Purified filtered water pitcher worse than regular water?

[ppppparker]

I bought a water pitcher that purifies water. It supposedly filters out a lot of contaminants like lead. (It doesn't filter out fluoride but I knew this before I got it)
It came with a little warning sticker saying that its important to use the product as specified, other wise you will be at risk of contaminants.
So now I'm wondering if these filter systems do more harm than good. Does anyone have experience about this?
fyi I'm just talking about a water pitcher with a filter mechanism in it, which I use when I'm at school, this isn't like a water purification "system" or anything .. its just a cheapo $20 filtered water pitcher I got on amazon (its pretty popular).
Do you think I'm making big deal out of the warning sticker it came with? or what? thanks

 

[ZapperZ]

The problem with these devices (and I've had Brita for years till recently) is that you MUST replace the filters as required by the manufacturer. Otherwise, the charcoal activation, or whatever the mechanism they use to clean the water, will not be useful beyond a certain number of usage or period of time. Then, depending on your usage, the filter might be a harbor for bacteria, etc.

If you use it according to the instruction, then there isn't a problem.

Zz.

 

[ppppparker]

yup that's the same brand I got its a "Brita Everyday Water Filter Pitcher, 10 Cup". I get what your saying about filter.. if you don't replace it then the filter is pointless. But also my general question is do you think using this filtered water is safer or healthier than water that comes out of the faucet? you said you used Brita for years until recently, so has your opinion changed about filtered water or are britas not very good or something? thanks

 

[DiracPool]

do you think using this filtered water is safer or healthier than water that comes out of the faucet?

Absolutely, it offers an extra layer of filtering over the water treatment done in the municipal plants. I don't think the FDA would approve their sale if they lowered the quality of the water. Even if they didn't improve the quality of the water, I would use a pitcher filter anyway because drinking water straight from my tap makes me want to barf. Once you get used to filtered water, the straight tap is disgusting.

britas not very good or something?

I'm not very impressed with Brita myself, but it's better than nothing. I use zero water exclusively. It's a 5 stage filter instead of Brita's 2 stage filter, I think, plus it has a device to measure the concentrations of "dissolved solids," which indicates when to change the filter. I don't think the Brita has a tester, which means you have to guess when to change it. As ZapperZ said, the important thing to be vigilant of if you don't want the filter to end up working against you at some point is to change it when it's time to do so.

http://www.naturalnews.com/046536_water_filters_heavy_metals_lab_results.html

 

[fresh_42]

Absolutely, it offers an extra layer of filtering over the water treatment done in the municipal plants.

Depends on where you are. Being in the Swiss Alpes it's probably better to drink the water as it flows out of the faucet.
I always wonder if those filters also extract all the minerals which we need.

 

[DiracPool]

Depends on where you are. Being in the Swiss Alpes it's probably better to drink the water as it flows out of the faucet.

Well, if you're fortunate enough to live here, I think you may be an exception...

For the rest of us, though, I'd suggest getting a zero water filter..

 

[Hornbein]

I always thought that those water filters were, uh, ineffective. The rate of flow is too high. The percentage of the water that actually comes in contact with the filter surface is low. Also, the variety of contaminants is large.

I suspect that most people don't replace the filters very often.

When backpacking and so forth I use a water filter to get rid of bacteria, but that's easy because bacteria are so big.

In Bali I lived next to a spring and drank water straight out of the ground. It tasted SO good. Holy water is a very big deal in Bali. Indeed, I suspect that this was one of the main things that attracted settlers: the prevalence of springs as a source of pure water. They're everywhere. There are two ancient craters that serve as natural reservoirs and the water filters many a mile through the soft, porous rock.