CO2 figures on home devices are estimates. Expect it to jump during cooking or sweeping. Watch the trend over hours rather than one number.

Where should I put an air quality monitor at home?

Put it at breathing height in the room you want to check, away from windows, the kitchen stove and the purifier’s outlet. To check whether a purifier is cleaning the whole room, place the monitor on the far side of the room. Move it between rooms over a week to learn which rooms are worst and when.

What is a good indoor AQI reading?

On the CPCB scale, 0 to 50 is Good and 51 to 100 Satisfactory. Indoors with a purifier running, aim to keep the room in those bands. For raw PM2.5, the Indian 24-hour limit is 60 micrograms per cubic metre and the WHO 24-hour guideline is 15. Lower is better.

Can an air quality monitor measure CO2?

Some can. Monitors with an infrared NDIR sensor measure CO2 directly. Many cheaper devices and purifiers show an estimated value, eCO2, inferred from other gases. Either can tell you when a room needs fresh air: outdoor air is about 420 ppm, and around 1,000 ppm indoors is a common sign to open a window.

Boon Airvana is the purifier and the monitor in one: eight parameters read every second, with live watch faces and app trends. ₹14,900 at the time of writing.

See Boon Airvana →

November 2, 2026

Tap Water Filter vs Water Purifier: What a Faucet Filter Can and Cannot Do

A tap water filter improves taste and catches sediment, and a good carbon one reduces chlorine, but it does not reduce dissolved salts (TDS), fluoride, arsenic or nitrate. If your supply is low-TDS treated municipal water and taste is the issue, a tap filter can be enough. If your TDS is high, or your water comes from a borewell or tanker, you need a proper purifier, usually RO.

What a Tap Water Filter Is

“Tap water filter” covers a few different products that all work at the point where water leaves your tap:

Faucet-mount filters screw onto the tap spout, often with a lever to switch between filtered and unfiltered water.
Inline filters sit in the pipe just before the tap, usually a cartridge in a housing under the counter.
Filtration faucets are taps with a built-in cartridge, or a second spout fed by a filter below.

Nearly all of them use some combination of a sediment mesh and activated carbon. They run on mains pressure, need no electricity and send no water to a drain. That simplicity is their appeal, and also their limit.

What Tap Filters Remove

Sediment: sand, silt, rust flakes and visible particles, depending on the mesh or cartridge.
Chlorine taste and smell: activated carbon adsorbs chlorine and many taste and odour compounds. This is the main reason people buy one. Our guide to chlorine in tap water explains why chlorine is there and whether you need to remove it.
Some organic compounds: carbon reduces some of them, depending on the cartridge and how much water has passed through it.

Carbon has a capacity. Once it is used up, it stops working, and a neglected cartridge can become a place for microbes to grow. Change it as the maker specifies.

What They Cannot Remove

Contaminant	Typical tap filter (sediment plus carbon)	What actually reduces it	BIS IS 10500 limit
Dissolved salts (TDS)	No meaningful reduction	RO	500 mg/L acceptable; 2000 permissible where no alternative
Fluoride	No	RO or specific fluoride media	1.0 mg/L
Arsenic	No	RO or specific arsenic media	0.01 mg/L
Nitrate	No	RO	45 mg/L
Hardness	No, unless it has a softening cartridge, and then only partly	Softener or RO	200 mg/L
Bacteria and viruses	A basic carbon filter is not a disinfection step	UV, UF or boiling	Should be absent

Clearer is not safer. Water that looks and tastes better after a tap filter can still carry dissolved salts, fluoride or microbes. Only a test tells you what is in it.

Hard Water Filters for Taps

“Hard water filter for tap” usually means a cartridge with ion-exchange resin, which swaps calcium and magnesium for sodium. It does soften water, but a tap-sized cartridge holds very little resin, so it is used up quickly on hard water and then lets hardness straight through. It helps a little with scale on the tap and spots on glasses. It does not reduce TDS, and it is not a whole-house solution.

For scale across bathrooms and appliances, a whole-house softener is the tool. For hard drinking water, RO reduces hardness along with other dissolved solids. Our comparison of water softener vs RO explains which you need, and whether you need both.

