www.COMPARINGWATERFILTERS.com
WATER FILTER REVIEWS
And Water Filter Comparisons
Comparing water filters can be very difficult until you gather all the facts. Basically what you want to look for are
the following:
- Which and how many contaminants does the filter reduce?
- What is the cost of operation? This includes the initial cost and the cost of operation over time, factoring in the cost of replacement filter cartridges and what kind of warranty the item has (how long it is expected or guaranteed to last).
- Is it NSF Certified? (NSF is a consumer watchdog organization that examines, analyzes and certifies water filters as to whether they do what they say they do. They also oversee advertising and claims to make sure a manufacturer of an NSF-Certified water filter does not make false claims.) Other things such as UL listing or Water Quality Association membership are okay, but not as meaningful and do not carry as much weight as NSF Certification.
- Does it have a Satisfaction Guarantee? (Can you easily return it if it does not live up to your expectations?)
- What is the warranty on it? 1 to 6 months? A year? Lifetime?
There are many water filters available but really only a handful of them meet most of the above criteria do a good enough job
to be seriously considered. So
let's look at 3 of the most popular ones:
In the chart below we will look at Multi-Pure, Aquasana and Brita. (Note that the Dr. Mercola water filter currently being advertised
heavily on the internet, is virtually the same as the Aquasana - it just comes in a different box.)
Please also note that Aquasana offers a Comparison page but they do not compare their filter to Multi-Pure. Therefore I have remedied
that by including Multi-Pure in my comparison here.
Brand |
Brita | ||
|---|---|---|---|
Model Number |
Aquadome |
AQ-4000 |
FF-100 |
Retail Price |
$259.95** |
$99.99 |
$29.99 |
Cost Per Gallon |
$66.45 /750 Gal. |
$72.00 / 750 Gal. |
$105 / 750 Gal. (replace filter every 100 gal or every 2-3 mo..) |
Per Gallon "Cost Of Use" |
8.9 cents |
9.6 cents |
14 cents Per Gal. |
| NSF CERTIFIED | YES | NO | YES |
| California Certified | YES | YES | YES |
| Iowa, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, and Colorado Certified | YES | NO | NO |
| Flow Rate (how fast water comes out of the filter - A low number means water comes out of the faucet more slowly) | .75 gal/ per min. | .40 gal/ per min. | .58 gal/ per min |
Reduces |
YES >99.9% |
NO |
YES >99% |
Reduces |
YES > 99% |
NO |
NO |
Reduces MTBE |
YES > 96.6% |
YES > 87% |
NO |
Reduces |
YES > 92.9% |
NO |
93.6% |
Reduces PCBs |
YES > 99.9% |
NO |
NO |
Reduces |
YES >99.5% |
NO |
99.5% |
Reduces |
YES > 99% |
NO |
YES 97.2% |
Reduces Chlorine |
YES >99% |
YES 99.3% |
YES 99% |
| Reduces Chlordane | YES > 99.5% | NO | YES 98% |
Reduces Lead |
YES >99.3% |
YES 99% |
YES >99.3% |
Reduces Cysts |
YES > 99.95% |
YES 99.987% |
YES 99.99% |
Reduces THMs |
YES > 99.8% |
YES > 95% |
YES 96.1% |
Reduces VOCs |
YES > 95-99%* |
YES > 94-99% |
98.7% |
Reduces Lindane |
YES > 99% |
YES > 99% |
99% |
Reduces Alachlor |
YES > 98% |
YES > 98% |
97.5% |
Reduces Atrazine |
YES > 97% |
YES > 97% |
94.1% |
Reduces Benzene |
YES > 99% |
YES > 98% |
YES >96.8% |
Reduces TCE |
YES > 99% |
YES > 99% |
99.8% |
| How Many Contaminants Does It Reduce? |
60 | 48 | 56 |
| WARRANTY | LIFETIME | One Year | 90 Days |
| SATSIFACTION GUARANTEE | 90 Days | 60 Days | 30 Days |
NOTE:
All Aquasana figures from the Aquasana Performance Data Sheet
All Brita figures from their Brita Performance Data Sheet
All Multi-Pure data from the Multi-Pure Performance Data Sheet
**Substantial discounts are available on Multi-Pure via the net using these Coupon Codes; Aquasana usually has no coupon offers but is available
via the net; Brita is usually cheapest at Target or other discount stores.
PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING CHART HAS OUTDATED PRICES
BUT THE FILTRATION COMPARISONS ARE STILL VALID
(The Multi-Pure MP750SC is exactly the same as the current Multipure Aquaversa and it is now $370 instead of $360.)
**Discounts are available on Multi-Pure using Coupon Codes
Britas widely available at discounts at Target, Amazon.com and other sites and stores
Aquasana available at Amazon.com and other sites
Please click the following links for further information such as:
Who are the NSF and Why is NSF Certification Important
Why Bottled Water is Not Recommended
What About Reverse Osmosis?
