Do Brita filters work? Or are you flushing money down the drain each time you buy one? This month has been water filter month here, and we’re overflowing with water filtration knowledge. In this article, we focus on answering the question: Do Brita filters remove arsenic and lead? We’ll also cover contaminant reduction rates and other fun facts.
By the end of this lovely article, you’ll know for sure whether Brita is right for you or if it’s time to make a switch [upgrade]. After we explore everything Brita, I’ll share a few of our secret weapons in the fight against water contaminants.
Let’s begin with the most burning question.
How effective are Brita filters?
Do Brita filters remove lead?
As most of us already know, lead contamination is a serious problem in some parts of the country, particularly in Flint, Michigan. Lead is certainly not something you want in your drinking water. A lot of people are beginning to wonder if Brita removes lead.
If you want to remove lead from your drinking water, the Brita Longlast filter is the way to go. The Longlast filter removes over 99.5% of lead in accordance with NSF/ANSI Standard 53.
However, and this is a big however, a lot of people are having problems with slow and clogged Brita Longlast filters. It’s so bad that even the reviews on Brita’s own website are ugly.
Brita has yet to iron out the problem, but I’m confident they will eventually – hopefully sooner than later because the Longlast filter is a great filter (when it decides to work).
It’s up to you whether you want to roll the dice on Longlast filters because a lot of people are having luck with them while a lot of people aren’t.
Do Brita Filters remove arsenic?
Next up is arsenic, just that word alone frightens me. There’s an interesting study that tested the effectiveness of six filter brands for arsenic removal. The study applied several concentrations of arsenic, and Brita did remove arsenic in each trial.
As the arsenic concentration rose, the Brita filter’s arsenic reduction rate lowered. At its peak, Brita reduced arsenic by 27.6% and at its lowest, it reduced arsenic by 19.2%. Meanwhile, the ZeroWater pitcher smoked the competition. It reduced arsenic by more than 99% in each trial.
Alternative Arsenic Removal Options
Now that you know Brita filters don’t remove a significant amount of arsenic, do you want to know better methods for removing arsenic? We have just the right solution for you: activated alumina filtration.
Activated alumina does an excellent job of removing fluoride and arsenic. Our current top pick in this department is the Home Master JR F2 Elite countertop filtration system. This system removes up to 93% of arsenic, and the best part is that it leaves essential minerals intact.
One of the problems we have with the ZeroWater filter is that it removes all minerals, similar to a reverse osmosis system. We love reverse osmosis systems with remineralization, but we don’t like Zero Water or plain reverse osmosis water because of its flat slightly-acid taste.
The Home Master countertop system is the perfect blend of utility, convenience, and affordability:
If you’re more of a water filter pitcher kind of person, there’s a fantastic pitcher for maximum arsenic reduction called Clearly Filtered. It removes over 230 known water contaminants with a 99.9% average reduction rate.
Clearly Filtered filters contain the company’s special “affinity media” blend that selectively attracts and removes certain contaminants/substances including fluoride.
The reason we’re so fond of Clearly Filtered’s “affinity media” is that it too keeps essential minerals intact, similar to the Home Master system above. This equals better-tasting and healthier drinking water. Plus, the filters have a significantly longer life than Brita filters:
Bottom Line
Does Brita remove arsenic and lead? Final answer: yes to lead with the Brita Longlast and faucet filters, and yes to a moderate amount of arsenic reduction. If you’re serious about arsenic removal, there are certainly better options provided in the Brita alternatives section above.
Overall, Brita is a great budget water filter. Most people have complaints about the pitchers, faucets, and everything else that’s not the Standard filter. As we mentioned earlier, Brita has yet to fix the slow Longlast filter problem, but we do believe they’re getting closer to remedying it.
We’re confident that if you made it this far, you know for sure whether Brita is the right filter for your home.
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Until next time, cheers!
