Brita 42378 Deluxe Water Pitcher
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Our Price: $39.99 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $34.00 (click here) Category: Kitchen See more product details |
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Brita 42378 Deluxe Water Pitcher
Customer Review: Excellent, fresh-tasting water but a few "gotchas"
Summary: 3 Stars
First off, I have to say Brita's filters make tap water taste really great. We had this with us in Germany, where the water is really disgusting right from the tap. That water was completely undrinkable but the Brita pitcher made liters and liters of fresh-tasting water that rivaled the expensive bottled French stuff. We felt it was well worth the real estate it took up in our typically shoebox sized Euro-fridge. And the pitcher is easy on the eyes, with nice, sleek styling.There are a few "gotcha's" with this pitcher. For one thing, the small cover on the spout is fragile. If you drop the lid (easy to do if wet) it will break. This is minor as the pitcher will work fine without it. The end-of-filter life is a timer, not a sensor of filter quality. If you go through gallons of water, the filter will expire before the indicator tells you. You can tell this by the bad taste. You have to watch that the filter does not dry out, so you should not leave the pitcher dry when you empty it out. This takes some discipline from the kids (and dare I say, adults) to fill it up immediately.
The Brita does filter relatively quickly. However, if you need more than 3/4 of a gallon at a time of water, or you go through a lot of water (we do), you may want a sink filter or an in-line filter instead. But for cold, delicious water at a reasonable cost, you can't beat this pitcher. We ended up buying a sink filter instead and retired our pitcher, but it really did well by us for quite a while.
Customer Review: Surprisingly disappointing design
Summary: 2 Stars
After 8 years with my Brita Classic pitcher, I decided to get a newer, larger model with the built-in "smart timer" feature. After using it for about 3 weeks now, I am very disappointed in the overall design, especially considering how perfect the original Brita was. The smart timer feature is handy -- it's a small digital indicator on the top of the cap that tells you when it's time for a refill; this should work better (& cleaner) than the previous "analog" mechanism used with some Brita filters. But, that's about it as far as the good goes.If you fill up the basin nearly all the way, water sometimes leaks out the back of the unit from the top of the handle (and gets onto your refrigerator shelf). Much more annoying, though, is the little flap that rests over the spout. Presumably, this is there to keep refrigerator odors from entering the unit and affecting the taste of the water. However, most of the time when you pour, the flap doesn't properly open up (it sort of sticks shut); this causes the water to pour sloppily or even to suddenly gush out if the flap happens to come un-stuck in mid-pour (more spills). Finally, if you tilt the unit enough to pour out the last drop of water, occasionally the Brita filter itself dislodges from its slot and thumps into the cover of the unit so that you need to re-seat it.
Given the great success I had with the previous unit, I was very disappointed with the overall design of this more recent version.
Customer Review: Brita makes coffee and tea taste SO much better!
Summary: 5 Stars
We started using the Brita Water Filter some time back, when our city water would taste like iodine, some mornings--I have NO idea why, but it made the coffee taste, shall we say, less than tempting. Buying water wasn't really an option--small bottles cost too much and leave too many little containers in the recycle bin, and a 5 gallon bottles too heavy for me, so the Brita it is! We have the basic model shown here, but my cousin used the counter top model for years--all you have to do is replace the filter occasionally, and your water is always fresh and delicious. (No real need to flavor it with coffee or tea!)
My godson says he doesn't get heartburn any more since he started drinking Brita filtered water--how's that for a recommendation?
Nice to know that according to the company "Brita pitchers employ an ion exchange resin with activated carbon granules to draw mercury, zinc, copper and cadmium from tap water, trapping these harmful elements inside the filter. Brita filters eradicate up to 98 percent of the lead found in tap water while significantly reducing other impurities and dangerous bacteria including cryptosporidium, giardia, and benzene. Additionally, the odor and flavor of chlorine are removed from drinking water." I can certainly attest to that last...NO chlorine taste.
Who needs bleach-flavored Lapsang Souchong?!
Customer Review: the taste is worth the trouble
Summary: 4 Stars
Having owned multiple pitchers from Brita, I would say the biggest problem with them is that they are made of slick, unevenly-weighted plastic parts. This makes them hard to use and easy to accidently drop, especially when they're filled with water. The plastic in the lid and reservoir is especially weak and these parts can easily snap in half (becoming unusable) if dropped, even on a carpeted surface.
Other common, but lesser criticisms:
- Pitchers may not fit well in your refrigerator
- Pitchers need to be cleaned periodically to fight mold, but are NOT dishwasher safe
- Pitchers unsuitable for families that go through a lot of water quickly (opt for faucet mount)
All that said, the pitchers do actually work. Many people successfully use these pitchers to make their terrible tap water taste better (myself included). If you can train yourself to handle them extra carefully, and remember to clean them and refill them you should be fine. And yes, you have to change the filter about every two months, but you only need six to last a year (one comes with the pitcher and you can get a 5-pack for about $30). If it still sounds like too much trouble though, pitcher filters probably aren't for you; from what I've heard, pitcher filters from other brands suffer the same drawbacks.
Customer Review: It worked for me!
Summary: 5 Stars
This pitcher made my nasty water taste great. I love it. I practically gave up pop all together because of it.
I had to fill the pitcher quite often because I drink so much water (more since I bought it). Everytime I poured a glass, I'd add a little more to filter. Even when I took it almost empty from the fridge it only took a minute, if that, to get a nice glass of water.
You can even leave it on the counter, it's great for filling the pets' water bowls, and the temperate water taste just as fine. :)
The spout lid did break off because of who knows what my roomate did to it, but still functions just the same.
The filters do have to soak and such before use, but it wasn't much of a bother. If time is that precious to you, then, I don't know what would work better -- but the more power to you.
I had the Brita Ultramax Water Filter Dispenser, which has a tap and holds a lot more water. It worked just as well, but it was such a pain to fill again, and to get to the last inch of water I had to tip the container forward, leading to a watery mess.
I highly recomend this. <3