Zero 8 Cup Pitcher - ZD-013W Water Filter

I am disappointed in this product. The lid falls when you are pouring, and the spout is too narrow so it takes ages to fill a glass! Basic design problems!

Only a week use. The water has very acid acid taste smells like vinegar.

Exactly as advertised, clean water with no funny tap water taste! This water filter pitcher is a fairly good size for my husband and I though we do find we have to refill it often. It came with one pitcher, one filter, a reusable TDS indicator (more on this later), a pamphlet that contains 2 coupons for replacement filters, and a users manual. The TDS (total dissolved solids) indicator is reusable and easy to use; just stick the indicator into the filtered water and if the light on the indicator illuminates it is time to replace the filter. I love that the pitcher allows you to either pour the water like a normal pitcher or use the spout on the bottom of the pitcher near the handle, very versatile! The picture is nicely sized and leaves plenty of room left in our refrigerator. With this pitcher we have been able to switch from bottled water to reusable glass bottles filled with cleaner ZeroWater. We are very satisfied!

I bought this ZeroWater 8-Cup Water Filtration Pitcher to replace my Brita and as an option other than purchasing a PUR. I based my decision on the TDS reading of 000. I had tested my Brita and the tap water and both readings were in the 300 - 400's. As soon as I received the ZeroWater Pitcher, I tested it and it was close to 000. And the water tasted amazing! I loved it! I used it every day since July 15. But starting yesterday my water started tasting sour. I thought it was the cup I had reused after drinking apple juice because I needed water to drink to take a probiotic pill. Then today at work, the water in my CamelBack water bottle tasted funny. I thought it was dish soap from washing the CamelBack. I decided to test my ZeroWater again and the reading was 796! What!? So I did another test and it was 550! The tap water itself was 400! It went higher and it went sour! I was also horrified to realize that I had been giving my cats this water and mixing this water with their food. I quickly dumped out their water bowls and gave them bottled water (Refreshe water from Vons). I also discovered dried up cat vomit on the carpet. They must have puked from this morning. I do not blame them as I wanted to vomit too after sipping the water to taste to figure out what had happened! I decided to not order any more filters after reading more reviews on Amazon and on the ZeroWater site itself. Changing the filter every month because the filter starts producing water that is sour and rancid is not worth the expense to have delicious water for only 2-4 weeks. I would like a better solution to having clean inexpensive water and to reducing the plastic water bottle waste. Please note the water tester that comes with the pitcher is generic. It says "If your filter is installed correctly and working properly, the indicator WILL NOT LIGHT UP." But I ask what if the indicator is broken? Will you think it is working? This is not the advertised tester. You need to order a separate TDS meter from them for $9.99. That's baloney. I bought a separate TDS meter "TDS-EZ" by HM Digital. It is reliable and accurate. Thank you for reading my review.

My whole purpose in buying this was another reviewer making me feel stupid -- he uses it as a pre-filter. You take the expiring filter out of your zero water large refrigerator jug, put it in this one, put a new one in the refrigerator jug...save tons of money on the pricey filters. Why didn't I think of that? Works great for that purpose, but don't leave it out on the counter - the sunlight thru clear acrylic makes it grow algae. Also, I thought the pourable spout would be a feature saving me from having to lift out the top assembly - it isn't. It pours alright, just fine...but it also upends the wet filter I think messing up the layers...some sand type stuff started coming UP into the reservoir and I think made the entire filter disintegrate faster. Not a huge problem, it's really easy to lift the reservoir/filter out to pour into tne larger blue zerowater container.

While the filtering is top tier and fast, the overall design and moreover weight needs serious improvement. It's much heavier than my previous PUR pitcher, so when full it's really uncomfortably heavy with the giant filter, giant handle, and full of water. I'm not filling it completely because of the weight issue, so I end up refilling several times more a day than hoped. The lid fits snugly, but the spout flapper restricts the water pouring so it glugs out slowly as you pour. If you have the counter space, the larger stationary Zero model is likely a better choice to solve the weight issue-no lifting. I'm thinking I'll be returning the pitcher, as this isn't a long term option for me.

I had been using a Brita up until recently when my cousin switched to a different filtration system (having also been a Brita user) and I immediately tasted the difference. Unfortunately after having had his superior filtered tap water repeatedly, I just couldn't go back to my Brita anymore so I purchased the ZeroWater filter to replace it and so far, I'm very pleased. It's definitely comparable to my cousin's more expensive system in terms of the quality of the filtered water and is as easy to use as my old Brita. If I have one complaint, it's that the little plastic spout doesn't really like to open when you go to pour, but if you can get past that, it's produces quality, drinkable water. Update: So the life of the filters apparently varies depending on where you live and the quality of the tap water there. I live in Los Angeles, where the faucet water isn't particularly good, and so my filter lasted exactly one month. If this is an issue for you (the filters aren't cheap), then this is something to consider *before* buying. If you want to extend the life if your filter, you can pre-filter the water with one of the ones that mounts to your faucet. This will effectively reduce the amount of filtering your pitcher has to do and extend the life of the filter (depending on how good your faucet mounted filter is). However, this will also add additional cost. It's best to do the calculations and see which is the most economical solution for you before committing to anything.