WATER FILTER REVIEWS:
The Brita faucet model has an average of 2 and 1/4 stars out of 5 at Amazon.com:
"I see a lot of previous reviews from other people who got sucked into this product. It's the biggest waste of $30 I have ever spent. It leaks, sprays water all over my kitchen, and if I, heaven forbid, turn the water on past low, it will just fall off. I know the initial assumption is "operator error", but I assure you, as an engineer who works for a consumer products company, I have installed the thing correctly. I have the most standard faucet you could find, and it leaks everywhere. When I contacted Brita about the poor quality of their product, they ignored me and never responded. And you better hope you never have to move. I am moving right now, and the little plastic adapter literally disintegrated in the faucet head and is stuck there. When I tried to remove it, the plastic just kept snapping off until now it is embedded into the faucet, which will probably now need to be replaced because of it. DO NOT BUY BRITA and DO NOT BOTHER WITH THIS PRODUCT!" - K. Wayne
The Aquasana has an average of 3 and 1/4 stars out of 5 at Amazon:
"I used to have an Aquasana but I had to replace the container system two times (or, to be exact, the 2nd time I requested a free replacement of the failing container system - since I didn't want to buy a whole new unit - but was rejected and so I returned the unused filter replacements). The problem is that the design of the container system is so bad that replacing the filters is really close to impossible without going through a lot of pain and in the end it becomes really impossible. Essentially the filters get stuck inside the container. Each time you have to replace them (every 6 months), it gets harder and harder to open the container. Well, bye-bye, Aquasana!"
----
"The filtering process is good, however, my unit only lasted a few Months before the faucet attachment stopped working correctly.
I had to remove the faucet mount so I could use the regular tap water, and then replace the mount when I wanted to filter the water.
The 'push/pull' button does not function properly.
Needless to say this got old real fast, and I recently threw the unit out, I will never buy this filtering system again due to the aggravation involved with the faucet mounting issue.
Let me clear this up, the unit attaches to the faucet well enough, but the push pull button does not function properly, it did work well for a few Months, then all of a sudden stopped working the way it is supposed to, which is why I would have to constantly remove the faucet mount attachment to use the regular function of the tap without filtering the water, i/e doing dishes etc. "
----
"1. The first thing you'll noticed when using the filter is that it takes it's own sweet time. If you think you're going to get a full size stream of water at full pressure -- think again. So, plan ahead -- factor in the fairly slow flow rate, and you'll be fine.
2. Everything functions as advertised. However, what is not mentioned is that the water diverter valve stem (the little metal button you pull on to divert the faucet water into the filter) does not always return itself to the off position when you turn off the water -- you have to push the valve stem back in to fully deactivate the filter. This may not sound like a big deal, but it can potentially destroy the filter! The filter elements cannot handle hot water according to the instruction manual which is included. If you use the filter, with cold water but don't remember to re-seat the valve stem to it's full off position, and you come back in a couple of minutes and turn on the hot water to wash your hands, the hot water will get unintentionally diverted into the filter unit and destroy the expensive filter elements. BE WARNED!
Other than the above mentioned items (one of which is potentially quite harmful to the filter) -- everything is fine. As long as you're not in a hurry, and always remember to push the valve stem back in you should be OK.
One final note is that someone else posted a review which states that the valve stem should never be operated while the water is on. The reason stated, is that the valve stem is fairly thin and can break if it is subjected to the stress of overcoming the faucet water pressure when diverting the water into the filter. "
The Multi-Pure has an average of 4 and 1/2 stars out of 5 at Amazon:
"You can't go wrong with this one. I've owned it for almost a year, works perfectly. You only need to change the filter once a year. Is small enough to fit anywhere on the countertop you want to place it near the sink(s). Never drips, never a problem.
Looks attractive too in stainless steel. Easy to keep clean.
Can't recommend it highly enough."
----
"I've had this filter for 6 months and I am very pleased. Installation took just minutes without any tools. Filtered tap water tastes exactly like the Arrowhead bottled water that I used to buy, and it might even be cleaner... If you are comparing models, note that this particular filter also reduces Arsenic, a rare feature among countertop filters." [Note: only the 880 and RO models filter arsenic]
----
"This is a great water filter system that I have been using for years. I understand that the water is very highly filtered and much better than the regular Brita pitcher system I previously used. I also only have to change the filter once per year, and that's fairly easy to do. I think it also may be cheaper in the long run than the Brita, even with with initial high cost. Though it sits on the counter-top behind my kitchen water faucet, it is not in the way and looks nice-enough. The included faucet connectors worked well for my standard faucet. Highly recommended."
----
"We've had ours about a year or two now and it works great, water tastes great. Everyone in Berkeley seems to buy this brand after all their research so I admit I didn't do any myself but i'm happy with the results! "
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NOTE: The Multipure filters recently had a name change but the filters are EXACTLY THE SAME as before! The old 750 series is not the Aquaversa, the old 880 series is now the Aquaperform and the old 750 RO Plus system is now the Aquacomplete.
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