We have talked a lot on this site about different water purification systems that can be used in the home and on the road. What we haven’t yet done is exhaustive comparison between products. In this post, we will get into the nitty-gritty with some of the more well known pitcher filters.
We have already done a bit of this when it comes to two popular products: PUR and Brita pitcher filters. We will not be including the Brita 35530 Ultramax here as we were not very impressed with it (you can read our review here). We will, however, include the PUR pitcher filter that we reviewed because it continues to hold up in our eyes.
1. PUR DS-1800Z 2 Stage Water Dispenser
You can see our full review of this product here. In this shortened review, we will highlight a few features. For one, this product filters more efficiently than many of its counterparts, including products fabricated by Brita. It has a high volume (it holds 18 8oz cups of water) and the filters last for several months with normal usage. The design is slender, which allows for easy storage in the fridge without compromising the volume. Again, check out our full review for more detail, but know that this product gets our stamp of approval.
2. Mavea Elemaris XL Water Filtration Pitcher
This may be the most attractively designed water filter, but it also has a number of design features that are highly functional. For example, the pour-through lid uses water pressure to determine when to open and shut. There is no cap to unscrew or flap to open up as the lid will automatically close when you are finished pouring the water. It does not have the same volume as the PUR pitcher, but it can still hold a solid 9 glasses. Mavea has also taken a few extra steps with their product that other companies could serve to emulate. For example, the filter itself is treated with silver to discourage bacteria growth. Finally, we are a fan of their recycling program — when your filter is caput, you can easily recycle it with Mavea directly.
3. ZeroWater ZD-013 Pitcher
An effective filter, but not the most efficient, we are including ZeroWater here because it scores high marks for quality. It should be noted that this pitcher does not work quickly. In fact, it may take up to 25 minutes to completely fill up with filtered water. For our money, we would go with the Mavea filter above, as these two products are more or less priced at the same amount.
Outside of these 3 products, I would be hesitant to recommend another pitcher filter. If you have one in mind, please send it along and we will take a look (if we haven’t already). In general, we score these items on quality, efficiency, design, maintenance and cost. In other words, a solid product should be durable, effective, well designed and relatively affordable. If the price tag is too high, you might as well jump into the next category of more serious water purification systems.
{ 0 comments… add one }