Review: PUR 7 Cup Basic Water Filtration Pitcher

I used to co-ordinate water refills with taking the car to the mechanic. I got water from a local mom and pop water filtering business. But the last time I took the car to the mechanic I realized that I needed a plan B in case the mechanic took longer (eg, waiting for some hard to find part). So I decided to use home filtering as a backup plan. But it turned out to be a lot more convenient than a weekly water refill revisit, so I am, for now, continuing with home filtering.

This was on sale at Amazon, which helped my decision, the PUR 7 Cup Basic Water Filtration Pitcher. I am trying to avoid getting “into” water filtration and such, although it seems that I can only delay this new addiction 🙂 The filter for this guy is almost done for, so the time is right for a review…

I don’t have any equipment to measure various things in the water, so this is strictly a consumer review.

THE ACTUAL FILTER was a bit tricky to install. I followed the instructions, but it took about a dozen or so “infusions” (filtration sessions?) before it finally sank in place and I didn’t have to worry about water leaking through. Mind you, this is the first time in many years I’ve used one of these things, so maybe I was rusty 🙂 The filter filters at a steady pace, even now at the end of its useful life. I didn’t need to re-install and shake it and sing to it to get it to work 🙂

THE WATER TASTE is an improvement over the tap water. Everything I read suggests the local tap water is safe to drink but it doesn’t hurt to filter some more. Plus almost all of the filtered water I’m boiling for tea (and other purposes, dare I say, occasional coffee; not to mention instant oatmeal), so there’s another layer of protection. The taste is different from the local water store which is also different from bottled water. More on this after I take a deep dive into “water” 🙂

THE CONSTRUCTION is pretty solid for the pitcher, however, there is a glaring exception: the lid. There is no way to solidly attach it, so you have to be careful if you are pouring out water quickly or aggressively – the lid may fall out. The pouring sprout itself is like a cat door flap, so it can randomly spill a bit of water depending on the pouring angle and speed. I pour the water out to a water container (gallon size) and then use the gallon container for making tea and other purposes.

WATER MEASUREMENTS the easiest way to use this is to fill up the upper blue bowl twice, and then empty the pitcher out to my gallon container. If you try to squeeze more than two “blue bowls”, you’ll end up having more water than the pitcher can hold and create pouring-out kerfuffles (eg, not all the water will get filtered because there’s not enough space in the bottom pitcher for the water).

One bowl of filtered water [the upper blue bowl running through] is around one liter as measured by my electric tea kettle. So a full pitcher is about two liters. The specs call this a “7 cup” filter, which is 56 ounces.

FILTRATION SPEED I’m not sure what is considered fast, but this is fast enough for me. I pre-filter water and move it to a separate container, so I never wait for this to finish filtering before I can drink or make tea…

BPA FREE per the product material, this is BPA free. It is a plastic pitcher (not sure exactly what kind of material); not glass, not ceramic, not porcelane. I have no way of measuring or testing for BPA.

WHAT’S INCLUDED?

  • the clear empty pitcher
  • the blue upper bowl that holds the filter
  • the filter in a shiny silver sealed wrapper
  • paperwork

WHAT’S NEXT?
I’ve already found another water pitcher on sale, so I will be installing and reviewing that next. I suspect in about half a year I’m gonna be a bit more obsessed with “all things water” 🙂