Which Water Filter Is Best

The right water filter pitcher will meliorate the taste and quality of your drinking h2o. For bottled water drinkers, a practiced home filter arrangement or pitcher can besides save you hundreds of dollars per yr and keep untold amounts of plastic out of recycling and waste management systems. Water filter pitchers couldn't exist simpler to use either -- all that's needed is to make full the pitcher with tap water and requite it a little bit of time to filter into the master reservoir, which can take 30 seconds or a couple of minutes, depending on the model.

Brita is the best-known h2o filter bullpen brand, but that doesn't hateful it'due south the all-time water filter, of course. We tested several top-rated water filter pitchers, with prices ranging from around $xviii to over $100, in gild to find the top-performing filters in a category that'southward rich in options. The best water filter pitcher is the one that will quickly and efficiently eliminate the almost impurities in regular tap water.

In our terminal circular of h2o filter pitcher testing, one model left the rest of the pack in its dust. In this about recent round, that same pitcher made past ZeroWater kept grade, removing nearly all of the full dissolved solids, or TDS, and leaving a clean-tasting glass of Water.

While this ane bullpen may take had the best technical results in our testing and is our top recommendation for most people, there are others in the group worthy of consideration for other reasons.

These are the all-time h2o filter pitchers for 2022.

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Best overall h2o filter pitcher

ZeroWater

David Watsky/CNET

The ZeroWater was past far the best water filter pitcher of the agglomeration in both this and the previous rounds of testing. This water purifier bullpen is fairly affordable, sturdy and information technology comes in a few sizes all of which use the same filter. Those include a smaller x-cup round pitcher, 23-loving cup dispenser with spigot and fifty-fifty a massive 5 gallon water jug that can be fitted onto a water libation.

In our testing, the ZeroWater filter removed nearly all of the TDS from the water nosotros ran through it, finishing with a 0 average reading, making it our top performer by far. ZeroWater is then confident in its filter products that each model comes with a TDS water quality tester to come across for yourself how well it works. We used our own tester in addition to the one included and the filter delivered a perfect TDS score on both.

ZeroWater pitchers are a bit more than expensive than Brita and Pur, simply by no means a luxury purchase with some of the smaller dispensers starting at just $thirty. Each one uses the same 5-stage filter so you tin can bet that you'll get similarly clean water no matter which unit you determine on. A bullpen filter replacement two-pack costs $xxx and each one is supposed to last for upwardly to 40 gallons. For comparing, Brita and Pur, on the other hand, sell each of their filters for just $vii -- and merits to have the same 40-gallon filter life.

Best upkeep filter pitcher

Brita Standard Metro filter pitcher

David Watsky/CNET

Brita is probably the all-time known of the water filter pitcher brands and information technology performed well in our testing, 2d merely to the ZeroWater in the overall removal of dissolved materials. The Brita removed about forty% of the TDS. Not a bad showing only still significantly less than the winner.

This model happens to be about $13 cheaper than the cheapest ZeroWater model and is ane of the most budget-friendly water filter pitcher options out there. To make things even more price-efficient, the replacement filters can be had for about $3 if yous buy them in a multipack. Each one is said to filter 40 gallons of water, enough for roughly two months of steady utilise (the same lifespan as ZeroWater).

While I wasn't in dear with the build of the Brita -- the plastic feels a bit cheap -- information technology is merely 1.32 pounds which is less than half the weight of the ZeroWater. If you lot have small kids or folks in the home who tin can't elevator a heavy pitcher, this may be a good pick.

Brita also makes a "Longlast" filter that's designed to last three times as long as the standard filter. Nosotros tested a Longlast and found information technology performed significantly worse than the Legacy (standard) filter. Plus, it'southward more expensive and then I'd advise sticking with the Legacy if ownership a Brita.

Best pitcher for adding alkali metal to your h2o

Seychelle pH20

Megan Wollerton/CNET

If the goal is to add alkaline to your h2o, then you'll want a completely dissimilar model. In a previous circular of filter testing, we ran pH readings (measurements of how acidic or bones your water is) range from 0 to 14; seven is a neutral reading.

Despite conflicting enquiry on the topic, some people attribute health benefits to more basic (or alkaline) h2o. As a result, select companies make h2o pitchers with filters that really add nutrients as your tap water passes through.

The $lxx Seychelle pH20 bullpen took tap water from an already bones reading of viii.39 to ten.1, the largest increment out of the three alkaline pitchers in my test group. This bullpen'south water filtration organization uses two filters at a time, simply they are supposed to last for up to 200 gallons. A replacement filter two-pack costs $fifty.

Pitcher talk

To go started, here'due south a list of the six pitchers we tested:

Brita Metro Standard
Brita Everyday
Brita Longlast Monterey
Larq UV cocky-cleaning
Pur Plus
ZeroWater

Ane key thing to consider from this chart is the estimated life of each pitcher filter versus its toll. The Brita Metro Standard and Everyday models, the Pur Plus and the ZeroWater pitcher all take a lower estimated filter life of upwards to 40 gallons. While the Brita filter and Pur filter models toll $7 each, the ZeroWater filters cost $15 each (but are sold in a $30 ii-pack).

pitcherfilters — Can you spot the ZeroWater filter? It'due south the one on the far right.
Megan Wollerton/CNET

Every bit you can meet in the motion-picture show in a higher place, the ZeroWater filter on the far right is massive compared to others. Of course, that doesn't necessarily equal ameliorate performance only in this instance, the ZeroWater did soundly outperform the others in removing contaminants. ZeroWater claims to take a five-stage filter that'due south better at removing particles while preventing mold from growing with use. Based on our testing results, it seems the brand may be onto something.

