Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)We purchased this water filter because the pitcher was to fill fast and the number of impurities it took out was provably more than any other commonly available pitcher system.
The unit definitely fills faster than Brita or PUR pitchers do. However, it makes a terrible, loud, higher-pitched gear grinding sound as it does so. It's not bad enough to wear ear protection, but you will have problems understanding someone in the room until you stop. Fortunately, it is less than a minute before it is filled.
Filtered water definitely tastes "cleaner." However, this taste is not as desirable as water filtered from the Brita pitcher would taste. Where the Brita might make water taste more like crude Dasani, Clear2O makes the water taste more like distilled water. I guess that is the price you pay for having 44+ contaminants removed (NSF verified) to 95+% efficiency (most are 99.9%+). The solid block carbon filter does a great job of making water taste plain. Unfortunately, this does highlight why an ion-exchange system such as Brita's can make more poorly filtered water taste better. For us, we've finally adjusted to the "cleaner" taste.
As for function, our pitcher came with a permanent leak and small slits that cause water to go back into the pitcher after being filtered, in a way that can allow contamination from the area under the lid to drip into the reservoir. Basically, water comes in from the tap and is injected into the area to which one side of the carbon is exposed. The water passes through the solid carbon, then flows up the filter and out through the filter's plastic canal, which meets with an open area with which the water then flows back down into the "cleaned" water area. However, the mating area where filtered water meets the pitcher (in the top handle of the filter itself) cannot fully seal. When we open the lid while filtering, visible water currents form at that area and this water drips down into clean water through small fissures. We've tested it with just pouring water into that general area, and the water quickly goes unfiltered into the pitcher, even with the filter seemingly blocking such access.
This was only something I tracked down once I started seeing occasional translucent floaters wafting around in the pitcher water when held up to the light. Whether the "floaters" are bacterial films, thin plastic or something else, I do not know. (I seem to guarantee their existence when refilling the pitcher when it is still half full, doing so for about a week, leaving the pitcher at room temperature.)
Clear2O appears to do a solid job of removing contaminants, but it appears to allow recontamination to a small extent. If this does not bother you for your application, this pitcher is for you.
UPDATE: The Clear2O website suggests cleaning the unit with vinegar, which would kill some bacteria. In my estimation, the floaters appear to be a harmless bacterial film that settles on the bottom of the pitcher after a while. Shaking the pitcher disturbs this film, creating the floaters noticed.
I've noticed cleaning the pitcher every so often with vinegar assures the floaters won't appear.
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Clear2o CWS100AW Water Filtration Pitcher
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