ZeroWater 22-Cup Ready-Read 5-Stage Water Filter Dispenser with Instant Read Out - 0 TDS for Improved Tap Water Taste - IAPMO Certified to Reduce Lead, Chromium, and PFOA/PFOS

I was using a faucet water filter, but no longer can due to a new faucet installed.Bought this after researching my options. This is an excellent price and the value of the waterPurification is very high. Easy to fill and slip in the fridge. It comes with a tester to test the quality of the water after it runs through the filter and it is awesome! I always did not like the taste of water due to mineral tastes, but this has no taste at all. It is just refreshing. I have well water and you would think it would be pure, but no way! Can't live without this water filter dispenser. Highly recommend. The filter lasts quite a long while, longer than I estimated.

I will start off by saying that I have an M.S. degree in Environmental Science. This has absolutely no bearing on this review, except that I completely understand the processes going on with the zero water filter and the concept of Total Dissolved Solids (TDS).I did not purchase the zero water for any altruistic purpose. I did it to save money. I used to by bottled spring water because I grew up in a rural area and never acquired a taste for city water. I hate the taste of chlorinated water. I was looking for an alternative to expensive, and yes wasteful, bottled water that would taste good enough to drink.I did a lot of research before deciding to buy this, and I am glad that I did. The result is that I love the choice I made. I am going to discuss my experience with this product and also respond to some of the other reviews that I read here.So here we go:1. The product is solidly made. I have owned this for five months and have had no problems with leakage from the filter (I am on number two) where it connects to the water reservoir or any other mechanical problems.2. When I first set the product up, I did neglect to watch the O-ring around the filter when I tightened it. I saw a few drops of water leak out around the seal, realized what had happened, and screwed the filter on making sure the O-ring was secure and tight. This was complete user error and had nothing at all to do with the product. I mention it so that if you are just starting out, you do not make the same mistake.3. It does take awhile for the water to filter through. When I first got this and after replacing the filter, I would say it took about twenty to thirty minutes to filter enough water to fill the container. After filling it the first time, I have just gotten into the habit of pouring water in when I take water out. It is easy and gives me a constant supply of water.4. The life of the filter is highly dependent on the water quality from your tap and how much water you use. I was worried that I would end up spending more on filters than bottle water costs; it did not end up being a problem in my area. The TDS for my tap runs somewhere between about 98 and 140 ppm (parts per million) with an average of around 111 ppm. I have learned this from testing the TDS over time. To test the life of my first filter, I decided never to add water to the reservoir unless it was below 120 ppm. The only time my water gets above this is when their is a big rain storm, so I just worked around the weather. Using this as my guideline, my first filter lasted 71 days. I am on number two, now. Also, I use somewhere between two-thirds to all of the water capacity daily. Way more economical than bottled water!Note: Before purchasing this, I went to the zero water website. They have a section where you can enter your zip code, and it tells you what the average TDS is for your area. For my area, their information was accurate. I would suggest doing this when deciding if this is right for you, especially if the cost of filters is an issue.5. The taste of the water is good. Now, I will say that for the first four or five days the water has a funk to it. I thought it tasted vaguely like when you use purification tablets in water. I was not impressed, but I thought it was better than city water. What I noticed was that after a few days the water tasted better. This happened again when I replaced the filter. I am guessing that when you first use the filter there is some aromatic residue from the filter itself, but it goes away basically after you get through the initial water that you put in. I have super sensitive taste - my boyfriend did not notice the funk at all. He really likes this water, and once the funk goes away, I really like it, too. No chlorine taste! Yay!6. I have read some concerns in the reviews about the pH of the water that you get. I have not tested the pH of the water after it has been treated with the zero water system. However, If the pH is 4 or 5, I am not very concerned about it. The natural acidity of your stomach is around 4 to 5, and drops to somewhere between 1 and 2 when you eat. I have had no problems with an acid stomach, etc. from this product. In fact, the lower acidity may reduce the amount of acid your body has to produce to counteract what you have consumed. I am not sure, but I have not noticed any changes in my physiology in response to drinking this water.Overall, I am extremely pleased with my zero water purifier. It is economical, produces tasty water, and is very convenient. It is slender enough that we keep ours in the refrigerator, so we not only have good water, but we can keep it cool, as well. In five months, mine has more than paid for itself in savings from buying bottled water.Hope this effort helps if you are making the decision as to whether or not this investment is right for you.

Update! SMELLS LIKE dead FISH 🐟 ☠️ 🤢 🤮Wow. So I live in Orange Country and just my entire home re-piped less than two months ago. I know that our water system here in SoCal especially in Orange is apparently terrible- which shocked me to hear! Sure enough when I tested the water with the TDS meter provided with this unit, it read at over 460!!!! Omg. I had no idea it was THAT BAD! But this water filter works AMAZING and got my water down to 0 TDS! Yes- it takes FOREVER to filter, and the top reservoir only holds so much water, so if you have more than 2-3 people in the home who regularly drink water, or you want to use it for cooking/boiling, this size probably is not for you! I’ve found it almost impossible to keep the unit in our fridge because it constantly needs to be filled up, so that’s a bummer. HOWEVER- it’s the only water filter (that I know of/is low cost) that will remove the particles from your water. Previously I thought a simple Britta filter/regular brand water filter was enough- but nope. I even tested BOTTLED WATER- and it read 24 TDS! So if removing the micro prices is important to you, I’d definitely get a TDS filter. Maybe a bigger capacity one than this though! And if you’re not patient you must decide to either invest a lot of $$$ in some very fancy one, a bigger one, or not remove the TDS because wow it does take a LONG TIME. But overall the quality of water is great!!!***Update after using it moderately for 13 days***Once the water level reaches about 1/2 full in the basin, it STOPS FILLING!!! When I picked the filter up out of the unit, the water flows, however once the filter is back in place under the water, it is BLOCKED!!!! I just opened a ticket - * i think* (I called the support phone number and a very helpful AI bot told me he would create a ticket to the manufacturer for me), and the AI told me it could be a defective filter…… I did mention to the AI that my sink water (the only water I have) I use to fill up the unit was reading at above 450 TDS, and inquired if possibly that was simply * too extreme* of an amount of TDS for the filter to handle, and that’s why it stopped working properly, but I was told by the AI that even if very high TDS water is used to fill the unit, the filter should be just fine for at least a month, and that this one is defective… hmm… I just feel like the pressure of the water coming from the filter is SO SO LOW (literally a veryyy slow stream with low pressure/ slow expulsion into the basin) so I think maybe it is getting “stuck” in the filter and is unable to “push itself” into the basin once the basin reaches half full due to the amount of underwater pressure.ZERO WATER, PLEASE HELP! Thank you! I want this review to be 5 stars and I ABSOLUTELY WILL RATE IT 5/5 STARS DESPITE THE SLOW FILTRATION (because I am realistic and know that this is a budget friendly unit doing a great and difficult job - removing TDS).I just would like to know that it can, in fact, be able to successfully add the filtered water to the basin even if the filter which is dispensing the filtered water is underwater. Which it absolutely should be able to do, or else this product would be a sham because what’s the point of having a “basin” if the filter can’t even fill it up more than halfway…? I tried so many times to upload a video but Amazon is not allowing me to. I tried even a 13 second video of low res still didn’t work. Wish I could share the video.THANK YOU!