A tap filter or a purifier? Your TDS decides. Check the typical reading for your pincode, then confirm it at your own tap.

Check Your Water →

When a Tap Filter Is Enough, and When You Need RO

A tap filter can be enough when:

Your supply is treated municipal water with low TDS, roughly under 200.
Your main complaint is chlorine taste, smell or sediment.
You have no reason to suspect fluoride, arsenic or nitrate, and the supply is reliably disinfected. If in doubt, add UV or UF, or boil drinking water.

You need a proper purifier, usually RO, when:

Your TDS is above 500, or between 200 and 500 with a salty or bitter taste.
Your water comes from a borewell or tanker, or a test shows fluoride, arsenic or nitrate above the limits.
You see heavy white scale on kettles, which points to high hardness.

If your TDS is low, do not let anyone sell you RO by default. Our guide on whether you need RO if your TDS is below 200 covers that case in detail.

A Note on Shower Filters

Shower filters work like tap filters: mostly carbon or similar media aimed at chlorine, sometimes with a small softening stage. They can make chlorinated water feel less harsh. They do little for genuinely hard water, because the same small-cartridge limit applies and hot water moving fast gives the media little contact time. If hard water is the problem in your bathrooms, a whole-house softener is the honest answer.

Boon Tap Is Not a Tap Filter

The name causes some confusion, so to be plain: Boon does not sell faucet-mount or inline tap filters. Boon Tap is a full under sink RO purifier. The purifier sits in the cabinet below the counter and dispenses through its own dedicated faucet on the counter. Inside is an 8-stage UltraOsmosis RO rated for input up to 2000 TDS, an 8-litre tank and WaterAI monitoring. It is from ₹23,500 at the time of writing, with free installation by Boon’s own team, a 2-year warranty and a 10-day money-back guarantee.

It is the right choice if you want the clean look of a single faucet but your water needs RO. If your water is low-TDS and you only want microbial safety, Boon Tap UF, which has no RO, exists for those supplies. And if a tap filter is genuinely enough for your water, that is the cheaper answer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a tap water filter make water safe to drink?

Not on its own in most cases. A typical tap filter with sediment and carbon improves taste and reduces chlorine and particles, but it does not reduce TDS, fluoride, arsenic or nitrate, and a basic carbon filter is not a disinfection step. It can be enough for low-TDS, reliably treated municipal water. For borewell, tanker or high-TDS water you need a proper purifier.

Can a tap filter reduce TDS?

No. Sediment and carbon filters do not meaningfully reduce dissolved salts, which is what TDS measures. Only reverse osmosis reduces TDS significantly in a home setting. If your TDS is above 500, the BIS IS 10500 acceptable limit, or your water tastes salty, a tap filter will not change that. Test your water and consider an RO purifier.

Do hard water filters for taps work?

Partly, and briefly. They use a small amount of ion-exchange resin that swaps hardness minerals for sodium. On hard water that resin is used up quickly, after which hardness passes through. They can reduce scale on a single tap for a while. For whole-home hard water, use a softener; for hard drinking water, RO reduces hardness.

Is a shower filter useful for hard water?

Only a little. Most shower filters target chlorine using carbon or similar media, which can make chlorinated water feel less harsh on skin. Their small softening stages, where present, are used up quickly on genuinely hard water. If scale and hard water in the bathroom are the real problem, a whole-house softener is the more effective solution.

When should I choose an RO purifier over a tap filter?

Choose RO when your TDS is above 500, your water comes from a borewell or tanker, a test shows fluoride, arsenic or nitrate above BIS limits, or you see heavy white scale from hard water. If your supply is low-TDS municipal water and only the taste bothers you, a tap filter with disinfection, or a UV or UF purifier, may be enough.

Is Boon Tap a tap water filter?

No. Boon Tap is a full under sink RO purifier, not a faucet-mount filter. The purifier sits in the cabinet below the counter and dispenses through its own faucet. It has an 8-stage UltraOsmosis RO rated for input up to 2000 TDS, an 8-litre tank and WaterAI monitoring, from ₹23,500 at the time of writing.

