OT: Brita/Pur filter recommendations please

spline9

spline9

New member
I've been looking for a drinking water filter. For me, not the fish. :P Something along the lines of a Brita or Pur filter, not an RO/DI unit but. From the reviews I've been reading, Pur seems to be better but I cant seem to find any data on why except "it tastes better".

I'm sure there are a few people here that have these things. I'd like to know your opinions and if there is a significant reduction of TDS. Please mention what model you have (at least if its a faucet-mount or a pitcher type).

note: I'm not in the market for an in-line filter. I have a tiny apt so I dont have the space.

Thanks!
 
my pur crapped out on me in a month. i think i got a defective unit though, it was the worst wal-mart i've ever been to. it took 1 hour to fill a cup of water.
 
I've been using a Brita pitcher for several years now, and I am very happy with it. I usually change the filter cartridges about once every 3 to 4 months. I don't have a TDS meter to test the "purity" of it, but it is a simple carbon filter as someone mentioned and highly doubt the water is all that pure. What I can say is that it does wonders for the taste! My advice is to buy one from Costco and return it if you don't like it. I think they carry PUR filters as well.
 
Yikes! After all you know now (being in this hobby), why on earth would you want anything less than RO filtration for your own drinking water??? and your family's for that matter?

"in-line" filters are completely useless for anything other than sediment removal and very limited absorption of some chemicals (usually the harmless ones) and the pitcher and/or faucet types are even worse!

Get a simple RO unit with storage tank (~$150) and hook it up to your refridgerator/icemaker....ALL the difference in the world!

Get with the plan, man! :)

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=619925
 
We've used Brita. It's hard to find filters for it in Spokane. So we bought a Pur unit. We're mechanically skilled enough to install a stupid filter, but after an hour's work at what should have been a screwon installation on the kitchen sink, it still leaks. A letter to Pur got absolutely no response. And the water isn't that great either. We're going back to Brita if we have to mail-order the filters.
 
I measured it with a TDS meter. No change with and without Brita. I cant imagine how the Brita can remove the contaminants from such a small filter with water running through it so fast. If you water has a chlorine taste or smell it may remove some of it from what I heard.

I have 2 RO. One RO/DI for the fish and RO for the family.
 
ReefMeister2: I guess I wasnt clear on why I wasnt looking for an RO/DI unit. I dont have very much space in this apt. What little space I do have is already used up. At my current living space, its simply not practical for me. If I had the space, I'd definately get a good unit but its not gonna happen here.

I'm not looking for absolutely pure water. I'm really just looking for something to take out that gross tap taste from it. Extra filtration is just a bonus.
Costco is a good plan. I think I may do that. Thanks for your input.
 
All I know is we both get stomach complaints during certain seasons if we don't use it; we travel with a Brita pitcher, and never have to drink straight hotel water, either. Local farms dump so much fertilizer and stuff into the aquifer, our water exits the tap with a certain level of nitrate, and now and again people in the area get a 'boil' order...so, yes, the filters provide a certain value.

I've been told by medical people that drinking ro/di isn't best either, unless you're taking a mineral supplement. And when we add it to our tank, it takes a lot of minerals besides salt to make it healthy for the fish.
 
Sk8r: Yeah, I have to agree that these are not completely useless. I have also learned that RO/DI is so clean that we cant benefit much from it, either. I think I heard that the body has a harder time absorbing water this clean but dont quote me on this. There is also a lack of electrolytes which the body also needs (related to the rehydration issue?)
In any case, our tap tastes like [insert something foul here] so I just want it to taste better. Living right below Rocketdyne doesnt help any. Heh.
 
Oh, Rocketdyne! lovely! And we have Kaiser. Yep, pity they don't have a 'people salt' kit you can use to convert ro/di to 'healthy for us' the way we can for our fish. Best we can do is subscribe to bottled water [which I've done in worst cases] or use one of the little filters. In apartment living, you're kind of limited about alterations you can make. It's what we cope with, too.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8032375#post8032375 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by spline9
Sk8r: Yeah, I have to agree that these are not completely useless. I have also learned that RO/DI is so clean that we cant benefit much from it, either. I think I heard that the body has a harder time absorbing water this clean but dont quote me on this. There is also a lack of electrolytes which the body also needs (related to the rehydration issue?)
In any case, our tap tastes like [insert something foul here] so I just want it to taste better. Living right below Rocketdyne doesnt help any. Heh.
Click to expand...

Just take out the DI part and your unit become just an RO and not an RO/DI. An RO costs less to purchase and cost less to run as well.
When I lived in an apartment I had an RO unit. It all fit under the sink including the 3 gal tank so Im not sure why you said there is no room in your apartment. There are many ways to tap into your cold water line. When I left my apt I just took the RO with me and replaced the cold water line ($3) I spliced into

A few tests from my TDS meter

Tap Water 350 ppm
Brita 348 ppm
Arrowhead Bottled water 150ppm
Kirkland (Costco) bottled water 50ppm
Reverse Osmosis (RO) water 8ppm
RO/DI 0 ppm
 
I have used Pur and Waterpik faucet filters. Neither significantly reduce TDS, but they do eliminate chlorine (tested it with my kit). Depending on where you live, using one of these is much much better than drinking straight tap water.

That said, if you already have a RO/DI unit for your tank, you may as well use the RO water for drinking. I haven't quite figured out a good way to set this up, as my sink dosen't have a hole to place a faucet for it!
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8032884#post8032884 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by saltyESQ
I LOVE THE PICTURE OF THE RO FACET IN THE HEADBOARD!!!! :)
Click to expand...
LOL, ..."ME" get outa bed to get a drink of water...HA!
I didn't get the nickname "Lazy Reefmeister" for nothing!
:lol:

AND....there's even a small sink with drain and everything!
Got Mouthwash???
nyuck, nyuck, nyuck! :D
 
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FYI:
Reverse Osmosis is exactly what you are getting with Sparkletts and Arrowhead water....there is no issue to even talk about

Deionized water on the other hand, has all kind of rumors floating around about it's long-term health effects. Again, it is a non-issue unless you are drinking DI water exclusively (your only source of water). Remember, everyday foods contain mostly water, so this is not likely to become a concern as far as where you get your minerals from
 
Holy cow, you guys. Haha. This is rediculous.

I am not interested in an RO/DI unit. I'm not getting one. Its not an option. Please, please, please stop trying to convince me. I thought you guys could understand (well, some of you do) this. If anybody mentions these things again, I'm gonna to throw flatworms at you. Mwahaha.

Let me start this over. Its very simple. Brita or Pur (not RO/DI). Personal experiences please. Thanks.
 
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