Question for Brita Filter Users

[guitar9876]

I'm just curious, for any of you teachatters that use Brita filters on a daily basis, how long does your filter last on average? The bar on the top of my filter suggests to use it for two months, but I always seem to have to change it once every month. It just seems to give out around that period; the water starts to taste noticeably sharper, not as smooth. I fill it up every day, maybe about four times.

[AdamMY]

I wonder what they consider as the ideal usage rate, as I have one of those "fridge mount units" which are basically a rectangular box with a spigot. When I'm heavy drinking I'm filling it up on average 1 and a half times a day, and in normal drinking about once every other day, and yes, The filters never last as long as they say they should, though I do not know I am as extreme as 1 month.

[Victoria]

I have the Adagio one, and I change it every two months, even if the bar says sooner. Actually I just ignore the bar.

[Warden Andy]

Hmm, I tend to notice the opposite with brita filters. I prefer a well used brita filter over a fresh one because the older one seems to make smoother tea, while the fresh one makes tea taste way too sharp for my tastes.

I only replace the filter only when I notice the tea not tasting as good as it should. Lately, it's been closer to 4 months than 2.

[teaisme]

I guess how long it lasts depends a lot on how hard the filter is working and how often you use it
If your water is already very pure then it can last long, but if you have really heavily chlorinated hard water I don't see it lasting very long

I've had filters last me 4 months in one house, then move to another and only last one

[nibrole]

Well, I have a pur filter, but after about 2 months, which is the recommended replacement date, I've noticed for the first time mineral build up in my electric kettle. Seems to have happened suddenly. I'm continuing to use the filter, and it seems ok so far, but I'll probably have to replace soon. (we have extremely hard water, very chlorinated) I fill up the pitcher a few times each day.

[beachape]

My water tastes ok but has tons of calcium carbonate. I can use the brita for 2 weeks before the calcium carbonate starts to precipitate all over everything. I will continue to use the filters for the duration of the meter (2-months). The water will taste fine, but the lime scale covers everything like snow.

[Chip]

My water tastes ok but has tons of calcium carbonate. I can use the brita for 2 weeks before the calcium carbonate starts to precipitate all over everything. I will continue to use the filters for the duration of the meter (2-months). The water will taste fine, but the lime scale covers everything like snow.

That is interesting. Isn't it supposed to remove scale?

I am using the GraviTea from Adagio (remember, I have nothing to do with this company, I was elected by members only). But I was stunned how this literally changed my life ... I used to have to take a lot of time to descale EVERYTHING every week or two or I would have "stalagmites" forming, especially in my electric kettle. Lots of scale here!

I began using the GraviTea January 1, 2009 and have not had to descale a single time in almost 14 months. WOOT! I even am too cheap to change the filter every 2 months as recommended, living on the edge and going 3 months.

[dangert]

My water tastes ok but has tons of calcium carbonate. I can use the brita for 2 weeks before the calcium carbonate starts to precipitate all over everything. I will continue to use the filters for the duration of the meter (2-months). The water will taste fine, but the lime scale covers everything like snow.

If you only use your Brita pitcher for tea (meaning you only drink water that was boiled) you can easily recharge the resin in the filter in order to let it continue remove the scale. Just pass a half glass of water with 2 table spoons of table salt through the filter and then wash the remaining salt with 2 liters of water. This will give another 2-weeks of scale-free life .

[dangert]

My water tastes ok but has tons of calcium carbonate. I can use the brita for 2 weeks before the calcium carbonate starts to precipitate all over everything. I will continue to use the filters for the duration of the meter (2-months). The water will taste fine, but the lime scale covers everything like snow.

That is interesting. Isn't it supposed to remove scale?

Brita filter performance depends on water hardness. In Israel, where hardness of tap water is high (300-400 mg/L on average) Brita can remove some of the scale, but not all of it. The performance of 2-weeks old filter in my case was 80mg/L after filtering, which is a bit less than most brands of bottled mineral water, but still high enough for scale buildup in a kettle.

I have switched to a commercial 8L water softener (coffee shop equipment) and my kettle or espresso machine never required any descaling since then.