Greatest Water Filter Pitcher for 2024

As talked about earlier on this article, there are fairly quite a lot of contaminants value eradicating out of your faucet water. The crew right here at our lab settled on three major checks to benchmark the efficacy of those filters: TDS, pH and chlorine. Earlier than we started the precise testing course of, every pitcher was faraway from the packaging, cleaned after which ready per the producer’s directions. This is essential, as most of those filters make the most of activated carbon filtration, which can deposit sediment into the primary batches of water that you just filter if not cleaned correctly prematurely.

Testing for TDS

TDS stands for complete dissolved solids and encompasses many alternative impurities current in water. Examples of the commonest TDS embody “calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, bicarbonate, sulfate, chloride, nitrate and silica,” in line with the US Geological Survey. In observe, calcium and magnesium deposits in your faucet water end in so-called “arduous water” that tastes unhealthy and may be actively detrimental to your well being at larger concentrations. (Learn extra about TDS from the EPA and USGS.) 

We started TDS testing by mixing an 8-gallon bucket of faucet water, measured at 220 ppm TDS, with desk salt till we reached a TDS measurement of 300. Usually talking, 50-150 TDS is taken into account an excellent vary for consuming water. We used an Orapxi water high quality tester to take these measurements and for the reason that ZeroWater filter features a TDS tester as nicely, all TDS readings have been verified on each gadgets. As soon as we had established our management supply, we measured 1 liter of the 300 TDS water into every of the water filter pitchers and allowed the complete amount to go via the filter.

As soon as completed, we measured the TDS once more and famous the proportion change. This course of was repeated for larger and decrease TDS concentrations, and our findings point out that every of the models we examined could be very constant at eradicating the identical share of general TDS from any water passing via it.

Testing for chlorine

Chlorine in your consuming water might sound unusual, however it’s truly a quite common observe for water therapy amenities so as to add chlorine to the water provide as a disinfectant. That is extraordinarily efficient at eliminating different, nastier contaminants within the water, however the World Well being Group estimates {that a} focus of ~0.2-4 ppm is commonplace for faucet water, indicating that at the least some is left over after disinfection.

For our testing, we determined to ramp issues up a notch and take a look at water ready at a focus just like that of a swimming pool — 10 ppm chlorine. This gave us a transparent indication of the modifications after filtration. As soon as once more, every filter was examined with 1 liter of answer and in comparison with outcomes from the water prefiltration and as soon as once more, filters such because the ZeroWater considerably outperformed the others.

Testing pH modifications

Lastly, throughout TDS testing, we additionally measured the change in pH. pH stands for “potential of hydrogen” and is used to quantify the acidity of a substance. A pH of zero is extraordinarily acidic, seven is taken into account neither acidic nor fundamental, and 14 represents an especially fundamental substance. Because the minerals that comprise the TDS in faucet water improve the alkalinity, we anticipated the filtration course of to lower the pH of the water. Certainly this did become the case, and you may see a desk of the pH modifications under. 

This is a desk of our most up-to-date TDS removing take a look at outcomes. The information represents a mean of three take a look at runs for every filter pitcher.