Best Water Filter Pitcher for 2024 | Global News Avenue

As mentioned earlier in this article, there are many contaminants worth removing from tap water. Our team at the lab decided to conduct three main tests to measure the efficacy of these filters: TDS, pH, and chlorine. Before we begin the actual testing process, each jar is removed from the packaging, cleaned, and prepared according to the manufacturer’s instructions. This is very important because most filters use activated carbon filtration, which will deposit If not cleaned properly ahead of time, sediment can get into the first batch of water you filter.

TDS test

TDS stands for total dissolved solids and includes the many different impurities present in water. The most common examples of TDS include “calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, bicarbonate, sulfate, chloride, nitrate, and silica,” according to U.S. Geological Survey. In fact, calcium and magnesium deposits in tap water create what’s known as “hard water,” which tastes bad and can cause serious damage to your health in higher concentrations. (Read more about TDS From the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and USGS.)

We started the TDS test by mixing an 8-gallon bucket of tap water (measured at 220 ppm TDS) with table salt until the TDS measurement reached 300. Generally, 50-150 TDS is considered an ideal range for drinking water. We used an Orapxi water tester for these measurements, and since the ZeroWater filter also includes a TDS tester, all TDS readings were verified on both devices. After establishing the control source, we measured 1 liter of 300 TDS water into each water filter tank and allowed the entire volume of water to pass through the filter.

Upon completion, we measure TDS again and record the percent change. Repeating this process for higher and lower TDS concentrations, our results showed that each device we tested was very consistent in removing the same percentage of total TDS from the water flowing through it.

Chlorine test

Chlorine in drinking water may sound strange, but it’s actually a very common practice for water treatment facilities to add chlorine to the water supply as a disinfectant. This is great for removing other, more nasty contaminants from the water, but The World Health Organization estimates The standard concentration in tap water is ~0.2-4 ppm, which suggests that at least some water will remain after disinfection.

For our testing, we decided to kick it up a notch and test water with a concentration similar to that of a swimming pool—10 ppm chlorine. This gives us a clear indication of the changes after filtering. Each filter was again tested with 1 liter of solution and compared to the results from the water pre-filtration, and again filters such as the ZeroWater performed significantly better than the others.

Test pH changes

Finally, during the TDS test, we also measured changes in pH. pH stands for “hydrogen potential” and is used to quantify the acidity of a substance. A pH value of 0 means it is extremely acidic, 7 means it is neither acidic nor alkaline, and 14 means it is extremely alkaline. Since the minerals that make up TDS in tap water increase alkalinity, we would expect the filtration process to lower the pH of the water. In fact, it does, and you can see the pH change chart below.

Here is our latest TDS removal test results table. This data represents the average of three test runs for each canister.