Microplastics in Drinking Water: What We Know and What You Can Do

Microplastics are tiny plastic particles that have been found in tap water, bottled water, food and air around the world. Scientists do not yet know how much harm, if any, they cause at the levels people are exposed to, so the sensible response is to reduce exposure where it is easy rather than to panic. The biggest everyday levers are cutting back on bottled water, keeping plastic away from heat, and thinking about how your purified water is filtered and stored.

What Microplastics Are

“Microplastics” is a size label, not a single substance. The term is commonly used for plastic pieces smaller than 5 millimetres, down to particles far too small to see. The smallest, under about one micrometre, are often called nanoplastics.

Some are made small on purpose, such as the microbeads once common in face scrubs. Most, though, come from bigger plastic breaking down. Sunlight, heat, friction and age make plastic brittle, and it sheds fragments and fibres over time. A plastic bottle, a synthetic shirt in the washing machine and a car tyre on the road all shed particles.

Where They Come From in Drinking Water

Water picks up microplastics at many points between the source and your glass:

• The source itself. Rivers, lakes and groundwater can carry particles from plastic waste, wastewater and the air.
• Bottled water. Studies have found particles in bottled water, some likely from the bottle and cap themselves, especially as caps are opened and closed. Our comparison of bottled water vs an RO purifier covers the cost and quality side.
• 20 litre jars. Reusable jars are washed, refilled and transported many times, and often sit in the sun on delivery trucks and balconies. Wear and heat both encourage shedding.
• Heat and sunlight on plastic. A bottle left in a hot car, a jar on a terrace, hot food or tea poured into plastic containers.
• Pipes and tanks. Old or sun-exposed plastic pipes and overhead tanks age over the years. Overhead tanks also collect dust and sediment, which is why regular cleaning matters; our guide to overhead water tank filters covers that.

Drinking water is only one route. People also take in microplastics from food, cooking and indoor air. Reducing it in water is worthwhile, but it is not the whole picture.

What the Science Says So Far

This is the part most headlines get wrong, in both directions. The honest summary is:

• Microplastics are widespread. They have been detected in oceans, soil, food, drinking water and in samples from the human body.
• Health effects are not yet established. Researchers are studying whether particles, or chemicals attached to them, affect health at the levels people actually encounter. That work is still developing, and measuring such tiny particles consistently is itself a challenge.
• Absence of proof is not proof of safety. It is reasonable to reduce exposure where that is cheap and easy, while the science catches up.

If you have a specific health worry, talk to a doctor. No purifier, bottle or filter is a treatment, and none should be sold as one.

Practical Steps That Reduce Exposure

These cost little or nothing and do not depend on any product:

1. Do not leave plastic water bottles in hot cars or in direct sun. Heat speeds up how plastic ages.
2. Do not heat food in plastic. Microwave in glass or ceramic, and pour hot tea, dal or milk into steel or glass rather than plastic containers.
3. Avoid reusing single-use bottles over and over. They are not made for repeated washing and refilling.
4. Reduce bottled water and 20 litre jars where you have a better option at home. If you do use jars, keep them out of the sun.
5. Use steel or glass bottles for school, office and travel.
6. Replace scratched or cloudy plastic containers and bottles, which have started to break down.
7. Clean overhead tanks regularly and keep them covered.

What Filtration Can and Cannot Do

Different purification technologies deal with particles very differently:

Technology	What it does with particles	Microplastics in principle
Boiling	Nothing; particles stay in the water	No effect
UV	Inactivates microbes; does not remove particles	No effect
Sediment pre-filter	Traps larger visible particles	Catches only the larger pieces
UF membrane	Physically blocks fine particles and many microbes	Blocks particles larger than its pores
RO membrane	Works at the scale of dissolved salts	Pores far smaller than microplastic particles

An RO membrane is designed to hold back dissolved salts, which are vastly smaller than microplastic particles. As a matter of physics, a particle bigger than the membrane’s pores cannot pass through an intact membrane. That is why RO is often discussed as a strong barrier. Three honest caveats apply: the membrane and its seals must be intact and correctly maintained; anything the water touches after the membrane, such as the tank and dispenser, also matters; and real-world removal is something to be measured, not assumed.

