I just got the new PUR water filter and it's awesome! With the new one, there's an easy click installation and removal so you can take it off if your faucet is a bit low and you don't want to use it. You can also swivel it without breaking the seal. With the old one (picture #3), it would leak incessantly with the slightest twist.


New PUR Horizontal Water Filter

@Jaime F. Good to know! I think I'll be grabbing one soon!

I *love* our Berkey. Stainless steel design with filters that last for years. They come in many sizes, including a "travel/camping" model that would be great for a small home.

My question, is the berkey ALL stainless? What I mean is, is there any plastic?

MY question... are they all priced in the hundreds? I don't think I've seen one under $200. (I'm referring to the Berkeys)

We just got a reverse osmosis system at Lowes. Haven't installed it yet, though, but they're supposed to be pretty good. I didn't know there was a home UV option...

I don't understand the whole water filtration thing - what's wrong with water from the tap? Maybe I'm just lucky where I'm from (Toronto), but our tap water is great, and actually has MUCH higher testing standards than bottled water (which I know is not what we're looking at here, but still).

I've actually found that some filtration systems can end up getting quite dirty and making your water dirtier than if you just got it from the tap - at one of my old jobs, I couldn't figure out why there kept being gunky spots on my water bottle even though I washed it daily, until I switched to the tap and it stopped happening; the filtration system wasn't being cleaned regularly and was all full of bacteria! Gross! I suppose if it's at home you're more likely to clean it more often, but that kind of turned me off of filtered water...

I wouldn't use the filters that attached to the faucets (like #3.) They will actually cause your faucet to leak over time and you'll need to have repairs done. We used to have one and the plumber who fixed our faucet said this was a common complaint with these types of filters.

I just wanted to point out that the brita filter refills can actually be recycled through Preserve's Gimme 5 program. I recently blogged about it on Plastics and the planet - http://plasticsandtheplanet.com/archives/44

@AlisonCJ lots of people have water that they either don't trust or don't like the taste of. A water filtration system is a better environmental option for most of these people than using bottled water.

Yes, the Berkey was expensive, but a 2 filter system will filter 6000 gallons of water (you can clean them). Most Brita pitcher filters have a capacity of 40 gallons, on-taps are at 100 gallons. I would have to buy 60 on-tap filters at an approximate total cost of $750 (sold 2 for $25) to equal the Berkey filters (2 for $99). That's a big difference in cost, and I'd rather dispose or recycle 2 cartridges than 60, not to mention the raw materials and energy in manufacturing of the cartridges.

I'm actually fine with tap water now and drink it many places, but during a health crisis my doctor was concerned about perchlorate and chlorine in our water. As a plus, a Berkey can purify even standing water (with the addition of bleach which is then filtered out) in an earthquake or other emergency situation.

It's not quite 100% stainless because the filters and spigot aren't stainless, but the upper and lower chambers are stainless and the filtered water is stored in the lower stainless chamber.

For on-the-go filtration (and like for me at work who doesn't have a lot of space for a larger filter) I'm quite taken with the bobble as an option - http://www.waterbobble.com/
I use mine daily.

@kimberlyf0 Great thorough explanation. Will def check out Berkey!

I've heard nothing but bad things about the cheaper faucet mount Pur and Brita filters. Leaking, cracking, breaking... Just bad plasticy cheaply made stuff all around. I'm sticking with the pitcher filters (Brita) for a good cheap solution.

@Miriam - Talk about a convoluted information gathering process. For me to learn how to recycle my Brita filters, I had to visit your blog post, find the reference and link to Filter For Good, find the recycle link (in the footer of the page). Click over. Then use a locator to find my nearest location.

http://www.preserveproducts.com/recycling/gimme5locations.html

Ridiculous. Shame on you, Brita, and FFG.

I bought a Mavea (up until recently I could purchase at Sur La Table) pitcher. The pitcher is BPA free and had excellent reviews everywhere I looked online. So far, I have been very pleased with it. I like that the lid shuts when it is full but doesn't cause water to run all over the counter.

Agree with kimberlyf0. That's the reason we replaced our old faucet and side sprayer with a new pull-down faucet and used the sprayer hole for the filtration system faucet. We installed a 2-stage under-sink water filtration system and love the fact that our water is now clear of a lot of common contaminants without the guilt of trashing the environment (the filters need to be changed every six months or so).

I've tried all the standard faucet types (Brita, Pur, Culligan), and learned the hard way that these are simply not designed for the tap water in certain areas (like NYC). They get clogged way before their stated lifespan (like after 20-25 gallons). I've heard that the manufacturers will admit as much. In warm weather, you'll also notice quite a bit of mold/bacteria in the filter housing by the end of the filter life.

The only sensible solution I've found is a high-quality gravity filter, like the Berkey. I've been using the smallest (Travel Berkey, purchased from James Filter) for a year. The initial investment is steep ($220), but should break even after about 2 years in my case, and last several more years, making it a much better value in the long run.

Some minor maintenance is required. Every 4 months or so, I've taken out the filter elements and washed off the build-up on the outside with gentle hand-scrubbing, and washed the stainless containers with a sponge. This restores the initial flow rate when it slows down. Also, every few weeks I stick a twisted-up moist paper towel into the spigot (from the outside) to remove the reddish build-up in there. I think it's probably mold, whose growth is probably accelerated by the plastic used in the spigot -- would love to have a stainless spigot! If you start noticing a slightly sweet taste in your water, this is probably where it's coming from.

It takes a little bit more work than replacing disposable filters, but you don't have to do it as often. It's also significantly cheaper and less wasteful, and the filtration is superior to the pitcher and faucet options I've tried.

@ sygyzy -- thank you, thank you, for that direct link to the recycling info!! And, yes, ugh, I'm also sick of all the people who seem to care more about traffic to their blogs than the info they say they want to share.

My tap water used to be great. Then I moved 1-1/2 miles away and the water tastes awful. So now it has to go through a Brita filter.

I am also one of lucky ones who has great city tap water (they actually proposed bottling it and selling it to help with budget issues) but I've been places like Jacksonville, FL where the health department actually places water dispensers in front of grocery stores because they don't recommend drinking the water.

What I don't understand is this: If drinking healthy water is so important that you would be willing to spend hundreds of dollars on filtration systems, why won't you advocate for the water you're already paying hundreds of dollars for to be clean and taste good?

An update on my horizontal mount

It doesn't leak! I figured I'd start with the good news. The bad news is that after repeated use, and a little over a month after installation, the threading on the inside of the plastic faucet adapter seems to have become worn and will not stay on with the filter. I'll screw the adapter on the faucet, click the filter into place and once I turn on the water, it will fall off with the adapter attached! Again, it doesn't leak but the plastic adapter can't handle the weight of the filter after 1 month and a few weeks of use. It might be that the water in my area is so laden with minerals that it weighs the filter down, but one would think that the R&D team would account for that in their testing. I contacted P&G for information with a description of my problem, so hopefully they'll make sturdier adapters, because even though it falls... at least it doesn't leak!

P&G customer service is very helpful and they seem to answer all customer inquiries. They've even gone so far as sending me coupons for replacement filter units. I'll update once I have more info.