PUR 18 Cup Dispenser with One Pitcher Filter DS-1800Z
by PUR
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of PUR 18 Cup Dispenser with One Pitcher Filter DS-1800Z
Customer Review: The Perfect Solution
Summary: 5 Stars
Our tap water has a pretty bad taste so my husband was constantly buying those huge packs of bottled water. Despite my complaints that it was expensive and generated too much waste, he was reluctant to stop buying it because it was convenient. Well, I would have to agree with him there, it was convenient to just grab a cold bottle out of the fridge and go, but there just had to be a better way.
I thought of having bottled water delivered (again) but the monthly expense and hassle (those heavy bottles!) nixed that idea. The grocery store sells those same bottles without having to committ to a montly bill, just buy what you need, but again, lugging that thing into the car and then out of the car when we got home was not going to get it. Plus we'd have to buy another dispenser or rent one so that was out.
Next I thought of one of the faucet dispensers, but our kitchen is already teeny tiny and that just seemed like something that would get in the way. Also, it seemed you had to replace the filters on those things way too often. It also didn't solve the issue of being able to grab a cold one out of the fridge (it is not THAT cold out of the faucet--especially during the summer) so no-go on that idea.
Then the idea of a filtering pitcher came to mind, but we both want to increase our intake of water so I knew we would need something larger. To my pleasant suprise, there are dispensers that sit in the fridge. Cool. Now which one? The first name that popped in my head was Brita, but the review and the price on their comparable product was not that great. The reviews for the PUR dispenser were much better and so was the price so I decided to give it a try.
Wow! This thing is great. I didn't really think anything would filter out the awful taste from our tap water (it is so bad that hubby will not drink tap water when we run out of bottled water), but low and behold it does! It tastes like I am drinking bottled water from the store. The slim design fits easily in our fridge and it is so easy to use. We fill up our Camelbak bottles and just go. When it starts to get low we fill it back up and it is usually ready for the next fill up.
So let's see, no big packs of bottle water and excessive waste, no heavy 5/10 gallon bottles to lift, no monthly bill, cold water ready to grab and go (well we fill up our Camelbak bottles, but not much different) never runs out, inexpensive filters that last 2 months.
Perfect.
Customer Review: Beats Bottled Water in Every Way!
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased two of these dispensers in January 2008. One I keep in my refrigerator, the other on the counter top. I purchased four four-packs of filters with the units, and I still have two of those left, after almost a year of daily use. I absolutely love these dispensers and have had absolutely no problem with leakage or anything else.
The dispenser is very easy to carry with insert-handles on either side that are easily gripped. When the dispenser is almost empty I take it to the sink, fill it up and then wait for the water to filter down a little bit before returning it to the area where I keep it. It is true that the filtering sometimes takes an hour or more to complete but I have not found that to be a problem. Pur recommends not using the water until the filtration process is complete, although the company doesn't state why.
The dispenser holds 144 ounces or 1.125 gallons. The filters are stated to efficiently filter 40 gallons before replacement is recommended. Therefore, you can fill up one dispenser 35 times before you'll need to replace the filter. To be on the safe side I usually replace the filter after 30 fill-ups. It's easy to keep track of the number of times you fill up the tank by simply marking the decal that comes with each filter or using a little notebook to check off the refill times. Thus, I would not recommend topping it off after every use like some reviewers stated they do, because it would be difficult to keep track of how much water the filter has actually processed.
Earlier this year, information regarding the danger of certain plastics containing BPAs came to light. I have not been able to determine what type of plastic these containers are made of, and thus don't know if this dispenser poses any problems regarding BPA contamination. I do hope that Pur and/or Brita will soon offer a stainless steel dispenser which will eliminate that concern. Of course, stainless steel dispensers will be heavier, however, I think the trade-off is worth the peace of mind.
In the meantime, this dispenser is convenient, easy to use and provides a far less expensive and far more 'green' way of drinking filtered water.
Customer Review: Great tasting water at your finger tips
Summary: 5 Stars
I grew up using a Brita Pitcher (sitting on the counter top 24/7) and when I finally moved into a place of my own with about 3 feet of counter space I knew I couldn't fit a pitcher, toaster and dish rack all on the counter and still be able to work...
