That was probably me, but technically RO doesn't demineralize down to a perfect TDS of 0 so its not that acidic, but distilled is certainly 0 TDS and acidic. It's not a problem to put in a pinch (1/16th teaspoon) of sea salt per 8 oz every time I fill up. That's good practice for water anyway so you replenish electrolytes.Maddy wrote: Don't reverse osmosis systems demineralize the water? My understanding is that over time demineralized water causes calcium, magnesium, and other necessary minerals to be leeched out of your system. I seem to recall some mention of adding Himalayan salt to RO-filtered water to avoid that problem.
Brita faucet filters
Moderator: Global Moderator
- MachineGhost
- Executive Member
- Posts: 10054
- Joined: Sat Nov 12, 2011 9:31 am
Re: Brita faucet filters
Last edited by MachineGhost on Wed Apr 06, 2016 8:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"All generous minds have a horror of what are commonly called 'Facts'. They are the brute beasts of the intellectual domain." -- Thomas Hobbes
Disclaimer: I am not a broker, dealer, investment advisor, physician, theologian or prophet. I should not be considered as legally permitted to render such advice!
Disclaimer: I am not a broker, dealer, investment advisor, physician, theologian or prophet. I should not be considered as legally permitted to render such advice!
Re: Brita faucet filters
Dualstow, have you tested your water for lead? I did that when I moved into my 100 year old building, and was quite happy to get negative results on two tests. The only other issue I'd be concerned about in a city apartment is Legionella. A friend of mine (lived in my former building) had it twice in the past few years. Glad I moved out of there!
If you held a gun to my head and asked me to which pitcher or faucet system is the best, I'd go with the PUR pitcher - tastes better than Brita, and uses a lot less counter space than the Berkley. Of course, if you have the counterspace Berkley could be a great option - but then that probably means you live in a nice house and could have an undersink filter! A cheap GE filter ($19 on Amazon) does the same job as the PUR pitcher.
If you held a gun to my head and asked me to which pitcher or faucet system is the best, I'd go with the PUR pitcher - tastes better than Brita, and uses a lot less counter space than the Berkley. Of course, if you have the counterspace Berkley could be a great option - but then that probably means you live in a nice house and could have an undersink filter! A cheap GE filter ($19 on Amazon) does the same job as the PUR pitcher.
Re: Brita faucet filters
http://www.waterfiltercomparisons.com/p ... rt_compare
compares different filters and what they do/don't filter out.
Looks like time to replace my Brita.
compares different filters and what they do/don't filter out.
Looks like time to replace my Brita.
It was good being the party of Robin Hood. Until they morphed into the Sheriff of Nottingham
- MachineGhost
- Executive Member
- Posts: 10054
- Joined: Sat Nov 12, 2011 9:31 am
Re: Brita faucet filters
That site is managed by Aquasauna which just happens to be the #1 in every category. And they probably don't include any possibility of filters that looks as good as their own. But from my previous filter research, I do recall that they seemed to be head and shoulders above the rest of the competition if their data is to be believed, but it comes at a higher cost. Their RO even includes a remineralizer. $130 for a pitcher is bloody ridiculous when a true RO system is only $100 more than that.Benko wrote: http://www.waterfiltercomparisons.com/p ... rt_compare
compares different filters and what they do/don't filter out.
Looks like time to replace my Brita.
"All generous minds have a horror of what are commonly called 'Facts'. They are the brute beasts of the intellectual domain." -- Thomas Hobbes
Disclaimer: I am not a broker, dealer, investment advisor, physician, theologian or prophet. I should not be considered as legally permitted to render such advice!
Disclaimer: I am not a broker, dealer, investment advisor, physician, theologian or prophet. I should not be considered as legally permitted to render such advice!
- dualstow
- Executive Member
- Posts: 14308
- Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2010 10:18 am
- Location: synagogue of Satan
- Contact:
Re: Brita faucet filters
I have actually been shopping for a company to do that. Wrote to the neighbor about it last week.WiseOne wrote: Dualstow, have you tested your water for lead?
-
- Executive Member
- Posts: 705
- Joined: Sat Sep 13, 2014 4:20 am
Re: Brita faucet filters
I have been using the CWR creamic system for more than 15 years.
You can check their website. They are based in Stuart, Florida.
You can check their website. They are based in Stuart, Florida.
- williswine
- Associate Member
- Posts: 49
- Joined: Mon Sep 13, 2010 6:23 pm
Re: Brita faucet filters
Regarding RO demineralizing water, I once suggested that my plan was to remineralize RO water by adding minerals back to it. This is what brewers do to "recreate" the water found where a given beer is produced. At least one person has posted recipes on how to approximate a large number of famous waters at http://blog.khymos.org/2012/01/04/miner ... -la-carte/. I haven't tried this yet since I am yet to switch to using RO but it sounds ideal to me.
Re: Brita faucet filters
How do you know that the additives do not have more toxins than regular drinking water? I guess if I were using RO and adding back minerals, I'd like to be sure the minerals have been tested. Especially those coming from other countries like China.williswine wrote: Regarding RO demineralizing water, I once suggested that my plan was to remineralize RO water by adding minerals back to it. This is what brewers do to "recreate" the water found where a given beer is produced. At least one person has posted recipes on how to approximate a large number of famous waters at http://blog.khymos.org/2012/01/04/miner ... -la-carte/. I haven't tried this yet since I am yet to switch to using RO but it sounds ideal to me.
