Z-Pitcher from Zero Water Removes Almost Everything From Your Water
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto 
on 09.29.08
In Bottlemania, Elizabeth Royte concluded: “I come away from my investigations with at least one certainty; not all tap water is perfect. But it is the devil we know, the devil that we have standing to negotiate with and to improve."
Many of us do exactly that, eschewing bottled water but using Brita or other filters to polish it a bit, while still worrying about lead, perchlorates, antibiotics, hormones and other contaminants. Perhaps now we have a little help from the Rajan family, who have invented and produced the ZeroWater filter. It is a five-stage unit that takes almost everything out of the water- it is certified to meet the highest standards for removal of lead, iron, zinc and mercury. Although there are no standards to certify it for antibiotics, hormones and perchlorate, they tested it and it removed almost all of them as well.
I was invited to New York to moderate a panel discussing the problems of bottled water and the importance of protecting the sources of our tap water for the media launch of the zerowater filter systems. Elizabeth Royte outlined the problems with bottled water, and while she stressed that New York water was pretty much the best there is, people still had some concerns and that 29 million Americans do not have access to decent drinking water. Alex Matthiesson, Hudson Riverkeeper and President of the advocacy group of the same name, explained where New York water comes from, and how important it is for the public to demand that its quality be preserved. Paediatrician Dr. Laura Jana explained how important it is to give kids water rather than juice or pop; Chef Andrea Beaman discussed how important it is to have pure, unadulterated food and water.
Listening to such a panel would convince anyone that a) tap is better than bottle and b) what the world needs is a good affordable and effective domestic filter. Which appears to be what Zero Filter is.
STAGE 1 A 20 to 50 micron filter designed to remove suspended solids such as dust and rust that make your water appear cloudy.
STAGE 2 Activated carbon that is Class I rated for chlorine.
STAGE 3 A water distributor screen that also removes suspended solids.
STAGE 4 Specialty resins that reduce levels of metals such as lead, mercury, and chromium in your water.
STAGE 5 A 1 micron filter designed to removed suspended solids.
They also sell an electronic meter that measures the parts per million of dissolved solids in the water; they did a demonstration with water from around the USA before and after, where the result was invariably zero.
The unit comes in a pitcher design for forty bucks; Elizabeth Royte tried it for a few days and tested the water herself and found it far more effective than her Brita. She also noted that it takes far longer for the water to get through the filter, so plan ahead.
It also comes in a water cooler sized model, which if there is any justice in the world, should replace all of those BPA-laced polycarbonate bottles delivered in big trucks to offices everywhere.
The units are made of styrene and are BPA free, and unlike the Brita company, the filters are recycled with 95% of the material in them being reused. You just mail it back to the company when you are ordering replacements and they will credit you with the cost of the shipping against your next purchase. They are redesigning the filter so that the next model can be disassembled and refilled. They seem to have all bases covered in delivering an effective and affordable water filter. ::Zero Water
The Zero Water people brought me to New York and gave me a pitcher so I cannot be called an impartial source; I will add links to other reviews as they appear.
Other water filters in TreeHugger:
Back to the Tap: Filtered Water Bottle
British Berkefeld Gravity Filters: No Need for Bottled Water
Ovopur: A Water Filter that Looks Good
Stefani Water Purifiers: an Alternative to Plastic : TreeHugger
The trouble with bottled water:
Pablo Calculates the True Cost of Bottled Water
Pablo Calculates the True Cost of Bottled Water
Bottled Water Market Begins to Stagnate in the United States
250 Million Pounds of Drugs Flushed Down the Toilet by Hospitals
Back To The Tap: Three Ways To Get Fancy Water, And Skip The Plastic Bottle
Follow @TreeHugger on Twitter & get our headlines with @TH_rss!
Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:
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- Meet Stanley, The Company Bringing Free Water to Bonnaroo
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Hello clean water~! I was going to pick up a fancy schmancy reverse osmosis system (and drop and arm and leg on it) until I saw that they are only about 20% efficient... only making 1 gallon of good water while trashing 4-5 is NOT something that I am going to be part of.