(Keep in mind that filter life will vary based on the quality of your tap h2o and how much your filter has to "piece of work" to remove impurities.)

How we exam

To test these water filter pitchers, we washed each one with mild soap and water, then followed the private manufacturer instructions for soaking, rinsing or otherwise prepping filters for use. And then we filled a marked mason jar glass with sixteen ounces of tap water and used an Orapxi water quality tester to mensurate and note the TDS present.

While the results of my tap water varied slightly each time I filled a fresh glass with xvi ounces the TDS of the water used e'er read betwixt 47 and 50 ppm, or parts per meg. (Read more about TDS here and here.)

And then nosotros poured all 16 ounces into a h2o filter pitcher, waited for information technology to filter all the h2o, poured information technology into a new glass and took the readings again. For a nonalkaline pitchers, y'all should await to see a driblet in the TDS readings, equally impurities and other minerals are removed from the water. We repeated these steps a total of three times on each of the pitchers.

TDS meters are not sophisticated plenty to decipher which impurities, nutrients and other minerals each filter manages to remove (or add together, in the case of the alkaline pitchers). For that reason, measuring TDS solitary every bit an indicator of water quality has some limitations. But, in full general, for a standard filtered water pitcher, we desire to run into a decrease in the TDS reading. Examples of the most common TDS include "calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, bicarbonate, sulfate, chloride, nitrate, and silica," according to the The states Geological Survey.

In a previous round of testing, we ran iii element of group i h2o filter pitchers through a pH exam -- Clearly Filtered, Invigorated Water pH Vitality and Seychelle pH20. All saw an increase in both the pH and the TDS, since they're designed to add minerals to your water, just the Seychelle saw the biggest pH increase which is why we've listed it as the all-time pitcher to buy if y'all want to add alkaline to your tap h2o.

Here'due south a table of our nigh contempo TDS removal exam results. The data represents an average of three examination runs for each filter pitcher.

Test results

	TDS (% modify)
Brita Metro Standard	-45.half-dozen
Brita Everyday	-45.six
Brita Longlast	-3.1
Larq self-cleaning	-two.2
Pur Plus	-6
ZeroWater	-100

The ZeroWater pitcher managed to reduce all of the total dissolved solids in my tap water, from an average initial TDS reading of 57 ppm down to cipher -- which may assist explain the name. Both Brita pitchers with the standard filter tied for second place, a reduction of TDS from 57 down to 31 (a 45.half-dozen% decrease).

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Water taste was a bit trickier to measure, but every pitcher did aid reduce the slightly metal taste of my tap h2o. Unsurprisingly, the ZeroWater pitcher model tasted the all-time, with no discernible metallic gustatory modality or scent.

Overall, the ZeroWater (ZP-010) fabricated our job pretty like shooting fish in a barrel in both rounds of testing. It completely dominated in terms of removing TDS and as well happened to have one of the sturdiest designs -- second only to the expensive Larq self-cleaning pitcher. Simply at that place are other proficient options here too: The Brita Metro Standard is a great budget filter pitcher that weighs less than ZeroWater's pitchers and has cheaper replacement filters. The Seychelle pH20 is a smashing pitcher pick if yous want to add alkaline to water.

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One thing to annotation is that we're really testing the filters hither and not the bullpen itself. Because near home filter pitchers fabricated by a single brand will utilise the same filter, you can bet that no matter which size or shape dispenser you cull, the filter should exercise the same job, for improve or worse. ZeroWater, for instance, has a line of about six pitchers, jugs and dispensers in various sizes -- all of which apply the aforementioned very constructive v-phase filter. The one caveat inside the brands nosotros've tested hither is Brita which offers a LongLast filter that did not perform too as the Legacy Brita filters.

Another big takeaway is just how widely filtered h2o pitchers can vary, both in terms of performance -- and even in terms of their key part, every bit in the instance of the element of group i pitchers. As long as you identify your needs before you buy, you're leap to find the right filtered water pitcher for you.

Best water filter pitcher FAQs

Which water filter pitchers remove the well-nigh contaminants?

In our testing, it was fairly clear which water filter pitcher removed the nigh contaminants. The Nada Water pitcher, while significantly bigger and more expensive than the other pitchers, removed all of the dissolved materials we were testing for. The Brita filter pitchers came in second identify and also removed a substantial corporeality of contaminants.

While nosotros haven't tested them still, there are more than elaborate water filters that you tin accept built into your sink from brands including Aquasana, Hydroviv and Berkley. These water filters may cyberspace better results just will run you in the $200-$500 range and crave some form of installation which could incur fifty-fifty more costs.

Do water filter pitchers remove bacteria?

No. H2o filter pitchers volition remove many harmful contaminants like atomic number 82, copper, chlorine and organic compounds that touch on the taste but they volition practice nothing to kill bacteria. Your tap water should already be treated for bacteria but if you're concerned well-nigh information technology, a standard h2o filter is not going to help.

In fact, if left unchanged for long periods of fourth dimension a water filter itself could build upward grime that could potentially cause bacteria to grow and permeate your h2o. Because of that, be sure to change your filter regularly as prescribed past each brand.

How practise I clean a h2o filter pitcher?

The most important thing yous can do to continue your h2o filter bullpen make clean is to alter the filter. Almost filter pitcher brands including Brita and Null H2o recommend replacing the filter subsequently nigh twoscore gallons but this number varies by model.

The majority of the water pitchers that nosotros tested tin and should be cleaned like any other slice of plastic kitchen gear every few weeks. You tin remove the filter and rinse them past manus with hot water and soap, making certain to fully rinse the pitcher so as non to leave lather residue. Most h2o filter pitchers are dishwasher-safe as well. Just don't forget to remove the filter which should never be cleaned with soap.