Water filter

[Shazzer]

I know this might sound an odd question since it's not customary for most to have water filters at home in Finland given the excellent quality and cleanliness of drinking water here. However, I would like to find out if there are any good quality water filters available here to filter the minerals from the drinking water which comes direct from the taps. Thank you very much!

[Upphew]

http://www.brita.net/fi/stockist_finder ... promotion= ?

[Rosamunda]

We filter all our drinking water using Brita filters which I buy from the UK. In the UK (eg from Makro?) they are roughly one third of the price they are sold at in the shops in Finland.

[Shazzer]

We filter all our drinking water using Brita filters which I buy from the UK. In the UK (eg from Makro?) they are roughly one third of the price they are sold at in the shops in Finland.

Thank you Upphew and Penelope! I checked out Brita filters from Amazon.uk. Could you tell me which model you're using Penelope? There are so many out there. Was considering the Filter Jug option but wondering if it's better to use one which is attached directly to the faucet? How often do you have to change the cartridges? Really appreciate your feedback.

[Rosamunda]

My Brita jug is the Classic and I have had it for maybe 15 years. They are not available in the shops now but you can still buy the cartridges (at least from the UK). The jugs I have seen in Stockmann etc are the new version which need slightly different cartridges. I thought of switching to the new jug but I don't think the cartridges are any cheaper so there was no point. The new jugs indicate when the filter needs changing but my kids say they can taste the difference - in theory, with the Classic, the filters need to be changed once a month but of course it depends how much you use it. We keep ours in the fridge and fill it up maybe 3 times a day on average.

[DMC]

Penelope, do you know what it is that the filters are extracting from the water that causes the taste to change? Have you done a blind taste test with your kids? I have never used that type of filter but I did fit a device on the incoming water supply to change the pH value of our water - mainly to stop it corroding copper pipes.

[sinikala]

Penelope, do you know what it is that the filters are extracting from the water that causes the taste to change? Have you done a blind taste test with your kids? I have never used that type of filter but I did fit a device on the incoming water supply to change the pH value of our water - mainly to stop it corroding copper pipes.

http://www.brita.net/fi/cartridges.html?L=33

Kuvaus:
BRITA Maxtra -suodatinpatruunassa on ainutlaatuinen Maxtra-suodatus, joka poistaa kalkin 20 prosenttia BRITA Classic -patruunaa tehokkaammin.* Lisäksi se poistaa vesijohtovedestä veden makuun ja hajuun vaikuttavia ainesosia, kuten klooria ja alumiinia sekä raskasmetalleja (esimerkiksi kuparia ja lyijyä) sekä tuholaismyrkkyjä. Samalla se poistaa orgaanisia epäpuhtauksia. Vedestä tulee puhtaampaa, kirkkaampaa ja hyvänmakuista. Voit käyttää sitä kuumiin ja kylmiin juomiin sekä ruoanlaittoon. Samalla estät kalkin muodostumisen ja pidennät kotitalouskoneittesi käyttöikää.

*verrattuna BRITA-vesikannusuodattimissa käytettävään BRITA Classic -patruunaan (BRITAn standardoidun testausmenetelmän keskiarvo)

The Brita filter cartridges for tap water are described : http://www.instantbrita.co.uk/catalogue ... ridges.htm

Each water filter tap uses the unique BRITA water filter cartridge to improve the taste, smell and appearance of tap water. These water filter cartridges have a unique mix of ion exchange resin and activated carbon removes not only chlorine but also limescale, heavy metals such as lead and copper and organic impurities. These water filter cartridges employ BRITA’s four-stage filtration process to ensure all cartridge contents are used efficiently, providing consistent water quality throughout the lifetime of the cartridge.

It's similar technology to that used in mains-fed water coolers you get in offices (like http://www.waterlogic.com/) except the bigger devices tend to have a UV lamp to decompose trace organics. The Brita taps cost between £200 and £400 and the cartridges a little over £40 including postage, to give 500 litres of water (about €0.10 per litre)

It's hard to imagine any significant concentration of lead in chlorinated tapwater, unless you've got lead pipes. Copper is more reasonable to expect, and it might take out aluminium salts and chlorine.

Personally I prefer fridged tap water to the filtered jug stuff... which has tasted odd/dodgy the few times I've been served it (in other people's homes), mainly I'd guess because the filters foul and the bacteria adhere nicely to the walls of old containers, better than they do to mains water pipes.

I've heard people say that the reason for fridging it improving the taste is to do with the solubility of chlorine in cold water, and that putting tap water in the fridge in bottles for a while allows the chlorine desorb (to come out of solution), but the solubility of chlorine in water apparently decreases with temperature, so that can't be it



Perhaps it's simply that the small air space at the top of the bottle allows the desorption of dissolved chlorine, more so than in the domestic water pipe, where there is only liquid and little air? Standing for a while in a big jug will give a nice large water / air interface so remove much of the chlorinated taste even without filtering. Keeping it the fridge slows the growth of any critters.