Re: Brita faucet filters
From the reviews on amazon a lot of the aquasaunas leak and over 20% of people are unhappy with them.
Consumer reports review on water filters (this month and available online only if you are a member) is not that helpful, but it seems that if you want the majority of the bad stuff removed you need a reverse osmosis (or a distiller).
How much work are the reverse osmosis units to use/maintain? e.g. the one MG recommended?
Consumer reports review on water filters (this month and available online only if you are a member) is not that helpful, but it seems that if you want the majority of the bad stuff removed you need a reverse osmosis (or a distiller).
How much work are the reverse osmosis units to use/maintain? e.g. the one MG recommended?
It was good being the party of Robin Hood. Until they morphed into the Sheriff of Nottingham
- MachineGhost
- Executive Member
- Posts: 10054
- Joined: Sat Nov 12, 2011 9:31 am
Re: Brita faucet filters
It set it and forget it pretty much. I never think about it except when I need to test the water with a TDS meter about once a year.Benko wrote: How much work are the reverse osmosis units to use/maintain? e.g. the one MG recommended?
Then you just unscrew the housings on each of the four filters, clean it out best as you can, pop in the new filters and close 'em back up. Just make sure you know what tubes go from whom to whom. I'd tag 'em and its corresponding filter housing with colors or notes next time so its not so confusing. The trickiest part is remembering to turn the cold water diverter valve back on!
Last edited by MachineGhost on Sun Apr 10, 2016 7:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"All generous minds have a horror of what are commonly called 'Facts'. They are the brute beasts of the intellectual domain." -- Thomas Hobbes
Disclaimer: I am not a broker, dealer, investment advisor, physician, theologian or prophet. I should not be considered as legally permitted to render such advice!
Disclaimer: I am not a broker, dealer, investment advisor, physician, theologian or prophet. I should not be considered as legally permitted to render such advice!
- williswine
- Associate Member
- Posts: 49
- Joined: Mon Sep 13, 2010 6:23 pm
Re: Brita faucet filters
Good point! For some ingredients it's simple, e.g. baking soda (the famous orange box you put in the fridge). For others, you could look at brewing suppliers selling mixes since these are readily used in the brewing process and should meet strict standards. You could also look for individual ingredients generally sold as food supplements, seeking labels such as USP verified, extra fine food grade (or perhaps "pharmaceutical grade"), ISO 9001 manufacturing, GMP, FDA GRAS, etc. You could seek countries of origin other than "countries like China". At the end, as for anything else you put in your body, you have to do your due diligence: this applies to Himalayan salts or sea salts (those contain minute amounts of e.g. iron, which you may or may not ingest).BearBones wrote:How do you know that the additives do not have more toxins than regular drinking water? I guess if I were using RO and adding back minerals, I'd like to be sure the minerals have been tested. Especially those coming from other countries like China.williswine wrote: Regarding RO demineralizing water, I once suggested that my plan was to remineralize RO water by adding minerals back to it. This is what brewers do to "recreate" the water found where a given beer is produced. At least one person has posted recipes on how to approximate a large number of famous waters at http://blog.khymos.org/2012/01/04/miner ... -la-carte/. I haven't tried this yet since I am yet to switch to using RO but it sounds ideal to me.
- williswine
- Associate Member
- Posts: 49
- Joined: Mon Sep 13, 2010 6:23 pm
Re: Brita faucet filters
What bothers me with RO is bacterial growth. I have not researched this aspect. As I believe bleach destroys the RO membrane, using bleach for disinfection of tubes and filters would require a very thorough rinse. So what to do? Use bleach only in the tubes and rinse them thoroughly while replacing the filters as recommended, or rinse and let air dry, some other method? Would love to see some studies on this.MachineGhost wrote:It set it and forget it pretty much. I never think about it except when I need to test the water with a TDS meter about once a year.Benko wrote: How much work are the reverse osmosis units to use/maintain? e.g. the one MG recommended?
Then you just unscrew the housings on each of the four filters, clean it out best as you can, pop in the new filters and close 'em back up. Just make sure you know what tubes go from whom to whom. I'd tag 'em and its corresponding filter housing with colors or notes next time so its not so confusing. The trickiest part is remembering to turn the cold water diverter valve back on!
Re: Brita faucet filters
Is there a reason why minerals have to be consumed in the water we drink? I got to wondering whether salting food liberally with sea salt or Himalayan salt would accomplish the same thing, or whether there's a concentration gradient issue. I don't remember much from College biology, but the principle that molecules in solution cross membranes in a direction that tends to equalize their concentration on both sides seems as though it might be relevant.
Last edited by Maddy on Tue Apr 12, 2016 8:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"We are on the verge of a global transformation; all we need is the. . . right major crisis. . . and the nation will accept the. . . new world order." David Rockefeller (1994)
- dualstow
- Executive Member
- Posts: 14308
- Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2010 10:18 am
- Location: synagogue of Satan
- Contact:
Re: Brita faucet filters
I think if you were to drink mineral-free (say, distilled water) all the time, it would not be good for your body. Acidic, or something.Maddy wrote: Is there a reason why minerals have to be consumed in the water we drink?
Re: Brita faucet filters
Or at least mineral free water would lack the benefits of water with e.g. magnesium (which many people don't get enough of anyway).
It was good being the party of Robin Hood. Until they morphed into the Sheriff of Nottingham