India, June 8 -- Choosing an RO water purifier is not a casual purchase. Most households research it for weeks, compare specifications across brands, read reviews, and weigh the decision carefully because they know the machine they pick will sit on their kitchen counter for the next eight years. What the research phase rarely surfaces is what those eight years actually cost.

The purchase price is only the beginning. Filter replacements run Rs.2,000- Rs.4,000 per cycle. Technician visits cost at least Rs.500 each. AMC renewals, out-of-warranty repairs, and parts that quietly fall outside coverage accumulate on top. A purifier bought at Rs.14,999 can cost upward of Rs.50,000 across its ownership life. That number rarely features in the buy...