Want a single clean faucet but water that needs RO? Boon Tap puts an 8-stage RO under the sink, installed free by Boon’s own team.

See Boon Tap →

November 2, 2026

Air Purifier vs AC: Does Your AC Clean the Air, and Can You Run Both?

An AC is not an air purifier. A split or window AC cools and dehumidifies the same room air, and its filter is a coarse mesh that stops dust and lint from clogging the coil, not fine PM2.5. You can run an air purifier with the AC on, and in a closed AC room that is often the best time to run one. A desert cooler is a different story: it pulls in outdoor air and humidity, which works against a purifier during smog season.

The Short Answer

Does the AC clean the air? Only of coarse dust and lint. It does little for the fine particles that drive AQI.
Can I run both? Yes. Close the room, keep the purifier out of the AC’s direct blast, and let the AC’s airflow help mix the room.
What about a cooler? In bad-air months, a cooler keeps bringing in fresh outdoor pollution and adds humidity, so the purifier struggles to make headway.

What an AC Filter Actually Does

Slide out the filter on a typical split AC and you will find a plastic mesh. Its job is to protect the cooling coil and fan from hair, fluff and visible dust, which would otherwise build up and reduce cooling. The gaps are far too wide to hold fine particles, so most PM2.5 passes straight through and goes back into the room.

An AC also recirculates. A split AC does not bring in fresh outdoor air; it cools the air already in the room. That is good for keeping smog out when doors and windows are shut, but it means whatever fine particles are inside stay inside unless something removes them.

Some ACs advertise extra filters for PM2.5 or allergens. If you see this, ask the same questions you would of a purifier: is there a stated CADR for the room, and is the filter a named HEPA grade? Without those, treat it as a useful extra, not a replacement for a purifier.

AC vs Air Purifier, Side by Side

	Split AC	Desert cooler	HEPA air purifier
Main job	Cools and dries room air	Cools by evaporating water into outdoor air	Removes particles, some odours and gases
Air source	Recirculates room air	Pulls in outdoor air	Recirculates room air
Filter	Coarse dust mesh	Cooling pads, no fine filter	Pre-filter, HEPA, carbon
Effect on PM2.5	Little	Brings outdoor PM2.5 in	Lowers it in a closed room
Effect on humidity	Lowers it	Raises it	None
Needs a closed room	Yes	No, needs ventilation	Yes

Running an AC and a Purifier Together

Running both together is fine and often sensible. A closed, air-conditioned bedroom is exactly where a purifier has the best chance: no window letting smog in, the same air passing through the filter again and again. A few practical points:

Close the room. Keep the door and windows shut while both run. The AC needs that for cooling anyway.
Let the AC help with mixing. The AC’s airflow stirs the room, which helps carry particles from corners towards the purifier.
Avoid the direct blast. Do not put the purifier right under the AC’s outlet, where cold air can sweep past the intake or onto the sensor. A spot a little away, with clear space around it, works better.
Watch the stale-air signal. A closed AC room builds up CO₂ overnight. Neither machine fixes that; open the window when outdoor air allows.

For exact placement around ACs, ceiling fans and windows, see where to place an air purifier in an Indian home.

Boon Airvana’s AtmoScan sensor shows PM2.5, temperature and humidity in your AC room, and a fresh-air alert when estimated CO₂ climbs.

See Boon Airvana →

Desert Coolers and Air Purifiers

“Can I run an air purifier with a desert cooler running?” You can, but the two pull in opposite directions. A desert cooler works by drawing outdoor air through wet pads and pushing it into the room, and it needs an open window or door to let air escape. That means a constant flow of fresh outdoor air, carrying whatever particles the outdoor air holds.

On clean-air days, that is no problem. The cooler’s fresh air is a form of ventilation, and the purifier has little to do.
On smoggy or dusty days, the cooler keeps importing pollution faster than a purifier can remove it. The purifier works hard and the PM2.5 reading barely moves.
Humidity. Coolers raise indoor humidity. Damp walls, cupboards and cooler pads that stay wet for days can encourage mould, which a purifier cannot fix at source. Clean and dry the pads and tank regularly.

