water filters

[Jack]

Do any of you use water filters? If you do, what kind?

My tap water tastes really weird (like chemicals) and instead of buying bottled water over and over and over, I'm thinking about buying one of those filters that attaches to the tap itself.

[Nanohedron]

I use a Brita pitcher system. Why I don't use a tap filter is anyone's guess.

BTW: one time I used GE brand filters, and they are waaaaaaaaaaaaay toooooooooo sssssssssssssslow forrrrrrrrrrrrr meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

[Denny]

MSR Hyperflow

[MTGuru]

Brita pitcher.

[I.D.10-t]

Looks like the first faucet filter I used is now discontinued.

We use to use a PŪR faucet filters, but when we moved the water pressure was different and we could not keep one of the faucet attachments from leaking part way through the life of the filter.
So we bought a Brita Pitcher.

The first one we purchased was cylindrical, had a white top, and could be totally taken apart to clean, the bad part was if you didn't notice that someone had just filled it you could start pouring and the top would open dumping the top over everything. (Looked it up, it was the Brita Standard Water Pitcher)

We now have a different one that has a see through top. I think it is the Brita Atlantis Pitcher, it has annoying hinged filling cover that is so far back that you have to hold the ting backwards to fill in our sink and a hinged spout cover that will most likely break within the year. One thing you may want to do (if you go with the pitcher) is measure the distance (or cut a piece of string) the distance between the racks in the fridge, the new pitcher barely fit on the shelf.

For camping, we use the Katadyn Hiker Pro Water Microfilter, but always have purification tablets as back up. We have had the filter suddenly clog and boiling all of your water can be a pain.

[mutepointe]

I just leave my drinking water in a jug in the fridge til it chills. Tap water is pretty safe to drink. Total additonal cost: $0

[Jack]

I just leave my drinking water in a jug in the fridge til it chills. Tap water is pretty safe to drink. Total additonal cost: $0

The sulfur makes it undrinkable. There are recommendations from this city that certain parts of town filter their tap water. I always buy water in bottles but am thinking about a filter...

[chas]

We have a Brita pitcher upstairs and a Water Pik on-faucet filter down. I like that better for the kitchen since I'm often wanting a gallon or more of filtered water at once and the pitcher can't do that.

Something like a billion plastic water bottles a week are generated, and only about 25-30% are recycled. One little water bottle doesn't seem like much, but when you multiply it by a billion, you're talking a real environmental disaster.

[rhulsey]

Sorry you have bad water. At its best, the water here isn't all that great, and with the TVA ash spill mess about a mile from my house, I'm even more conscious of water quality and taste. I drink mostly water, and a lot of it.

I've had both Brita and Pur tap filters, and a Brita tank, and the fridge has a filter and cold water. All seem to work fine and certainly improve the taste, etc., but the best is the water from the filter on the tap - now a Pur - filtered again through a Brita tank that I keep in the fridge.

Obsessive probably, but it sure makes a difference. Good luck, Jack!

Reg

[brewerpaul]

Our water softener died, so while Culligan was installing a new one we had them install a reverse osmosis water purifier to provide really first rate drinking water. The filters need be changed like once per year or less. It's not a cheap option, but the results are great. It removes chlorine, all sorts of organic compounds, and much of the salt that the water softener adds to the water. Our taps produce soft water and we have a separate tap in the kitchen sink for purified water. It serves the ice maker in the fridge too.

[BillChin]

Some years ago, I used the Brita kind of filters. More recently, I have gone to using glass water containers, shaking and letting stand for a day. By alternating two containers, I always have water. A bonus is that I have an emergency supply of a day or more always on hand. The plastic containers that typically come with Brita don't seem all that good to me, considering all the news about various plastics. So I switched to glass, shaking, and waiting.

In the third world, they are taught to use any clear container, shake the water, and place it in direct sunlight for a day. This procedure makes the nastiest water safe to drink. The taste may not be all that great because of particles, but it kills the germs.

[Jack]

Why do you shake it?

[BillChin]

Why do you shake it?

Here, it helps outgas the chlorine more quickly.

In the third world, probably so any sediment isn't stuck in a layer at the bottom, so the sun can do its magic.

[Lambchop]

Here, our water is preserved with chloramine instead of chlorine. It doesn't outgas like chlorine, which is why it's used here. It will kill an African violet outright, plus it imparts a somewhat foul ammonia smell and taste to the water. It's so distinct that people sometimes think they've accidentally drunk the recycled sewage water we use on lawns.

Both Brita and Pur filters are fine, but I prefer the taste of a Brita. At least with our water, it's a more neutral, fresh taste. Like Rhulsey, I have filtered through a Pur and then a Brita, with excellent results.

You'll probably find the pitcher satisfactory. The classic round one is a good design, plus it's not overly expensive. Remember that they don't hold all that much, so you will want one that is not unwieldy or awkward, as you'll be refilling it often. Water is very heavy and you'll have to tote it around the kitchen. If they're too big, or, like some of the ovoid ones, too heavy on the side opposite the handle, you'll spill water trying to get it into the fridge. (I'm thinking of the ovoid, flap-top Brita, which sloshes and blurps out gushers at the least tilt.)

The on-faucet ones can take up a lot of room, so if your faucet isn't very high, you might want to go with a pitcher.

You will need to change the filter now and then, so keep track of when you install it. Also remember that you do need to wash them periodically. The fact that they're refrigerated is no guarantee of purity . . . I've seen them with mildew and green algae, and once found transparent, jelly-fish-like things growing in one of mine, which I can assure you was a sincerely upsetting experience.

[Innocent Bystander]

These days the posh filter-jugs have an LED display on them to tell you how far along the life-cycle of the filter is. They're expensive, if you go by the display.

We've filtered our tapwater for years. Here in the Thames Valley the water is very hard. Limescale is a real problem. We've had two hot-water tanks in fiteen years. An additional problem is that the water quality gets worse as you go further down the Thames. They say that at the river-mouth the water has been drunk nine times. In East London the water quality (straight from the tap) is disgusting. You wash with it, but you hesitate or plain refuse to brush your teeth with it.

The wife got a tap filter a couple of years back. It uses plain old salt, which needs refilled every six months or so. It lives under the sink. It's not cheap, but we feel it's worth it. The mixer tap has three valves on it. One for hot water, one for unfiltered cold, and one for the filtered water (always cold). We tend to fill a two-litre water bottle and stick it in the fridge. This is the water we drink with our meals.