This thing does the trick though. My water tastes great out of my Brita, but with all the talks of hormone disrupting whoosenwhatsits that we get in our water supply these days, I want all the protection I can get! I just wish that they could figure out a way to make a glass pitcher... Glass is 100% safe, whereas it is only a matter of time before scientists find another bad type of plastic that we need to watch out for.
Other than in the operating room, plastic really has no place in our society.
Very nice. I'm not sure how relevant this is, but I just wanted to add that if you do not use your Brita filter correctly by always keeping it moist, then you are actually drinking water that is far worse for you than the tap water that you are trying to filter. I'm not sure if this pertains to the ZeroWater filter or not. But basically when they tell you to soak the Brita filter before you install it, it's important. People usually do it initially but then empty their Brita and get lazy and don't fill it up again right away. If the filter dries out, you have to resoak it or you'll be drinking contaminated water. A lot of people don't know that.
stradric,
How full (a.k.a., how far up the filter) does the pitcher need to be to keep it sufficiently moist? I never let the water level on mine get below the filter bottom without refilling, but how much is in there varies during the day, and from day to day.
Thanks,
Andy
I just want to clarify that the New York City water that ran through the Zero system produced water with a TDS (total dissolved solids) of zero, while the Brita produced water with a TDS of 30. What did the Zero system remove that the Brita didn't? No one can say without lab analysis, but certainly the "contaminants" could have included minerals like calcium, magnesium, chloride, iron, and so on. Are those substances harmful? Not at the levels they occur in New York City's tap water (the state allows us a maximum of 500 mg/L). By FDA definition, springwater has a TDS 250 mg/L.
I just want to clarify that the New York City water that ran through the Zero system produced water with a TDS (total dissolved solids) of zero, while the Brita produced water with a TDS of 30. The water started with a TDS of 40. What did the Zero system remove that the Brita didn't? No one can say without lab analysis, but certainly the "contaminants" could have included minerals like calcium, magnesium, chloride, iron, and so on. Are those substances harmful? Not at the levels they occur in New York City's tap water (the state allows us a maximum of 500 mg/L). By FDA definition, springwater has a TDS 250 mg/L.
Hi,
It seems to me that they use somewhat the same methods as the big bottled water companies where people are pushed by big media campaigns emphasizing that only water of volcanic origin or purified x number of years through the mountains can be really healthy. In this case they do this with this filter.
As said in this blog, one needs to keep in mind that tap water is one of the best regulated beverages you can think of. At least that’s a fact in Belgium where tap water needs to meet 61 criteria (taste, looks, composition, etc.).
Eddy
Styrene? Everything else about this sounds so promising but styrene is bad news by all accounts. Agree that someone needs to be making these in glass.
Now I need them to make a filter for my ice maker.
I like the thought of a pitcher type way of doing what a "whole house" or "under the sink" filter system would do.
Took a look and the Zero water filters are good for 22.5gallons where a typical Brita filter is good for 40gallons.
So, depending on usage, that's the difference between changing every month and changing every other month.
Zero Water sells a filter 4-pack for $56usd
Brita sells a 4-pack for ~$20usd (Was $23can).
So, if you use Brita, you spend about $30 a year on filters (1filter every other month).
On the zero water, you spend $168 a year on filters (1filter every month).
I don't think it's that bad for your health, but one should be aware of the costing differences!! Hopefully they are successful enough that they stick around long enough for folks to get a good use out of them.
Hopefully, their refillable cartridge filter would be cheaper!
Cheers
"if there is any justice in the world"
Not Justice. Just intelligence.
There are many water filters that can do purification like this. One that i personally use is called 'Wellness Water'
http://www.ghchealth.com/wellness-water-carafe.php
i just love sterile water that drains my body of essential vitamins and minerals.
No one ev er mentions fluoride removel. Fluoride is the one contaminant that is rarely removed, yet it is the most harmful. Europe banned fluoride over a decade ago, due to their own research that showed how harmful it is, yet America is PROMOTING it. Harvard's latest research shows the correlation between fluoride and bone cancer in children, yet it is still added to tap water.
and what about Floride? I didn't see a mention on if it removes floride from water or not... does anyone know?
uh...aren't there natural minerals that are healthy for people? are those left in the water or are they expunged along with the contaminants?
I checked the website and called the company and they say that they DO NOT recycle the filters and do not know of any plan to. The customer service rep even asked her supervisor!