In the United States, public water filtration systems remove contaminants so that the water is safe to drink by the time it reaches the tap. However, filtering water can change the taste and odor to make it more appealing to some people. Both of these essential minerals are good for the body. The taste of soft water may indicate a reduction in mineral content. Studies have suggested that this lower content can cause deficiencies that increase the risk of some diseases.
These systems have enough added fluoride to help prevent tooth decay. By the end of , the U. Brita advise that their filters retain a healthful amount of fluoride. Small quantities of chlorine and chloramine often play a role in community water systems, working as disinfectants and killing germs such as Salmonella and norovirus. Research has shown that small amounts of chlorine do not have harmful health effects in drinking water but can protect the body should there be a waterborne disease outbreak.
The same is true of chloramine. All types of Brita filter remove a high percentage of chlorine. Some people may need to avoid certain water components or contaminants for personal health reasons. In cases such as these, using a Brita filter can be effective in eliminating unwanted substances. In the U. A person can then decide whether there are any components in high quantities that they wish to filter from the water before drinking it. Collecting water through a private source means that the water is not subject to the same regulations as public water systems, so it is up to individuals to filter the water appropriately.
Products can get into the system, including pesticides, antimicrobials, and prescription medication. Therefore, if using a private well, it is advisable to have a state-certified laboratory test the water at least once each year. And unlike a pitcher, it can dispense water while the filter is still working. The 13 are: chlorine; taste and odor; particulate Class M particles 50 to 80 microns in diameter ; zinc, cadmium, copper, and mercury metals ; benzene, ethylbenzene, tetrachloroethylene, toluene, and xylene volatile organic compounds ; and methoxychlor, an insecticide.
Both use the same basic technology, which is common to most filters, to remove contaminants from water. Granules of activated charcoal adsorb bind organic compounds, and an ion-exchange resin selectively captures toxic heavy metals, kicking benign light metals like sodium and potassium into the water during the process. Much like static cling makes your socks stick together, the filter uses an opposing electrical charge to capture dissolved metals that its ion-exchange resin missed.
The Pur filters are molded with a pair of stubby pins, which help you line up the filter properly during installation. But Pur filters have two other physical indications of proper installation: First you push down the filter, and then you do a quarter-turn to lock it in place.
The Pur has a flip-up cover that opens with a press of the thumb on your grip hand; this leaves your other hand free to operate the faucet when refilling. And the Pur requires fewer trips to the sink because its larger upper tank delivers more filtered water per refill—64 ounces of its ounce capacity. The Brita Everyday delivers 51 ounces of its ounce capacity per refill. Pur offers a few other pitchers of different design including the Plus, an cup pitcher that comes with the Lead Reduction filter.
With a more-generous tank, a kid-friendly spigot, and a space-saving design, the Pur Plus 30 Cup Dispenser overcomes a lot of the weaknesses of pitchers—and this model has an edge on the other main dispenser option , from Brita.
You can also park a dispenser in the fridge with both the cup reservoir and the cup upper tank nearly full this is where that cup number came from. So as more filtered water is drawn off, more flows in to replace it. Pur also makes a plain 30 Cup model , which comes with the Faster Flow filter. You can install either filter on each dispenser. The spigot is at the bottom of the reservoir, so you can pour a drink even if the fill tank is loaded with water and even if the bottom chamber is nearly empty.
Being able to dispense water immediately after a refill—while water is still filtering down—helps mitigate one of the chief complaints about filters: clogging, or generally slow filtration. Finally, despite the higher volume, the Pur dispensers use fridge space more efficiently than pitchers do. The dispensers are narrow and deep, extending from the front to the back of the fridge.
These filters can work slowly. Pur told us that the Lead Reduction Filter would take 10 to 11 minutes. In our tests, it averaged a little over 13 minutes. The Faster Flow started out at seven minutes, a number that crept up to 10 after filtering a full 40 gallons. But in a thirstier household, a larger dispenser can be a better choice. The company added internal vents to both the Lead Reduction and the Faster Flow filters to help the bubbles escape. Bubble clogs are common to pitcher filters; Brita has also responded to the issue by adding vents.
If your filter seems to have clogged, Pur recommends removing it, turning it upside down, and shaking it for a few seconds to compact the filter media and eliminate the bubbles. The Classic pitcher can be hard to squeeze into a crowded fridge because it is roughly square in cross-section—almost as wide as it is deep, like a gallon jug of milk.
The complete list can be found here PDF. Our recommended Brita pitcher and dispenser lack a PID and instead simply use a timer to roughly estimate when the filters have reached their gallon lifespan. In fact, it may even be worse than when it came from the tap. The large surface area of the carbon acts like a sponge that absorbs contaminants as tap water passes through. These filters remove:. For example, the Brita water filter pitcher uses a coconut-based activated carbon filter that removes chlorine, zinc, copper, cadmium and mercury.
Other at-home filter treatments include reverse osmosis and distillation units, which are the most effective but also much more expensive and complex. These include things like refrigerator filters, under-the-sink filters, and even filtrations systems for your entire house. The product instructions should tell you how long your filter will last.
Here are examples of how often you need to replace the filter for five popular brands of water filter pitchers. These may vary slightly depending on how often you use the pitcher. An old filter is not only going to be less effective — and crazy slow — but also really gross and grimy.
As we mentioned, your water filter is not killing bacteria. The moist environment in the pitcher filter is perfect for multiplication, so bacteria can reach higher concentrations. This can make you sick if you continue to use the old filter. An older German study found that the amount of bacteria was less in tap water than filtered water after one week of use at two different temperatures.
Researchers concluded that the filter had a biofilm growing on it, and in some cases the bacteria colony counts in the filtered water was up to 10, times those in the tap water. But even treated water can still contain physical, biological, chemical, and even radiological contaminants. Contaminants can be naturally occurring or caused by human activity. As we said at the top of this article, Brita filters usually get rid of, mostly, Chlorine. Well, not really. In fact, Chlorine is simply a gas that can actually evaporate completely if you just fill up a run-of-the-mill pitcher and leave it in your fridge for about a day.
Once the chlorine is out of the water, Brita filters are generally not really doing too much heavy lifting from there on out. This leaves you open to these bacteria, which can be potentially very very dangerous.
Here are just a few:. Bromates: A common byproduct of disinfection of water, bromates are naturally-occurring and tend to develop in common water systems. A study found them to be potentially carcinogenic.
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