Do LifeStraw products remove TDS (Total Dissolved Solids)?

Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) is a term used to describe the inorganic salts and small amounts of organic matter present in water. TDS refers to contaminants and essential minerals, including calcium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium. Therefore, TDS is a vague indicator of water quality and not a true measure of filtration performance. TDS tests do not test for the specific organic matter within water and can also be affected by outside factors, including temperature and type of testing device. For example, bottled water can have a high TDS reading due to higher levels of mineral content.

We recommend noting the actual microbiological filtration performance and testing standards when evaluating water filtration devices. The only accepted scientific evaluation of microbiological filtration performance is log values (the number of 9s in 99.999999%). All internationally accepted protocols from ANSI, WQA, NSF International, the US EPA, and the World Health Organization evaluate performance through log removal testing. None of these bodies will certify anyone based on pore size; it is ACTUAL PERFORMANCE that matters.

LifeStraw exceeds all log standards AND performs internal and independent laboratory tests, which are available as evidence dossiers (lab reports) on our website. We are the only brand that publishes all of the test results substantiating our claims by product.

ALL LifeStraw products meet:

LOG 8 (99.999999%) for Bacteria

LOG 5 (99.999%) for parasites/amoebas/cysts

LOG 5 (99.999%) for microplastics