[Rosamunda]

Penelope, do you know what it is that the filters are extracting from the water that causes the taste to change? Have you done a blind taste test with your kids?

Not only can the kids taste the difference but so can the dog (we did do a blind test with the dog!!!). I think it must be the chlorine, certainly I can smell the chlorine in the tap water (eg when running the shower at full blast). When we first came here we didn't use the jug and packed it away in the loft but then I had the bright idea of taking it to the mökki to filter the well water in the summer. When we came back to Espoo at the end of summer the kids yucked at the tap water so we fetched the Brita jug and have carried on using it since. My sister buys the filters for me in boxes of 9 (or maybe 12, can't remember) from a wholesale place (I think it is called Makro) and I just bring them back with me when I go the the UK, as they are quite heavy to post.

I have no clue about the chemistry. But I am more than happy to pay for the filters if it means my kids drink water (instead of soda, squash, mehu whatever) and it is cheaper than bottled water (though I must admit I buy that too sometimes because I like sparkling water). I wash the jug in hot soapy water (not the dishwasher though, but I think the new jugs are dishwasher safe).

[DMC]

we did do a blind test with the dog!!!

That gave me a good laugh, thanks.

[Shazzer]

Went to Citymarket today and found that they had the Brita filter jug 2.4l on discount for 15 euros. Maxtra catridges were also on discount for 10euros for a pack of 2. Penelope, you might want to grab some catridges if this price is cheaper than Makro? Thanks everyone for the feedback!

[Rosamunda]

Thanks! Those cartridges don't fit my (very old) jug, but my folks brought me some over from the UK at Xmas.
The "classic" cartridges cost £11 for 4 from Amazon, I think I paid £9 for 3 from Makro.

[CAD_Guy]

This is interesting!

I can understand people wanting water filters I just didn't think it was necessary here. I'm curious.

Having lived in three different countries now and having travelled to a few I can say with totally honesty that Finland has the best drinking water I've ever ran across it's almost like drinking spring water. So I'm just a bit curious where people are living because I've yet to smell chlorine out of the taps where we live, I'm sure it's in there as I've done work in the water industry but I don't detect high levels of it.

I did live in one place where the water smelled like it came from a swimming pool. We had to filter the water as it was undrinkable.

[EP]

I can understand people wanting water filters I just didn't think it was necessary here.

It is not necessary, nowhere in Finland. I guess some people just want to do it.

[Shazzer]

This is interesting!

I can understand people wanting water filters I just didn't think it was necessary here. I'm curious.

Having lived in three different countries now and having travelled to a few I can say with totally honesty that Finland has the best drinking water I've ever ran across it's almost like drinking spring water. So I'm just a bit curious where people are living because I've yet to smell chlorine out of the taps where we live, I'm sure it's in there as I've done work in the water industry but I don't detect high levels of it.

I did live in one place where the water smelled like it came from a swimming pool. We had to filter the water as it was undrinkable.

I agree with you as I think Finland has one of the best drinking water ever. However, for health reasons I'm trying to eliminate heavy metals (copper, lead, aluminium etc) and chlorine from the drinking water. Since I do not have the actual percentage of how much these heavy metals are present in Finnish drinking water, I guess for me it's more for peace of mind. I would really appreciate it if anyone in the water industry could let me know what is in our drinking water here.

I just read a small print for Brita filters - that they contain silver which is added to keep the water free from bacteria. So a small amount of silver goes into the filtered water but is within the WHO regulations. Hmmm...

[Rosamunda]

Yes Finland is No1 in everything including drinking water. BTW the Baltic is the most polluted sea in the world... wonder where all that came from. Yeah yeah! Blame the Russians. I think Finnish farmers use fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides the same as farmers all over the EU and it all runs eventually into drinking water supplies and the sea. Some of the most rural areas have the worst drinking water since it is loaded with nitrates.

And, saying "nowhere in Finland" is just wrong since not only are many homes not using mains water (they use well water) there is also the problem of radon in the drinking supply, so in some places it is actually dangerous to drink the water from the tap (even if it tastes OK- radon is colourless, odourless and tasteless).

I think the water in Helsinki tastes great but our tap water in Olari doesn't taste so good to me. And the tap water at MIL's in Parainen tastes disgusting (I have drunk the water in Parainen in several different places and it all tastes bad).

I am as sceptical about these things as the next man, but honestly my kids assure me they can taste the difference, they even tell me when the filter needs changing.