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Are Brita Water Filters Better Than Purchasing Bottled Water? Cost Effective?

HappyDude20

HappyDude20

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Jul 13, 2008
3,688
1,479
Los Angeles, Ca
I'm a college student having just moved into my dorm.

My dorm is about a mile away from the nearest grocery store and now that I no longer have a car am purchasing big plastic jugs of water and am walking a mile to the other side of campus, to my dorm.

I'm wondering if anyone has had previous experience with water filters, such as Brita; considering that's the only brand name that comes to mind. As a college student, the benefit here would be to not have to lug around jugs of water on a frequent basis. That and of course assuming it's cost effective.
 
miles01110 said:
Tap water is fine.
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KnightWRX said:
Tap water is fine.
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Tap water might be fine, but not all tap water is of equal quality. ;)

At home I drink water unfiltered… but for tea and coffee I use filtered water (The limescale around here has to be seen to be believed).

So OP, depends what you're looking to do with your water. Straight up drinking tap water should be fine… but for brewing a good cup of coffee or tea etc… go filtered.

To answer your original question: Brita filters should work out cheaper.:)
 
arkitect said:
At home I drink water unfiltered… but for tea and coffee I use filtered water (The limescale around here has to be seen to be believed).
Click to expand...

So wait, you drink water straight from the tap, but water that has been previously boiled needs to be filtered ? Someone's got their priorities reversed here... ;)

Did you need to break the great "Tap water is fine." too ? Woulda made for an epic thread.
 
Brita filters probably generate less waste than bottled water, and since the bottled water industry isn't really regulated you never know what you're actually getting in it. The cheapest option is tap water; if you really think you need a Brita filter, why not?
KnightWRX said:
So wait, you drink water straight from the tap, but water that has been previously boiled needs to be filtered ? Someone's got their priorities reversed here... ;)
Click to expand...

Someone doesn't know what they're talking about. Google "limescale" and think about how built-up lime deposits might be detrimental to a coffee maker or kettle.
 
KnightWRX said:
So wait, you drink water straight from the tap, but water that has been previously boiled needs to be filtered ? Someone's got their priorities reversed here... ;)

Did you need to break the great "Tap water is fine." too ? Woulda made for an epic thread.
Click to expand...
:rolleyes:
Errrm. Read up about limescale and hard water effects on tea and coffee.
Nothing to do with germs and bacteria…

miles01110 said:
Someone doesn't know what they're talking about. Google "limescale" and think about how built-up lime deposits might be detrimental to a coffee maker or kettle.
Click to expand...
Exactly.
 
A Brita filter pitcher works fine. I used one for years. It does seem to slow the lime buildup in my espresso machine.

Now using a Culligan filter that fits on the tap itself. Works great and is more convenient that having to frequently refilling the Brita pitcher. Also, it has metal fittings to attach to the tap, not plastic - which tends to leak.

I don't know if you have your own faucet available in the dorm. If so, consider the Culligan system. If not, the Brita is better and cheaper than bottled water. :)
 
We use the Brita filters due to the water around here being very hard - boil a new kettle up a couple of times with unfiltered water and you'll see limescale. The filters don't stop the problem completely, but they certainly reduce the amount of scale and help prolong the life of the kettle.

HappyDude20 – in terms of cost-effectiveness, I suppose that would depend on the amount of water you're actually using.
 
Last edited:
miles01110 said:
Beep Beep Beep GRAMMAR VIOLATION::No verb Beep Beep Beep
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There we are, it's fixed now.

I use the miles01110 grammar filters due to my hacking posts apart to edit them and losing words - if I post in a couple of threads you'll see it happen. miles01110 don't stop the problem completely, but he certainly reduces the amount of violations and makes an attractive beeping sound too.

Beep beep beep. That's what he says, like.

Beep.
 
bottled water is bad. it's like the worst thing you can do for the environment, and the water you're getting normally isn't any better than tap water.

the whole thing about making water a commodity is bad too.
 
Thanks for the responses everyone! i think I'm gonna go for this one, pictured.

We have one faucet in the dorm, the bathroom sink which would be cumbersome.

This way, I'll be able to fill up water anywhere i'm at. It says it's good for 300 refills; so that's like 12 twenty four packs of bottle water. I'm willing to go for it for $10, plus the refills are 2 for $8 I believe.
 

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You should like that water bottle. I've had a similar one and it was fine. Used the Brita pitchers and the past and they are fine as well. My college has filtered water stations in the lobby so I just have a 3L pitcher that I fill up twice a week and use that to refill my Camelback bottle.

Pretty convenient and very cheap- especially for a water snob who didn't drink anything but bottled before going off to college.
 
Abyssgh0st said:
You should like that water bottle. I've had a similar one and it was fine. Used the Brita pitchers and the past and they are fine as well. My college has filtered water stations in the lobby so I just have a 3L pitcher that I fill up twice a week and use that to refill my Camelback bottle.
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6L a week ? That's not even a liter a day. :eek:
 
We have a couple of the pitchers. Both me and the wife drink a lot of water. We fill up our water bottles with the filtered water. The tap water around here isn't that bad, but there is a different taste to it.

One thing we don't like is the filters seem to go really quick. So what we do is use them until we taste a difference in the water. Has been working for a while now for us. The filters are lasting longer then the little meter says so we are not spending as much on the filters.

Haven't tried the water bottle one yet.
 
I have no idea how bad tap water is in LA, but up here in Davis even Brita filters aren't enough to make the water anywhere close to tasteless. I usually use refillable containers and use local refill machines to keep a supply around for coffee, tea, and the like.

I worked out the math a while back and at 35-40 cents per gallon, it's about 30-40% more than Brita filters per gallon, but well worth it.


KnightWRX said:
So wait, you drink water straight from the tap, but water that has been previously boiled needs to be filtered ? Someone's got their priorities reversed here... ;)

Did you need to break the great "Tap water is fine." too ? Woulda made for an epic thread.
Click to expand...

You can't run tap water through coffee makers, irons, etc. Not only will it affect the taste of the coffee, but it will also damage the internal components with deposits.
 
KnightWRX said:
6L a week ? That's not even a liter a day. :eek:
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I drink probably 2L of water a day, but very few of it from my room. A lot from the cafeteria, my girlfriend's room, and water fountains. I don't drink anything but water (no sodas, alcohol, teas, etc.) so I definitely get enough water.
 
Brita filter pitcher here, for coffee/tea/drinking water/ice cubes.

Been using one for many years.

I had to do weeks of 1 liter a day liquids, for a medical problem. Had to measure my output too.

What a pain in the as ..... dick. :p
 
steve2112 said:
It's college. You drink the rest of your necessary liquids in the form of beer! At least I did. :D
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Still need 2L a day to keep those hangovers away. ;)

Best trick to a successful party : Down a glass of water for each beer. You'll pee more, but you won't feel it the next morning.

CalBoy said:
You can't run tap water through coffee makers, irons, etc. Not only will it affect the taste of the coffee, but it will also damage the internal components with deposits.
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I've done so for years. I guess canadian tap water is of better quality than the US stuff.
 
KnightWRX said:
I've done so for years. I guess canadian tap water is of better quality than the US stuff.
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I would assume so- almost all tap water I've had in the US (Texas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, New Mexico, Arkansas, etc.) has tasted like total ****.
 
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