Xiaomi has been rapidly expanding its ecosystem in India by bringing a lot of lifestyle products like Smart TVs, fitness bands, smart speakers, and now even home appliances. The Mi Water Purifier is one of the newest offerings by Xiaomi in India with a debut in the water purifier market in our nation. The Mi Water Purifier comes with five-stage water filtration with RO + UV along with a PAC (Powdered Activated Carbon) filter along with a 7-liter storage tank. So how good is it? Does the Mi Water Purifier stand a chance in the water purifier market of India that is dominated by Aquaguard and Kent? Let’s find out in our full review of the Mi Water Purifier.
Mi Water Purifier – Design
The Mi Water Purifier comes with a stylish dual-chambered white body with a gloss finish to it. The gloss, however, is susceptible to stains in standard Indian kitchens due to tadkas (oil-filled stuff) used in our foods that spread around the kitchen. It consists of a 7-liter storage tank in the top half, with filters present in the bottom half. The purifier has a power cord to its back which can plug into any normal socket. The tap is present in the center and has a push-to-pour design making it easier to fill glasses and bottles without spilling. The bottom half has a removable panel that can be opened for cleaning and maintenance of the UV and RO filters.
Xiaomi’s 5 Stage Water Filteration
The Mi Water Purifier has a five-stage water filtration process that consists of Reverse Osmosis (RO) and ultraviolet (UV). When water is let into the purifier, it first passes through a PP (polypropylene) filter along with an Activated Carbon filter which cleans large particles of dust and debris from the water. After this, the RO filtration takes place that has a precision of 0.0001 microns for filtering out micro metallic particles and other organic materials that are invisible to the naked eye.
The PAC (Powdered Activated Carbon) filter is the fourth stage that removes all sorts of odor and organic particles if left any, bringing the TDS levels of water to safe levels for consumption. The water is passed through UV light at last after which it is stored in the 7-liter storage tank. This five-stage filtration process makes the water purified from viruses, parasites, and organic materials that cause harm to the human body.
The Mi Water Purifier as being a part of Xiaomi’s Smart Ecosystem portfolio is not just a normal purifier and has several smart features. It connects to the Mi Home App using WiFi where you can see the TDS levels of water, how was it filtered, and more. It also tells you the condition of the RO and other filters and notifies you when it’s time to change or service them. This ensures that the quality of water is never compromised providing water that is always safe for consumption.
Xiaomi claims that all the filters used in the Mi Water Purifier are DIY (Do-It-Yourself) parts making it very easy to replace without any professional assistance. And, we found out that to be very true. After removing the front panel, the filters come off easily and you can refer to the manual or look online on how to safely detach the parts. You can easily remove the filters without any major tools making long-term usage very convenient. Xiaomi says that the filters have a life-span of over 1 year and all the replacement filters are available on Xiaomi’s website.
The stats and details on Mi Home App
The Mi Home app works on both, Android and iOS, and it works the same on both the platforms to connect to the water purifier for the first time and then will keep itself connected with the purifier to get the stats of the amount of water purified per day, and consolidated stats for weeks and months, while also showing the health of the three filters.
The app also gives you the live TDS count, which is probably not given by any brand in the market, and the TDS counter is really handy, as sometimes a failure of the filter can change things a lot.
Verdict – Is it only about purifying?
Usability and ease of maintaining these appliances are what makes someone choose a particular product over the other. In the case of water purifiers, what we usually face at home is the issue of continuous hassle with the technicians who not just provide wrong information in order to gain their sales of the filters, the need for them to always visit our place is another big issue – and that’s where the Mi Water Purifier eliminates both – unnecessary headache of technicians and the scheduling of their visits, and even the annual maintenance charges that is thrown upon the users when there is nothing much done in that case. For me personally, I have used the LivPure water purifier for the past couple of years and it needed four visits in total by the technician and if it isn’t a company-approved technician, the cost of material as well changes.
The change of filters in the Mi Water Purifier doesn’t require any technical knowledge. I was instructed by the person who visited for the first installation on how to twist and remove the filter and place a new one, and the availability of the filters directly on Xiaomi’s website makes it less confusing as you don’t have to venture around looking for options.
So, all in all, the only shortcoming while otherwise a very good thing in the design aspect is the white color that attracts smudges, and given that this is an appliance that sits in your kitchen, it can easily pick up colors from even the oil marks, even though depends on the placement of the water purifier.
I’d always choose the Xiaomi one over the others, thanks to the ease of use and understanding, and since there is no technical knowledge required to maintain it in the future, and that’s a big deal given the current situation where calling any help at home adds to the risk of infections.