In practice, coolers are used in hot, dry months, and the worst smog in North India comes in the colder, still months. So most homes rarely need both at full strength at the same time. If you do, check the outdoor air on the AQI by city page; when it is Poor or worse, switch off the cooler, close the room and let the purifier work.

What to Use When

Situation	Use
Hot day, outdoor air Good or Satisfactory	AC or cooler; purifier on Auto if you like
Hot day, outdoor AQI Moderate or worse	AC in a closed room plus a purifier; cooler off
Winter smog, AQI Poor to Severe	Purifier in a closed room; no cooler
Humid monsoon days	AC (it dries the air); purifier as needed; avoid the cooler
Cooking smells or incense in the room	Purifier, plus a chimney or exhaust in the kitchen

An honest note on fit: if the problem is heat, a purifier will not cool you; if the problem is carbon monoxide from a generator or heater, neither an AC nor a purifier helps, and what air purifiers cannot remove explains why. Boon Airvana has a CADR of 380 m³/h, enough for more than nine air changes an hour in a 12 × 12 ft bedroom, and costs ₹14,900 at the time of writing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does an AC purify the air?

Not in the way an air purifier does. A typical split or window AC has a coarse mesh filter that protects its coil from dust and lint. Fine PM2.5 particles mostly pass through it and return to the room. An AC cools and dries the air, and keeps smog out if the room is closed, but it does not meaningfully lower fine particle levels.

Can I run an air purifier and AC together?

Yes, and it often works well. A closed, air-conditioned room is an ideal space for a purifier because no outdoor air is leaking in. Keep the purifier out of the AC’s direct cold-air blast, leave space around its intake, and open a window occasionally when the outdoor air allows, because a closed room builds up CO2.

Should I use an air purifier in a closed AC room at night?

Yes, if your indoor air is polluted. A closed AC bedroom keeps outdoor smog out, and a purifier sized for the room can then bring PM2.5 down and keep it low through the night. Use Sleep or Auto mode, keep it away from the AC outlet, and ventilate in the morning when outdoor air is better.

Can I run an air purifier with a desert cooler?

You can, but they work against each other. A desert cooler pulls in outdoor air and needs an open window, so on polluted days it keeps bringing in new particles faster than the purifier removes them. It also raises humidity. On smoggy days, switch off the cooler, close the room and let the purifier work.

Is an AC with a PM2.5 filter as good as an air purifier?

Check the details. Ask whether the AC states a clean air delivery rate for the room and whether the filter is a named HEPA grade. Without those, its filter is a helpful extra rather than a replacement for a purifier. A dedicated purifier is designed, sized and tested around particle removal.

Does an air purifier cool the room?

No. An air purifier moves and filters air but does not cool it, and the gentle airflow is not a substitute for a fan in summer. It also does not change humidity. For heat you need an AC, cooler or fan; for fine particles, a purifier. In a closed AC room, the two complement each other.

Run Boon Airvana alongside your AC in a closed room: 380 m³/h CADR, H13 HEPA and live PM2.5 readings. ₹14,900 at the time of writing.

See Boon Airvana →

October 19, 2026

Steel Tank vs Plastic Tank Water Purifier: What Really Matters

Both a well-made food-grade plastic tank and a stainless steel tank can store purified water safely. Steel is easier to keep clean over years, tolerates heat without question and feels more durable; plastic is lighter and cheaper. For cold or room-temperature water, how long the water sits and how often the tank is cleaned matter more than the material. For hot water, steel is the clearer choice.

Food-Grade Plastic vs Stainless Steel

Almost every storage purifier in India uses one of two tank materials.

Food-grade plastic is the common choice. “Food-grade” means the plastic is made for contact with food and drink, under the conditions it is rated for. A tank from a reputable manufacturer, used at room temperature and kept clean, is a normal and reasonable way to store purified water. There is no need to replace a working plastic-tank purifier out of fear.

Stainless steel is used in a smaller set of purifiers, usually at higher prices. Food-grade stainless steel is the same family of material used in commercial kitchens and dairy equipment, chosen because it is inert, durable and cleans well.

