Does anyone use a Brita filter? (1 Viewer)

[McPaul]

Thanks for the comments Mike, I appreciate hearing from a professional in the area. I was going to ask about the bottles too.

What I had in mind was having 2, maybe 3 water bottles on the go, filling them, keeping one in the fridge, and drink the other one. Is this a no no? If so, I guess this is just the same as running straight tapwater into said bottles. What would you recommend?

 

[Max Knight]

Mike's comments are interesting. Mike, how long is an OK time to keep just filtered water in a jug in the fridge? I'm pretty confident that I am safe, as I usually have to refill the jug at least once a day (I drink a lot of water!).

It's pretty amazing the diffent people we have here on the HTF. The after hours lounge is a great place to find information on just about anything!

-Max

 

[McPaul]

Max, that's one reason I like this place. Even among your friends locally, you hang out with a different section of society. here there's everyman, and so much more knowledge about different things you normally wouldn't obtain.

I'm assuming you just clean out the tank in your fridge everytime you empty it? put it in the dishwater or wash in the sink with some sunlight?

 

[Trevor H]

I just got a Brita pitcher and extra filters for X-Mas and I love it, I drink a lot more water now that I have it.

 

[Mike OConnell]

A day or so with filtered water using a charcoal (activated carbon) filter should be just fine. With a frig being cold, the bacteria does not multiply very rapidly and will take a little while to just get established enough to propogate the species!

If you like to keep filtered water in pitcher, use two. When one gets empty, put it in the dishwasher, and use the second and rotate them. Nothing is better than good hot dishwater to clean those pitchers!

Unfiltered tap water can be kept in the frig for a very long time as it should still have disinfectant residual (either chlorine or chloramines) which will inactivate any bacteria rather quickly. That is why the pitchers that filter as you pour (Brita) are a great idea for drinking water for those that do not like the taste of their tap water and prefer the taste from the Brita.

Randy, I have never worked on the Kansas City, Missouri Water Treatment Facility (or Water District No. 1 of JoCo for that matter)! (You could blame me for Independence, Olathe, Liberty, Parkville, Branson, Fort Smith, Knoxville, etc.).

Mike

 

[Philip_G]

I use a PUR filtered pitcher, and it makes it taste better, can't say much else for it.
sounds like it needs a quick run through the dishwasher though :b
oh well, the extra bacteria give my immune system some "target practice"

 

[McPaul]

Well I have my Brita Tank now, it's neat, fits in the fridge, and has a spigot on there so whenever I want a drink I can have one!! nice and easy and convenient, so I am now the WATER BOY!!!

heeheeee!! thanks for the advice, guys!!

It's running through it's first pour now, which the manual says you have to discard. So I've gotta do two fills today. It doesn't say how much it holds, but I've put a ptcher and a half into it so far, and it's taken, dunno if that's all it will take, but that's 3 liters.

Thanks again!

 

[David Susilo]

I used to use Brita, until I tried PUR. It's about the same price and the water tastes less weird. I tested the water from Brita versus PUR and apparently, PUR filtered more of the junk than Brita, and in real time too (none of those dripping thing)

 

[Denward]

To Mike O'Connell,

Thanks for lending your expertise to this thread and saving us ignoramouses from bacteria infested water.

Unfiltered tap water can be kept in the frig for a very long time as it should still have disinfectant residual (either chlorine or chloramines) which will inactivate any bacteria rather quickly. That is why the pitchers that filter as you pour (Brita) are a great idea for drinking water for those that do not like the taste of their tap water and prefer the taste from the Brita.

Are you sure about the water pitchers? The ones I've seen filter as you fill, not as you pour.

I'd like to "tap" your expertise on one other question. We're on Louisville city water. I've got an infant at home and we mix formula for her using filtered (Pur Ultimate) water that's boiled for 5 minutes and then stored in the frig for up to a day and a half. I now know that the frig storage is a bad step so I will eliminate that or at least go to a 2 pitcher rotation. Is it helpful to boil the water? Would I be as well off by taking water straight out of the filter and mixing formula with that? Thanks.

