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It's really not clear that water filters are doing anything positive (you'd have to get your water tested to know) and they do have a tendency to increase the b

by pacaro 7y ago

It's really not clear that water filters are doing anything positive (you'd have to get your water tested to know) and they do have a tendency to increase the bacterial load in the water because of the inevitable biofilm that accumulates on the filter surfaces. In addition it's just another single use plastic product

ses1984 7y ago
They can make your water taste a lot better. My tap water is barely palatable. If I didn't use these filters, I would drink tap anyway but the rest of my family would probably resort to bottled water.
- pacaro 7y ago
  Fair. I've always been lucky enough to live in places with great water, if occasionally astonishingly hard, but if I was in say Las Vegas I'd probably stick to bottled water
- jdhzzz 7y ago
  agree. The activated charcoal filter I use makes a marked (positive) difference in water taste.
fortran77 7y ago
This is a non-sequitur. Nothing to do with the point that was being made. And in a 'fridge, it can help reduce some scale, etc, in the internal workings of the ice maker and water dispenser.
JohnJamesRambo 7y ago
My fear with a counterfeit water filter would be what it adds to the water. There is something in there and if it is counterfeit you don’t know what the plastic and filter material is. You could be leaching plasticizers, bpa, lead, who knows what into your drinking water.
- pacaro 7y ago
  Or indeed a non-counterfeit water filter. They're not regulated.
  - javagram 7y ago
    They may not be regulated but if you’re buying a name brand water filter from a retail store in the USA, it’s unlikely that brand is getting away with selling something full of lead or other bad things. Those filters are sometimes tested by independent labs (e.g. Consumer Reports) and retail sales are regulated by the CPSC, e.g. https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/1997/cpsc-and-ecodyne-announce-recall-of-sears-water-filter-cartridges https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/1997/cpsc-and-ecodyne-announce-... In contrast if you are getting a counterfeit Chinese filter from amazon, it can be very hard or impossible to even figure out who to sue even if you have proof the product is bad.
- MICHAELSEN 7y ago
  Out of the aforementioned, I would absolutely bet the farm that the most dangerous is LEAD.... Highly dangerous to the organs...

by pacaro 7y ago

ses1984 7y ago

They can make your water taste a lot better. My tap water is barely palatable. If I didn't use these filters, I would drink tap anyway but the rest of my family would probably resort to bottled water.

pacaro 7y ago
Fair. I've always been lucky enough to live in places with great water, if occasionally astonishingly hard, but if I was in say Las Vegas I'd probably stick to bottled water
jdhzzz 7y ago
agree. The activated charcoal filter I use makes a marked (positive) difference in water taste.

fortran77 7y ago

This is a non-sequitur. Nothing to do with the point that was being made. And in a 'fridge, it can help reduce some scale, etc, in the internal workings of the ice maker and water dispenser.

JohnJamesRambo 7y ago

My fear with a counterfeit water filter would be what it adds to the water. There is something in there and if it is counterfeit you don’t know what the plastic and filter material is. You could be leaching plasticizers, bpa, lead, who knows what into your drinking water.

pacaro 7y ago
Or indeed a non-counterfeit water filter. They're not regulated.
- javagram 7y ago
  They may not be regulated but if you’re buying a name brand water filter from a retail store in the USA, it’s unlikely that brand is getting away with selling something full of lead or other bad things. Those filters are sometimes tested by independent labs (e.g. Consumer Reports) and retail sales are regulated by the CPSC, e.g. https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/1997/cpsc-and-ecodyne-announce-recall-of-sears-water-filter-cartridges https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/1997/cpsc-and-ecodyne-announce-... In contrast if you are getting a counterfeit Chinese filter from amazon, it can be very hard or impossible to even figure out who to sue even if you have proof the product is bad.
MICHAELSEN 7y ago
Out of the aforementioned, I would absolutely bet the farm that the most dangerous is LEAD.... Highly dangerous to the organs...