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I don’t know about you, but I can’t stand the taste of tap water. I grew up in a household where we used water filtration systems for as long as I can remember. Everything from water pitchers to the expensive systems that connect right into your sink plumbing. Because of this, I’m pretty good at telling the difference between tap water and filtered water. And while your local city water does a good job (usually) at making your water drinkable, there are still some things that make it through into your water. Not to mention the chemicals and additives you may not want. We recently had the opportunity to try out the new Brita Stream water pitcher and I wanted to share my thoughts with you.
The Brita Stream pitcher couldn’t have come at a better time. Our refrigerator broke the same week this pitcher arrived. Thankfully, I’m married to a very handy husband who can fix just about anything by watching YouTube videos and spending a little time on Google. But it also meant that thanks to the Brita Stream pitcher, we had filtered water a-plenty the entire time! Even Liam had fun pouring his own glass of water.
After I opened the box, my first thought was confusion. Where is the water reservoir?? You see, if you’re used to these water pitchers, you’ll know that the water reservoir usually takes up half the pitcher. You fill up the top half, wait for the water to filter down to the bottom half and then you’re able to pour the water into your glass. This is especially aggravating when we visit my family in New York City during the summer. It’s something we always swear we’re going to change in coming years and only visit during cooler months. But then we don’t. So you’re painstakingly waiting, dehydrated from the humidity and heat, as the water filters through. With the Brita Stream, your wait is no more.
The filter in the Brita Stream connects directly to the top and filters as your pour. This allows you to have filtered water instantly. I’m actually thinking about sending one of these babies to my grandmother so that we have instant filtered water the next time we’re in the city. If you don’t believe me, I put together a quick video to show you just how quickly your water can go from tap to filtered. Hydration tip – I like to add fresh fruit to mine sometimes to give it a little extra flavor.
A blogger friend of mine wrote about some of the funk found in ice machines, like mold and other icky things. (You can read her post here). While her post referred mostly to commercial ice and soda machines, I also wonder if the same could be said to the ice machine and water dispenser on my own refrigerator. After all, it was here when we moved in. We don’t know how old it is and we’ve certainly never cleaned it out. Even though the ice and water seemingly tastes fine, I wonder how much there is you can’t see.
There’s none of that guesswork with a water pitcher. You clean it when it’s dirty and you change the filter when it needs it. There’s a light indicator on the top of the pitcher that lets you know when the filter needs to be changed. And each filter is good for 40 gallons of fresh water. For the average family, that’s about 2 months. You can also create an account on Brita’s website and they’ll send you a reminder when your filter needs to be changed.
Cost-wise, the Brita Stream costs about $35 on Amazon. This is a pretty good deal considering the cost of purchasing disposable water bottles on a regular basis. The filters vary slightly in cost, depending on on how many you get at a time. A pack of three filters, for instance, will run you around $20. And remember, at two months a filter, that’s half a year’s supply. Have you added up how much you’ve spent on water bottles lately?
Other plusses of the Brita Stream include its controlled pour feature. This makes it easy to refill reusable water bottles without overflowing them too quickly. Or in my case, it allows a toddler to fill his own glass without overshooting it. You can also easily add ice to the pitcher. This makes it easy to have ice-cold filtered water when you want it. And the water tastes good. It filters out the chlorine taste. To me, that’s the biggest indicator of tap water. And, ick.
Oh, and I almost forgot. The filters don’t require any soaking. NO soaking. I have no patience for prep work like that and I was so surprised I didn’t have to do that with this filter. As soon as I took the pitcher out of the box and washed it, it was ready to be used.
The biggest con, if I had to find one, is that a water pitcher is just one more thing to take up space in the fridge. We’re used to an in-fridge filtration system, so it took a little rearranging to find some room for it on a shelf. But if you’re willing to find the space for it, it’s definitely worth it. Plus, it has a fairly slim profile, so it still doesn’t take up that much space. And the stuff in my fridge could probably use some paring down anyway.
In all my years of using a filtered water pitcher (in college, apartment living and travel), this is by far the best one I’ve used. It’s definitely worth a try!
We received the Brita Stream hydro water filtration system for free from Influenster in exchange for our honest opinion. The photos, video and opinions on my blog and social media are completely my own.
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