The fair summary: tank material is a real difference, but a secondary one. A neglected steel tank holding week-old water is worse than a clean plastic tank holding water from this morning.

Hygiene, Biofilm and Cleaning

Purified water is very clean, but it is not sterile forever. Any surface that stays wet for long enough can develop biofilm: a thin, slippery layer of microbes that settles and grows on surfaces. This happens in steel and plastic alike. What changes between them is how easily biofilm takes hold and how easily you can remove it.

Surface. Polished stainless steel stays smooth for years. Plastic can pick up fine scratches from cleaning, and scratches give biofilm more places to settle.
Cleaning. Steel tolerates thorough scrubbing and standard cleaning methods well. Plastic needs gentler handling to avoid scratching.
Odour and taste. Steel is neutral. Any new tank, steel or plastic, should be flushed a few times after installation before you drink from it.

Either way, the tank needs periodic cleaning. Our step-by-step guide on how to clean a water purifier at home covers what you can do yourself and what to leave to a technician.

Hot Water Changes the Question

For cold and room-temperature water, the material debate is mostly about durability and cleaning. Hot water is different. Every food-grade plastic is rated for a temperature range, and heat is where plastics are most stressed. Stainless steel simply does not have that question attached to it at drinking-water temperatures.

So if a purifier dispenses hot water, look closely at the parts the hot water touches: the tank if water is stored hot, the heating path and the nozzle. A design that keeps hot water in contact with steel only removes a question you would otherwise have to ask. This is the one situation where we would treat steel as the strong default rather than a preference.

Weight, Cost and Durability

Factor	Food-grade plastic tank	Stainless steel tank
Hygiene over years	Good if cleaned gently and regularly	Good; smooth surface is easier to keep clean
Hot water contact	Depends on the plastic’s temperature rating	No concern at drinking-water temperatures
Weight	Lighter, easier on walls and shelves	Heavier for the same volume
Cost	Lower; common at every price	Higher; usually in premium models
Durability	Can scratch or crack with rough handling	Resists knocks and scratching
Visibility	Some tanks are translucent, so you can see the water level	Opaque

Weight matters for wall-mounted units, because the wall carries the tank plus the water in it. That is one reason steel tanks in wall-mounted purifiers tend to be smaller.

Want an RO with an 8-litre tank, UV before the tank and live filter health monitoring on the wall? See Boon Homie.

See Boon Homie →

What Matters More Than Tank Material

If you remember one section of this article, make it this one. Four things decide how fresh your stored water is, and only one of them is the tank material.

How long water sits. Water that is drawn and replaced every few hours stays fresher than water that sits for days. A tank sized to your daily use beats an oversized one.
Where the UV is. UV placed in-line before the tank treats water on its way into storage. Some designs add UV inside the tank or at the outlet, which also treats water while or after it is stored. Each design has trade-offs; what matters is that you know which one you have and that water does not stand for long.
Cleaning schedule. Follow the manufacturer’s service schedule and have the tank sanitised during service visits. Long gaps between services matter more than the material.
Filter health. A purifier with overdue filters sends poorer water into any tank. Our RO filter replacement schedule explains what wears out and when to check.

If you are still choosing between purifier types, start with the wider guide to choosing an RO purifier for home and treat tank material as a tie-breaker.

Where Homie and Homie Pro Fit

Boon Homie Pro adds instant hot water to everything Homie does. The water is heated as it is dispensed, not stored hot, and it is held in a 4-litre stainless steel tank with a stainless steel nozzle, so no plastic touches the hot water. That is exactly the design point the heat section above describes. It is ₹25,900 at the time of writing.

Boon Homie stores water in an 8-litre tank and purifies at 20 litres per hour, with in-line LED UV before the tank and WaterAI monitoring of input TDS, output TDS, temperature and filter health. It suits households that want room-temperature RO water and a larger reserve. It is ₹21,900 at the time of writing. Both come with free installation by Boon’s own team and a 2-year warranty.

Where Homie Pro is not right: it has no cold water. If you want chilled water from your purifier, this is not it. And if you never use hot water from a purifier, the steel tank alone is not a reason to pay more; Homie or another well-maintained RO will serve you well.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a steel tank water purifier better than a plastic tank?

