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 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.

This is great. It does take a few minutes to filter and fill reservoir but the tap doesn't leak and the water tastes great. It brought down 007 water to 002. Well worth the money, buying 2 packs of backup filters now to store away.Edited; I recently figured out that the TDS meter will read very highly if you just insert it into the water spigot, but will give a completely different more positive reading if you test water from the container in a cup. An example of this is I do not keep my TDS meter in the position on the water container so it gets dust and etc in there so when I put the meter in there to test it it says 100 parts per million but when I take it out and put some water into a cup from the container it tests triple zeros. So I don't know if the meter would show more accurate results if the spigot area was cleaned and then the meter was left inserted all of the time, but that seems laborious when you can just test a cup of water and accurately see what the total dissolved solid is. The reason I noticed this is because that could possibly make you change your filters before you need to which would be spending more money than you need to. These filters are really good and I put at least 20 to 30 gallons through the first filter that it came with and it still is reading triple zeros. I have a 2pk backup and now I think they will last longer than I originally thought. This is very well worth the money for a 5 stage filter system that's portable.

We will never drink the nasty tap water again without this. You can taste the difference in the water, and your hydration immediately. We wish the basin was bigger as our family of 5 drinks water like crazy, but it will do. It fits perfect in our fridge, we clean when we change the filter. We currently use two filters a month, which is well worth it. The filters are easy to change :)