...and not a drop to drink! Well, that was the situation in my flat until I purchased a Brita water filter. The tap water was cloudy, almost opaque when it had settled in a glass, and was basically undrinkable - even just to swallow a tablet with. It smelt quite chlorinated, and I was fed up of spending so much money on bottled water, and lugging huge bottles back from the shops. So I finally decided to do something about it, and brought a water filter. I purchased mine from Argos, it was £18.75, and included one free cartridge, so in addition to this, I bought a pack of 4 cartridges, for £13.99.
The water filter made a very impressive difference to the taste of my tap water - I really had not imagined it could have made it so much better. The filter is designed to reduce chlorine, and also metals such as lead, copper and aluminium. I am not entirely sure what exactly it has taken out of my tap water, but whatever it is, it certainly improved the taste. The water no longer looks cloudy, and tastes as good as the bottled water you buy. It is also considerably cheaper if you drink it regularly, even though you have to buy cartridges.
The filter is easy to set up. You wash a cartridge under the tap, then leave it in some water, after gently shaking it to let out the air bubbles, for 20 mins. You then place it in the filter, fill it up and let it filter through. You need to do this three times until it is safe to drink. Then you can use the same cartridge for four weeks. On my particular model, there is the 'memo' system, which is an electronic indicator, reminding you when the four weeks are up and you need to change the cartridge - very useful, otherwise I am sure it would be easy to forget.
The design of the filter is also good. It is a slimline model, yet can still hold 2 litres. Its design means that you can store it in the fridge - useful on a hot day, although I have found that if you have some strong smelling food in the fridge then this will affect the taste of the water, so I tend to leave my jug out - my house isn't very warm at the moment anyway. There is a non-slip base on the jug making it harder to knock over, although my clumsy ex-boyfriend still managed to! The lid fits well, and covers the spout, this spout cover then flipping up when you pour, so this prevents most insects from getting in, although I still find the odd ant gets inside - really can't think why ants want to get inside a water jug!!
According to the manafacturers, use of filtered water in your kettle will help prevent limescale from forming. I have never had a problem with limescale so can't assess whether this is true or not. But I do know it makes a lovely cup of tea. Growing up in Kent, I had become a bit of a tea addict (it's a very English thing, isn't it?) and the tap water in my flat had made it impossible to make a decent cup of tea. However, now with filtered water, I am back to drinking tea by the bucketload. The tea looks much clearer and tastes great! Coffee too can benefit from being made by filtered water, as you won't get any impurities from the water reducing the flavour of the coffee.
Overall then, I would highly recommend a water filter, especially if you suffer from unpleasant tap water. It may seem a little extravagant when you first buy one, but in the long run, it will work out much cheaper than bottled water. It tastes great, both as pure water, and in drinks such as tea or squash. I recommend this particular model due to its practical and thoughtful design.
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very good op.
yes water filters make the water a hell of a lot nicer...and the undersink filters are even better than the brita ones as they end of costing less and dont need to be changed so often (every 3 years!!).
clanmac4 20.03.2001 12:26
Limescale not being a problems in Edinburgh, I would not have to boil the water. In fact the water seems ok, but on the basis of what this takes out of the water! I think that We will be investing in one in the near future. Thanks.
Rosemary1 19.03.2001 23:26
Hi I can sympathise with the cloudy water and the smell of chlorine, I am continually told by the water board there is nothing wrong with it. Has the colour of water changed??
Water level indicators Memo electronic cartridge exchange indicator reminds you when to ... more
change the cartridge Takes Maxtra cartridge for optimum removal of chlorine, limescale and impurities Integral spout cover that protects from dust & taste taints Di...
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