For hot water, steel is the clearer choice because it has no temperature rating concerns at drinking-water temperatures. For room-temperature water, both a food-grade plastic tank and a steel tank are safe when cleaned regularly. Steel is easier to keep clean over years and more durable, while plastic is lighter and cheaper. How long water sits matters more than material.

Is a food-grade plastic tank in an RO purifier safe?

Yes, a food-grade plastic tank from a reputable manufacturer, used within its rated conditions and cleaned on schedule, is a normal and safe way to store purified water at room temperature. There is no reason to replace a working plastic-tank purifier out of fear. Keep the tank clean, do not let water stand for days, and follow the service schedule.

Can biofilm grow in a stainless steel tank?

Yes. Biofilm can form on any surface that stays wet for long enough, including stainless steel. Steel’s smooth surface makes biofilm harder to settle and easier to remove, but it does not make a tank immune. Regular use so water does not stand for long, UV treatment and periodic sanitising during service are what keep any tank clean.

Why are steel tanks in water purifiers usually smaller?

Stainless steel is heavier than plastic for the same volume, and it costs more. In a wall-mounted purifier the wall carries the tank plus the water, so designers often keep steel tanks compact. A smaller tank is not necessarily a drawback, because water is replaced more often and spends less time standing in storage.

Does Boon Homie Pro store hot water in its tank?

No. Homie Pro heats water instantly as it is dispensed rather than storing it hot. Purified water is held in a 4-litre stainless steel tank and dispensed through a stainless steel nozzle, so no plastic touches the hot water. Homie Pro does not offer cold water, so it is not the right choice if you want chilled water from your purifier.

How often should a water purifier tank be cleaned?

Follow the manufacturer’s service schedule and have the tank sanitised during service visits. Clean it sooner if the water smells or tastes different, if the purifier has stood unused for several days, or after any repair. Use the purifier daily where possible so stored water is replaced often, which matters as much as the cleaning itself.

Need hot water without plastic touching it? Boon Homie Pro holds purified water in a 4-litre stainless steel tank and heats it instantly as you dispense.

See Boon Homie Pro →

October 16, 2026

H13 vs H14 HEPA Filter: Which Grade Do Indian Homes Need?

For a home air purifier, H13 HEPA is enough. H13 captures at least 99.95% of particles at their most penetrating size, and H14 captures at least 99.995%. That gap is real in a hospital cleanroom, but in a living room the purifier’s CADR, the filter’s seal and how closed your room is make a far bigger difference to the air you breathe.

HEPA Grades Under EN 1822

Most HEPA grades on purifier boxes come from the European standard EN 1822. It tests filters at the Most Penetrating Particle Size (MPPS), the particle size that slips through a given filter most easily, typically somewhere around 0.1 to 0.3 microns. Larger and smaller particles are both caught more easily than the MPPS, so the rating is a worst case.

Class	Group	Minimum efficiency at MPPS	Particles let through, per 10,000
E10	EPA	85%	Up to 1,500
E11	EPA	95%	Up to 500
E12	EPA	99.5%	Up to 50
H13	HEPA	99.95%	Up to 5
H14	HEPA	99.995%	Up to 0.5

Classes E10 to E12 are EPA (Efficient Particulate Air) filters, not HEPA. Only H13 and H14 are HEPA under the current standard. Grades above H14 (the U classes) are for cleanrooms and are not relevant to homes.

True HEPA vs HEPA-Type

True HEPA is a marketing phrase, not a grade, but it usually signals a filter tested to a HEPA standard. The phrase is common on products built to a US definition of HEPA, which specifies 99.97% capture at 0.3 microns. In practice, a filter labelled H13 under EN 1822 tells you more, because it names the standard and the class.

HEPA-type, HEPA-like or HEPA-style means the media looks similar but is not graded to a HEPA standard. It may capture far fewer fine particles. Treat it as a red flag.