Boon has not published microplastic test data for its purifiers, so we do not claim any removal percentage. If you want to understand what RO does and does not do to your water more broadly, read is RO water safe to drink.

Storage Material Matters Too

Most home purifiers store purified water in a tank before you dispense it. In most purifiers that tank is food-grade plastic, which is a normal, safe way to store water at room temperature when the tank is from a reputable manufacturer and kept clean. There is no need to throw out a working purifier because it has a plastic tank.

That said, if reducing contact between your drinking water and plastic is a priority, the tank is one of the few places where you have a real choice. A stainless-steel tank means purified water is not sitting in plastic between purification and your glass. Steel is also durable and easy to keep clean over years. Our comparison of steel tank vs plastic tank water purifiers covers hygiene, heat, weight and cost in detail.

Keep perspective. Tubing, fittings and other internal parts in almost every purifier include plastics, and how long water sits in any tank, and how often the tank is cleaned, matter as much as what it is made of.

Where Boon Homie Pro Fits

Boon Homie Pro holds purified water in a stainless-steel tank and dispenses through a stainless-steel nozzle, so purified water is not sitting in plastic while it waits to be drunk. It adds instant hot water, heated as it is dispensed rather than stored hot, and Track, where each family member gets a user ID in the app, presses Track on the unit to switch person 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, plus WaterAI monitoring of input and output TDS, temperature and filter health. It is wall-mounted, installed by Boon’s own team, and ₹25,900 at the time of writing.

Where it is not the answer: it has no cold water, so if you want chilled water from your purifier, this is not it. It is not a tested microplastic-removal device, and we do not sell it as one. And if your current purifier works well, the everyday steps above will do more for your exposure than replacing it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are there microplastics in drinking water in India?

Microplastics have been found in tap water, bottled water and food in many countries, and there is no reason to think India is an exception. Levels vary by source, treatment, pipes and storage. Drinking water is only one route; food and indoor air are others. Reducing bottled water, keeping plastic away from heat and filtering water well are sensible steps.

Are microplastics harmful to health?

The science is still developing. Microplastics are widespread and have been detected in human samples, but researchers have not yet established whether, or how much, they affect health at the levels people actually encounter. It is reasonable to reduce exposure where that is easy. If you have a specific health concern, talk to a doctor rather than relying on headlines.

Does an RO purifier remove microplastics?

An RO membrane is designed to hold back dissolved salts, which are far smaller than microplastic particles, so an intact, well-maintained membrane is in principle a strong physical barrier. Real performance depends on the membrane, its seals and what the water touches afterwards. Boon has not published microplastic test data, so we make no removal percentage claim for our purifiers.

Does boiling water remove microplastics?

No. Boiling inactivates most microbes, but it does not remove particles of any kind, including microplastics. They stay in the water after boiling. UV treatment in a purifier also inactivates microbes without removing particles. Physical filtration, such as UF or RO membranes, is what holds back particles, depending on their size and the membrane’s pores.

Is bottled water a source of microplastics?

Studies have found microplastic particles in bottled water, some likely shed from the bottle and cap, particularly with repeated opening and closing. Heat and sunlight on plastic bottles and 20 litre jars can add to it. Keeping bottles out of hot cars and direct sun, and relying less on bottled water where you have a good option at home, are simple steps.

Is a plastic tank in a water purifier unsafe?

No. A food-grade plastic tank from a reputable manufacturer, used at room temperature and cleaned on schedule, is a normal and safe way to store purified water. If you want to reduce how much your drinking water touches plastic, a stainless-steel tank is one real choice. How long water sits and how often the tank is cleaned matter just as much.