The Aquasana Countertop Water Purifier
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Water quality is a big issue in the desert. Most of our “hard” water is very alkaline, heavy with chemicals and treatments. Grey water is often used to water parks and golf courses, or to fill the very numerous decorative lakes. (This is just one more reason I never allow my dogs to drink from lakes!)
You have a few options. You can buy purified water (which is often no better than city water unless you live in Arizona). You can take your chances with regular city water. You can buy a water purifier (which may or may not improve the quality).
We received a drinking water filter from Aquasana to review and we loved it so much, we’re planning on purchasing their entire system.
[note style=”5″ icon=”yes” class=”template-style”]Disclosure: We received a filter for review. This has not influenced our review – the opinions expressed above are our own.[/note]
The Countertop Unit instantly transforms tap water into healthy, great-tasting water with no installation or permanent fixtures. Just take it out of the box, attach it to your faucet, and you have an instant filtration system. When you want the purified water, just pull a little plug in the faucet and your tap water is instantly filtered.
The other neat feature of this unit is that it uses selective filtration. Selective filtration is the process of sub-micron filtration, micron filtration, adsorption and ion exchange, all of which selectively reduces chemicals, heavy particulates and most dangerous heavy metals from the water while maintaining healthy minerals like calcium, magnesium and potassium.
[load_module id=”584″]The NSF Certified Claryum® filtration technology is independently tested and proven to remove over 97% of chlorine and chloramines. It also reduces:
- Heavy metals like lead and mercury
- Chlorine resistant cysts like giardia and cryptosporidium
- Organic chemicals like herbicides, pesticides and VOCs
- Pharmaceuticals like estrone and ibuprofen
Where your normal filtration system removes an average of 5 contaminants, the Aquasana removes 60 contaminants (you can view their entire list here).
The filtration itself is a unique combination of carbon.
- Activated Carbon: Reduces pharmaceuticals, herbicides, pesticides, VOCs and MTBE.
- Catalytic Carbon: Targets chlorine and chloramines.
- Ion-Exchange: Filters heavy metals like lead and mercury.
- Absolute Sub-Micron Mechanical Filtration: Captures asbestos and chlorine resistant cysts like cryptosporidium and giardia.
We haven’t had to order replacement filters yet because they last a long a time. One Aquasana Claryum® filter gives you 11x the capacity of the leading gravity-based pitcher at only 11¢ per gallon. They recommend replacing the cartridges after six months or 450 gallons, whichever comes first. Replacement filters cost $59.99, but you can save 15%, get free shipping, and extend your product warranty by signing up for their no-contract auto-ship filter replacement program.
The countertop unit takes up some extra space and can be a bit of hassle due to the cords that extend from the faucet to the unit, but it’s so effective and such a great value, we can live with the confusion. Besides, once we upgrade to the “under counter” model, it will be a thing of the past.
Even if you filter your pets water with a The Drinkwell Pet Fountain or any other type of water purifier, you may want to start the water supply out with this unit. Especially if you live in Arizona.