The H11 and H12 caveat. An older version of EN 1822 used H10, H11 and H12 for what are now E10, E11 and E12. Some listings still use the old names, so “H12 HEPA” today is, in the current standard’s terms, an E12 EPA filter. That is not necessarily bad, but it is not the same as H13, and the name can make it sound closer than it is. For how HEPA compares with ionisers and UV, see HEPA vs ioniser vs UV comparison.

H13 vs H14: The Real Difference

On paper, H14 lets through one-tenth as many MPPS particles as H13. In a single pass, H13 lets through up to 5 in every 10,000; H14 up to 0.5. Both are excellent.

Inside a home, air passes through the purifier again and again. At four or five air changes an hour, room air is filtered many times over, so the tiny per-pass difference between H13 and H14 shrinks further in the air you actually breathe. Meanwhile H14 media is denser, which can mean more resistance to airflow. Unless the fan is designed for it, a denser filter can deliver less clean air per hour, or need more fan power and noise to deliver the same.

The practical ranking for a home purifier: enough CADR for the room, then a well-sealed filter, then the HEPA grade. H13 in a correctly sized, sealed purifier beats H14 in an undersized or leaky one.

Why CADR and Seal Matter More

CADR measures the clean air a purifier actually delivers, combining airflow and filter efficiency. A purifier with too little airflow for the room will clean it slowly, whatever its grade. Work out what your room needs with the air purifier size calculator, and read the air purifier size guide for the method.

Seal and bypass. If even a small share of air leaks around the edge of the filter, it is not filtered at all, and that leak can matter far more than the difference between 99.95% and 99.995%. Look for a filter that seats firmly against a gasket. Replace it with the correct filter for the model, because a loose third-party filter can undo a good machine.

Find the CADR your room needs before you compare filter grades.

Size Your Room →

Is H13 Enough for North Indian Winters?

Yes, for homes. In Delhi-NCR and much of the Indo-Gangetic plain, winter PM2.5 often sits far above India’s NAAQS 24-hour limit of 60 µg/m³ and the WHO 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³, with AQI regularly in the Poor to Severe bands. The challenge in those months is volume: outdoor air keeps leaking in, and the purifier must clean faster than it arrives. That is a job for CADR and a closed room, not a higher filter grade.

What helps most on bad days: size for four to five air changes an hour, keep doors and windows shut while the purifier runs, clean the pre-filter more often, and replace the HEPA filter when the purifier says it is due. If anyone at home has persistent breathlessness, chest tightness or a worsening cough during smog season, see a doctor; a purifier reduces exposure but does not treat illness.

Where Activated Carbon Fits

HEPA catches particles, not gases. Cooking fumes, smells and some volatile organic compounds pass straight through it. That is the job of activated carbon, which adsorbs odours and some gases. It is not a fix for every gas: no home purifier removes carbon monoxide, and a purifier does not add oxygen. Our guide on what air purifiers cannot remove covers those limits. Carbon also fills up over time, so the filter change reminder matters for it as much as for the HEPA layer; see air purifier maintenance and filter care.

Boon Airvana uses an H13 HEPA filter (99.95% of particles in a single pass) with a washable pre-filter, activated carbon and an anti-bacterial coating, in a dual-suction design that draws air through two filters. Its CADR is 380 m³/h, and it reminds you when the filter is due based on the air it has cleaned. It is ₹14,900 at the time of writing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is H14 better than H13 for a home air purifier?

H14 captures more particles per pass, at least 99.995% against 99.95% at the most penetrating particle size. In a home, though, air passes through the purifier many times an hour, so the difference in the air you breathe is small. CADR, a good filter seal and a closed room matter more. H13 is enough for homes.

What does H13 HEPA mean?

H13 is a filter class under the European standard EN 1822. An H13 filter captures at least 99.95% of particles at the most penetrating particle size, the size that gets through most easily, typically around 0.1 to 0.3 microns. It is a common HEPA grade in well-built home air purifiers.

Is H12 HEPA as good as H13?

Not quite. Under the current version of EN 1822, the class once called H12 is named E12 and grouped as EPA, not HEPA, with at least 99.5% capture against 99.95% for H13. That is still effective filtration, but if a listing calls an H12 filter HEPA, it is using an older name. Compare CADR as well as grade.

