apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Thanks MGR. A very timely tip. I have recently tired of lugging the pitcher back and forth to the refrigerator to fill up the in-the-door spigotted contraption, and was starting the online search for the best of show in this category. This saved me much time.

My apartment doesn't have enough water pressure. I know other people in NYC with the same problem.

How slow are these things? It takes maybe 30-50 seconds to fill a glass with my PUR faucet mount.

this might be stating the obvious, but try replacing the filter cartridge when it gets slow.

i had a PUR filter and it would have the same problem--even when the indicator seemed to show a third or more of useful life remaining on the cartridge it would be impossibly slow to fill up a glass of water.

if you replace the filter it will run as expected & taste much much fresher. i've had both (PUR and Brita) and find the Brita cartridges last longer.

i have a questions- i'd like to get a faucet mounted purifier, but my sink is pretty shallow and the faucet hangs pretty low, leaving only about 10" between the faucet and the bottom of the sink. i'm concerned that once i mount one of these things, i won't be able to fit stuff under the faucet (big soup pot, flower vase, etc.) any suggestions?

Hi! I love our Brita Filter. The filter unit is mounted on the side of the faucet so it lowers the faucet spout by about 1 1/2".

I'm glad there's a chrome one - I'll definitely get one if and when we need ours replaced ( I have the all white one).

I also like the idea some fridge manufacturers are trying... integrating purified water into the "through the door water & ice" feature.

I had this exact same filter... and I give it two thumbs up!

It's by far the best and most convenient water filter I have had/tried to date. The filter chargers are small, cheap and last for like 4 months!

The water quality is way better and tastes much better as well, comparable to just about any bottled water (at least mine did, your results may vary).

Note: If you have hard water (like me) DO NOT boil this filter unit in vinegar! (like my wife did). While that might take mineral deposits off of pots and metal... the plastic filter will MELT and warp.

I now have a regular Brita, which is also nice.

Necrothread.

Consumer Reports did a feature on in-home water filtration not too long ago. The Brita pitchers did not do very well compared to the faucet models.

i prefer the pitcher, only cos the fridge keeps the water nice and cold. i'd have to run my cold water faucet for a while, thus wasting water, to achieve the same result. but if i go sink-mounted, this one is sure purty.

I have this unit and yes, its slow, however, instead of having to use a Brita pitcher, I just fill my ice cube trays with faucet water filtered through this unit and when I want cold water, I use the cubes and fille the glass the same way.

Saves a fortune!

I have the PUR faucet filter, but i'm thinking of jumping ship to the Brita party as the PUR filter slows considerably after about 3 weeks... then again, i do go through a lot of water.

As for the pitcher argument... I keep a 1 gallon jug of filtered water in the fridge for when i want cold water. Just fill it up from the faucet filter and leave in the fridge. Best of both worlds with no more clutter and I don't have to run ice cold water through my coffee machine (coffee comes out hotter with tap temp i find)

I really recommend an undercounter system. I rent, and plan to take mine with me when I move. It wasn't difficult at all to install. (Really! And I felt daunted by the prospect at first, but it's actually.... a cinch. Everything you need comes with the unit, hot and cold water pipes are easy to identify, etc.) I didn't know what to do with the spray faucet that I removed to make room for my filtered water faucet. - So, imperfectionist that I am, I just left it connected under the sink, ready to re-install whenever I remove the filter system when I move.

Anyway, I've got the Aquasana water filter. When I was researching this a few years ago, that seemed like the best choice for Manhattan. I'd choose a different one for the country. And while I was at it, I got the Aquasana shower filter, as well.... It is soooo worth it to have good drinking water at home, and it seems cheaper in the long run than buying bottled water (not that I was doing that before, so I guess I can't count that as a personal savings, ehh?).
By the way, the pitcher systems do nothing to remove the things you most want to remove from your water - you need a system that uses pressure to do that.

Cold water was never a problem, I bought a really nice water pitcher (that the wife broke, for real... she's clumsy but I love her none the less) that I filled with the filtered water and kept in the fridge.

That way you can let the pitcher fill at it's own pace and have enough cold water on hand to fill several glasses (say when you have guests)... and the ice cube idea was good also.

Boomer, I think my wife wanted to clean up the whole unit... the little screen on the bottom and where the water tends to dry on the filter... we've got really hard water here (Belgrade).

Pete,

I have a chrome PUR faucet-mounted filter and I soak (but never boil!) the unit in vinegar every month or so to remove the hard water deposits from the plastic casing and screen. I haven't had any problems.

I gotta disagree having had both the Brita and the Pur I determined I like the taste of the Pur better, although this aspect may very with local water supply (didn't have problems with the Pur slowing down that others have had although my water pressure is good). Also I didn't like the switch on the Brita, which was the first of the units I used, it is really small and was the main reason I switched to the big old style Pur where you swiveled the whole head, then later when they had the other Pur version at Costco w/ three filters I picked that up and couldn't be happier. Either way, since I don't like ice cold water these are way better for me then a pitcher version.

Hopefully everyone realizes that impurities in your drinking water should be your last step if you are doing this for health concerns. You absorb a lot more crap while taking a shower and studies indicate the risk of exposure is far greater from the water you use to wash than the water you drink.

joebelt,
That's very true - the VOCs get breathed in from the steam, which makes them dangerous in the lungs (not to mention the skin easily absorbs a lot of stuff, as well). But it's very hard to develop filters that work well with both hot water and high pressure. As I mentioned above, I use a shower filter. But I also take quick showers. That's probably the best (and cheapest) thing to do.

Anyone else a fan of the Brita tank that goes in the fridge? It holds a lot more water than the pitchers (less refilling) and dispenses water with just the flick of a finger (less effort). It does take up quite a bit of space in the fridge but my girlfriend and I haven't found that to be a problem. If anything, the space constraint encourages frequent editing of the contents of the fridge, which is a good thing.

I use the filters for only three reasons:

1. Slightly better tasting water

2. Convenience - No lugging bottled water up the stairs and worrying when I have to get more

3. It's much cheaper than Bottled water.

As for poisoning myself with bath/wash water... no one lives forever, you might as well smell nice while your alive! :)

I found the Brita a little clunky - Switching from regular-brita-spray seemed to loosen the system each time, having to stop to tighten it again.
Also, our water pressure is low (about 18 psi), so a glass of water took about 15 seconds or so to fill. When you have 5 people waiting for a glass of water on a hot summer day, that 15 seconds is precious.
Combined with these two faults was the price of replacing the filter.
I have recently switched back to my good-ole Brita jug.

If you have the dough a reverse osmosis system on your main water line is the way to go...

When I lived in NYC my Pur would only last a few weeks at best and by the second week it drippppppped.

When I moved back to NC, my Pur lasted 3 or 4 times as long.

I don't know, but we just blamed it on old NYC pipes or poluted water.