The Advantages and Disadvantages of Brita Portable Water Filter

Brita portable water filters are the world’s most widely known brand of portable drinking water filters. They are about the only brand which makes enough money to have TV commercials. You will find Brita products, especially the Brita water pitcher, in just any department and hardware store in North America and Europe that also sells countertop water cooler or stainless steel water cooler. But simply because it is popular doesn’t mean if Brita portable water filters are good for you.

Not a Purifier

One misconception that some people have about Brita portable water filters is that they can purify water. This is not the case. It can’t take the salt out of salt water, for instance, but it can remove heavy metals and hazardous bacteria which can get into your tap water. A water purifier is more expensive and a lot more complex because there are just so many incredibly tiny things to eliminate from water.

Besides seawater, other things that a Brita portable water filter can’t remove from your tap water are radiation and many types of bacteria. Nevertheless, they are problems of the average North American and European homeowner that won’t have much problem with in their home tap water. But don’t take a Brita pitcher with you to a campsite and try to utilize it for water from the local creek.

What is It?

Brita portable water filters are similar to strainers or colanders. Except for letting the cooking water drain and keeping the cooked pasta ready for your plate, a water filter has very small mesh holes which can catch several large pieces of dirt, chlorine and heavy metals that you really don’t want in your drinking water. All of these things aren’t only extraordinary for you to drink, but they also make the water taste unusual.

The water filtration media in Brita cartridges is commonly a combination of activated charcoal and an “ion exchange resin”. This all acts like a colander with really, very tiny holes. The industry has units called microns, which is the size of a particle that’s held back from going into your water. The smaller the micron for your water filter, the better.

Drawbacks

Even though a Brita portable water purifier is a lot better than nothing for several houses, it’s not the best water filtration system you will get. It is a slow drip filter and needs to have the very costly cartridges replaced every two to three months. You also have to throw away the first gallon or so of water since it has charcoal dust in it.