What is the difference between true HEPA and HEPA-type?

True HEPA usually means a filter tested to a HEPA standard. HEPA-type or HEPA-like means the media resembles HEPA but is not graded to any HEPA standard, and it may capture far fewer fine particles such as PM2.5. Look for a named grade like H13 rather than descriptive phrases.

Is H13 HEPA enough for Delhi pollution?

Yes, for homes. During Delhi winters the challenge is the amount of polluted air leaking in, not the filter grade. Choose a purifier with enough CADR for four to five air changes an hour, keep the room closed while it runs, clean the pre-filter regularly and change the filter when it is due.

Does a HEPA filter remove gases and smells?

No. HEPA captures particles, not gases. Odours, cooking fumes and some volatile organic compounds need an activated carbon layer, which adsorbs them until it fills up. Even carbon does not remove every gas. No home purifier removes carbon monoxide, and purifiers do not add oxygen to a room.

Boon Airvana pairs an H13 HEPA filter and activated carbon with a 380 m³/h CADR. ₹14,900 at the time of writing.

See Boon Airvana →

October 16, 2026

Category: Technology Comparison

Two Machines That Look Alike

Where the Water Comes From

Jars, Handling and Hygiene

Running Cost Over the Years

Convenience Day to Day

Side by Side

When a Dispenser Still Makes Sense

Switching from Jars to Boon Homie Pro

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a hot water dispenser and a hot water purifier?

Is a water dispenser cheaper than a water purifier?

Is 20 litre jar water safe to drink?

Do water dispensers need cleaning?

Can I replace my water dispenser with Boon Homie Pro?

Which is better for an office, a dispenser or a purifier?

Hot, Cold and Ambient: What Each Means

What It Takes to Make Cold Water

How Indian Homes Actually Use Cold Water

The Case for Ambient

Side by Side

When Hot and Cold Is Worth It

Where Boon Homie Pro Fits

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a hot and cold water purifier for home?

What is a hot and ambient water purifier?

Does a hot and cold purifier use more electricity?

Is cold water from a purifier better than fridge water?

Does Boon Homie Pro have cold water?

Which is better for an office, hot and cold or hot and ambient?

Three Machines, Three Different Jobs

Air Purifier vs Humidifier vs Dehumidifier at a Glance

Does an Air Purifier Dry the Air or Reduce Humidity?

Which One by Season and City

Can an Air Purifier and Humidifier Be Used Together?

Which Is Better for Allergies, Asthma, a Baby or a Cough?

Is a Purifier With Humidifier Combo Worth It?

Find Out Which Problem You Actually Have

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better, an air purifier or a humidifier?

Does an air purifier reduce humidity?

Can I use an air purifier and a humidifier in the same room?

Is an air purifier or dehumidifier better for allergies?

Should I use a humidifier or air purifier for my baby?

Is an air purifier with a built-in humidifier worth buying?

What UV does in a water purifier

Traditional mercury UV lamps

UV-C LEDs

LED UV vs UV lamp compared

In-line, in-tank or at the outlet

What UV cannot do

Where Boon Homie fits

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a UV LED water purifier better than a UV lamp?

Does UV remove TDS from water?

Is UV enough for municipal tap water?

Do UV lamps in water purifiers contain mercury?

Where should UV be placed in a water purifier?

Does UV kill all germs in water?

How Indian Homes Use Hot Water in Winter

What a Kettle Does Well, and Where It Falls Short

How a Hot Water Purifier Works

Side by Side: Purifier vs Kettle

Safety Around Children

When a Kettle Is Still the Right Answer

Where Boon Homie Pro Fits

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a hot water purifier better than an electric kettle?

Does boiling water in a kettle purify it?

Why does my kettle get white scale inside?

Can I use hot water from a purifier for baby formula?

What is the difference between instant hot and stored hot water purifiers?

Does Boon Homie Pro give cold water?

The Short Answer

What Each Device Does

What a Standalone Monitor Is Good For

A Purifier Without a Display Runs Blind

Built-In Sensors: What They Cover and What They Miss

When a Separate Monitor Still Makes Sense

What the Readings Mean