 

[MickeS]

We used the Brita filter pitcher, the water tasted great and it lasted a long time (several months). Since we always bought gallons of water at the grocery store before getting the Brita (the tap water here just doesn't taste very good), it saved us a bunch of money.

Now we have a filter built into the refrigerator, don't know what kind.

/Mike

 

[Mike OConnell]

My bad, I thought the pitchers filtered as you poured, not as you filled. If they filter as you fill, then the same storage concerns apply as the filters from the tap.

Opinions vary widely on the issue of what to do with the water from the tap (if anything) to use in formula for babies. What you are essentially doing is a triple barrier for your child.

First, not knowing what the water quality is in Louisville, but know that it does meet EPA standards (barrier 1), you can mix formula straight from the tap. If you choose to add an additional barrier (barrier 2) of protection for your child, use the filter, it will remove some additional organics and inorganics that can be absorbed into the filter. The boiling step would be a third barrier of protection and it would basically inactivate any bacteriological species that could have developed within the water system (unlikely) or within the filter (possible).

My wife (a family physician) and I used the single barrier method, no filter, no boiling, we just made sure that we kept the bottles clean (including heated dry in the dishwasher).

My suggestion, if you trust your family physician or pediatrician, listen to them and what they recommended. They should be familiar with the water quality in your area and what, if any, steps should be taken.

Good Luck,

Mike

 

[Denward]

Mike,
Thank you so much for your info. I really appreciate it.
Does heated dry in the dishwasher make a difference bacterialogically? Do you know what temperature the dishwasher achieves? Is it the heat or just drying quickly that's important? We've been hand washing all feeding equipment and air drying upside down on a rack. I have been a little concerned about the small amounts of standing water that can remain for hours in the nipples and rings.
On top of that, I've been boiling everything for 20 minutes about once a week.
When you say there's a chance of something growing in the filters, is that an inherent risk in a properly maintained system or is that mainly when the filter isn't changed frequently enough? If the filter is absorbing the disinfectant, does that retard bacteria growth in the filter?
BTW, my daughter is 7 weeks old now so they say her immune system is somewhat developed at this point. I bet your wife knows more on that subject.
You know the irony of this thread is that I sent an email to Pur trying to have this kind of dialog and never got a response. I should have known to turn to HTF for my water quality concerns.

 

[Max Knight]

Sounds like I need to wash my pitcher as well, I had figured that it was safe because I never used it for anything other than water :b

Thanks for the advice!

-Max

 

[McPaul]

Alright, it said that you should discard the water after the first 2 tanks, which I have done, but it still tastes.. wierd. Is this how Brita water normally tastes? or am I still getting some kind of taste residue from new water?

 

[Mike OConnell]

Dishwasher Questions:

It's the heat that does the job.

The main cost for a dishwasher is electrical for the heating elements and the motor. When we had our son we purchased a rack that went into the top of the dishwasher that held the nipples, rings, etc. that allowed them to stay in place to drain downward (no trapped water or particulate matter from food). Bought it at what is now Babies-R-Us.

We would also wash the bottles by hand and air dry. You would just want to make sure that you are using as warm of water that you can stand without burning or scalding yourself and rinse the bottle, first with warm water and the final rinse would be cold.

The final thing to remember is that babies are truly much heartier than most new parents give them credit for being. If it were not for my wife, who answers these type of questions on a daily basis, I would have gone nuts worry about everything.

As my wife always reminds me (and I sometimes need a 2x4 upside the head (figuratively)), the healthiest thing for a child of any age is to make sure that the parents are also taking care of themselves, physically, emotionally, socially, spiritually, and yes - sexually. A happy and well adjusted parent is much less stressful for a kid then one that is stressing themselves out over every little

detail about raising the kid.

Good Luck,

Mike

 

[Denward]

At the risk of offending those who are anti-"posting for posting sake"...
Thanks again, Mike!