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Are Brita filters bullshit? (lemmy.ml)

submitted 6 days ago by HiddenLayer555@lemmy.ml to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

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I have one of those pitchers that I mainly use to get rid of the chlorine taste in the tap water, but are the actual health claims about drinking filtered water actually true? There are claims that these dinky little passive filters can get rid of things like lead and PFAS which I honestly don't believe. Especially if you're using it with tap water which I'd assume would always have some kind of active filtration before it gets to your home, so the idea that whatever got past the industrial grade filter at the water treatment plant can be caught by a little plastic one sounds more than a little fishy to me. Anyone have knowledge about this.

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[–] monovergent@lemmy.ml 9 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

They are irrelevant, except for a few compounds that affect taste, if your local water treatment plant is doing its job properly. I've had the misfortune of renting in an area that did a half-ass job with water treatment, so I used those attachments as a precaution. The water did taste better, but hard water deposits were still about as bad as without it. Didn't run any tests beyond that though.

The issue really comes in with the lifespan of the filters. If you're intent on staying hydrated, you'll burn through cartridges (and $$$) like nobody's business and it's tempting to put off changing out filters for weeks at a time. And after several months, the attachment itself will leak quite profusely from the filter/passthrough toggle.

If you actually do need to treat your water, such as in the case of well water, and have access to your plumbing, it's much more economical to install an inline or whole-home filtration system.