I''ve been using this filter for many years now and we feel good that PUR filters filter out more unhealthy stuff in the water than other brands do. However, the new design for this replacement filter doesn''t come with the red moving reminder (for you to know it''s time to change the filter) anymore. I don''t know the reason why PUR would give up such good design. Now they tell you to just change the filter after a certain time. I still think the reminder design is more accurate since it goes by how much water that''s gone through the filter, not by how many days.
I''m currently a college student living with 5 other guys and we use Brita filter at the apartment. When you cook with Brita filter, you can''t taste a thing, but when you just drink the water, it taste like tap/toilet water. It also leaves those black stuff (part of the filter) on the bottom of the container. Personally, that''s just weird and nasty, but maybe people like eating those filter-particles.
Back at home, my family use Pur water filter and I have to say, you can definitely taste the difference. I think that the water filtered by Pur taste like Fiji water. It''s awesome. Instead of buying those ridiculously-good-looking bottled Fiji water, I bought huge water containers and take water filtered from home to my school apartment and just drink it myself.
The only downside of Pur water filter is that it costs more than Brita filter. Being an Economics major, I calculated the cost of water per gallon (filtered). With each filter (Pur or Brita), it filters 40 gallons of water. Pur cost $24.99 for a 3-pack (Amazon.com), this means that it costs $.208 to filter a gallon of water (excluding the cost of water itself). Brita filter cost $15.99 for a 3-pack (Amazon.com), this means that it costs $.133 to filter a gallon of water (36% cheaper than Pur). Although it costs more, I still think it''s worth the money. I rather spend the extra $.075 per gallon of water than to drink toilet water.
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I have been using the 950Z filters for the past 6 months or so with my PUR pitcher. These filters start to clog up (all of the water does not flog from the top reservoir to the bottom reservoir) after only 25-50% of the rated usage.
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I was shocked when I saw that the new filter we bought from store didn''t had red indicator. We thought we bought inferior 2-stage instead of 3-stage. After hours of searching, we realized that our previous filter was CR 950 which is now discontinued by P&G and the new filter is CR 950Z which doesn''t have red indicator any longer. Both were 2-stage filters. The phone# for PUR is 1-800-PUR-LINE. According to 70+ reviews from frustrated customers on Amazon, P&G decided to remove red indicator because it was "inaccurate". However my guess is that they might want to simply reduce the cost. Other reviews suggest that 950Z isn''t certified for lead any longer (although package do says it does) however from NSF website it looks like PUR they never made broader claims. From same NSF website, however, it looks like 950z is certified for zinc reduction while 950 is not. Those who are opting for 950 instead of 950z should keep this in mind. There was another type called 950L which supposedly was the best of the best in line of the PUR filters (although 950 was labeled as "Ultimate" probably purely for marketing reason). I''m not able to find absolutely anyone selling 950L right now.
In any case, 950Z looks downgrade. My guess is that PUR is more and more leaning towards reducing prices to beat Brita and in the process compromise the quality. They will definitely snatch more consumers from Brita who usually asks for reasonable quality at lowest prices than the best quality at twice the price. So I tried to see if there is anything better on the market than these two brands that serves needs of more demanding consumers. One of the filters I found was 10-stage filter from New Wave Enviro. But this looks like fad because it is not certified by NSF (which is lot difficult than EPA) and it works off of faucet at same speed which can never be as good. Market is full of other bogus filter many of claiming to make "live water" and "hexagonal crystals". What a BS!
After hours of search and reading reviews, one excellent filter I found was from Crystal Quest. They have this 6-stage Filter Cartridge ULTRA RC-10 and its not only certified by NSF but they have even put their test results online (http://www.crystalquest.com/test1.htm)! Brita and PUR haven''t had courage for this yet. Also from the diversity of Crystal Quests''s offerings it looked to me that these guys are "water filtering" experts and knows their stuff. Some reviews on Yahoo Answer suggested that Brita/PUR have commodity filters design to satisfy average middle-class market but if you are willing to shell out more money and want best in the class then Crystal Quest is probably a way to go. One other thing that attracts me to them is they have "mini-coolers". I hate pitchers and I hate filling them up every now and then. I hate even more waiting for it to fill water. It''s just a mess when guests are in the town. The mini-coolers that can hold enough water for 2-3 days and nicely sits on the kitchen top is the best solution.
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I purchased the "new model" Pur 2-stage filter without the U-shaped usage indicator. I was very interested in the "change" in design and how it affected usage. I use the Pur water pitcher in a very unusual manner that is NOT typical of most users. Firstly, I use a Premium 10-Stage water filter manufactured by Enviro-Products as a pre-filter for my little Pur 2-stage water pitcher! I only water run through the little Pur Water Pitcher because I think that the final product that I get tastes a little better that than when I don''t use it. It''s very subjective, but that''s how I feel!
I have run the old Pur Filters with the U-indicator on a daily basis for as long as a year without replacement. Obviously, I would not recommend this for anyone, but understand that it ONLY sees pure pre-purified water. After purchasing the "newly designed" Pur 2-stage filter I noticed that after approximately 60-days, water flow was being significantly reduced to a point where it was alarming to me. I couldn''t be a matter of the filter media being clogged because it ONLY sees perfectly clean water.
We''ll out comes my little Dremel cutting tool, and I carefully remove the top dome in a effort to determine the source of the problem. Low and behold the whole top section of the filter is crammed with a product that appears to be Cellulose fibers similar to what you would find in a single stage filtered cigarette. Anyway, Pur is using this cellulose type product as a "roughing filter" or strainer before the water reaches the lower filter media. The fiber, whatever it is, has swollen to the point where it will no longer past ANY WATER. How about that, a couple of months of use and the water filter is useless!
I further checked on the technical attributes of Cellulose fibers and discovered that they have a strong affinity for water and that they swell up when exposed to water and then shrink when allowed to dry out. I find it particularly interesting that Pur would choose to use a cellulose type filter as a roughing filter (and clogging agent) in front of the other media within their device while full well knowing that it would eventually choke off the water supply to the filter in a relatively short period of time and render it useless!
The only thing that''s left for you to do with your clogged filter is to go out and purchase another one that will also clog in a short period of time. I really feel sorry for the "poor Pur" people and all the new replacement filters that they keep selling to uninformed consumers. ie. "suckers"
Shameful, really shameful. Yes, I''ll place them on the "Wall of Shame".
One Star!
I''ve made modifications to my Pure 2-stage filter, but that''s another story!
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