Brita's version of this had several poor reviews, so after looking at the PUR version I figured I'd give it a try. My husband needed some convincing that it would be OK to live in the fridge as the fridge is rather small - However this filter system is very unobtrusive and fits right up against the wall.
There isn't much by way of assembly of the item - however there are 3 pieces plus a filter to put together. I recommend that you give everything a quick wash with warm soapy water as there was a rather 'plasticky' smell when I pulled it all out of the Styrofoam and plastic wrap. This went away once it was all dried. As with any other carbon-based filter system I've used, the filter needs to be soaked in cold water for 15-20 min before being installed; not a big deal.
When putting everything together, I recommend that you insert the blue reservoir into the clear tank before putting the filter into the reservoir. There are 2 little nubs on the filter that slip into two little tracks when you put it in, but the filter must also be twisted into place to create the seal between the unfiltered water in the reservoir and the tank below. I have a feeling that people who had issues with the filter leaking was because of this...
Once it it was in the fridge, I filled the reservoir up with water and let it work its magic. We've been using a large regular pitcher filled with tap water - which is easier than taking the entire assembly out of the fridge to fill it and put it back in again. There is plenty of clearance between the lid and the top shelf to allow for us to slip it off, fill up the reservoir and slip the lid back on again.
I HIGHLY recommend this filter as far as water taste goes - the town I'm in has a rather metallic taste in the water and this removes everything. The PUR water tastes better to me than bottled now!!
Customer Review: Great taste, stands up to heavy use, you can fix the slow dripping problem
Summary: 5 Stars
We got this pitcher for our family of 6 almost 3 years ago, and have used it constantly since. It does fit nicely in a fridge, but we keep it on the counter because it gets used so often and I don't like the fridge door opening all the time. We have a smaller Brita pitcher for the fridge, and there is a HUGE difference in the taste. The Pur is much better. We live in NYC, which has heavily chlorinated water. With this Pur filter, we can't taste the chlorine at all.
We have found that after a couple of weeks (sometimes less) the filters really slow down. At first we'd just replace them, because even with replacing the filter every couple of weeks it's cheaper to filter water than to buy it pre-bottled. (My daughter just did a science project on the fact that bottled water is almost completely unregulated, so filtering your own tested/regulated tap water is probably safer anyway.) However, we have since discovered that if you pull the filter out and soak it in cold water for 10 minutes, the same as you do when starting a new filter, the drip speed increases again. Now our filters really last the month or two they're supposed to.
I have never had a problem with mold or mildew with this dispenser, a problem that some people have with Britas. I wash it every once in a while when I see dust in the top part, but I'm really amazed at how clean and fresh it has stayed all these years. It is really convenient to use though it's a little heavy to return to the fridge once it's filled (another reason ours stays on the counter).
I'm on this page now just because our dispenser has (finally) started to leak from the spout. There aren't many products that can be used heavily for 3 years without a single problem! So after I finish this review, I'm going to buy another one. I don't know of any better, safer, cheaper, more delicious way to keep a large family hydrated.
Customer Review: Believe what you read!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a great Water Filtration System.
We recently moved to the Washington DC area where the water tastes like metal and chlorine. My Fiance is something of a water afficionado, she would rather dehydrate and die than drink what she calls "yucky water", and if it wasn't in a bottle from a store then chances were she wouldn't drink it.
In our last place we had a Brita filter attached to our sink, from our experience and from what I've read, these things, Brita and PUR, have a tendancy to get clogged and break, as was the case with ours.
Also from reading I found out that Brita does not filter out bacteria, not that it's something most people need to worry about in chemically saturated city water but it's always better safe than sorry.
This System fits perfectly in our fridge, it holds a lot more water than some of the others I've seen and doesn't need to be refilled nearly as often because of that.
The water tastes great and even the Water Afficionado will happily guzzle it down.
I noticed a few reviewers complaining that the filters dont inform you of the quality of the water but rather just try to give you an estimate of the filters life and when to replace it.
Thats true and it's also worth noting that none of the consumer level water filters will actually tell you the quality of the water, filtration systems of that nature would be considerably more expensive than these. And would most likely require electronic parts that exceeded the standard red light green light functionality.
Anyway, it works great, the filters seem to have a long life, it fits nicely in the fridge and we're both very happy with the quality of the water that the filter produces. We bought ours over a month ago along with a triple pack of replacement filters and have yet to replace the one that came in the box.
Worth your cash! :)