Brita filters are an effective and affordable way to improve the quality of your drinking water. But how do they work? What goes through them? And what do Brita filters remove from tap water? A lot, as it turns out! In this article, we will discuss the various contaminants Brita filters remove from tap water so that you can make a more informed purchase decision for yourself or your family.
Brita filters are the most popular water filter on the market and for good reason. They remove many contaminants that other water pitchers and filtration systems leave behind, like lead, mercury, chlorine taste, and odor. They also reduce substances like copper which cause discoloration or off-flavors in drinking water.
You may wonder if there is anything left to give your family clean drinking water after using a Brita filter but it turns out they don’t even need to add fluoride because of all the benefits this system has over others. If you want to make sure only healthy minerals are coming through your tap then use these filters!
What Contaminants Do Brita Filters Remove?
Brita Water filters are known for their high efficiency in removing contaminants from water. Did you know that Brita filters can remove mercury, cadmium, copper, and zinc? Here is a list of other things that Brita filters can eliminate:
– Calcium
– Magnesium
– Chlorine
– Lead
– Mercury
– Cadmium
– Copper
– Zinc
– Limescale
– Chloramine
There are many other harmful contaminants that Brita water filters remove while these are the basic which every Brita filter removes. Different Brita filter brands are specialized in different areas of filtration.
My Favorite Brita Filters are:
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and
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Do Brita Filters Remove Calcium?
Calcium in the water can affect its taste and leave scales on jars for long-term use. Brita water filter safely removes calcium from the water as it runs through the filter, improving the water’s taste and texture.
Does Brita Filters Remove Magnesium?
Magnesium is yet another mineral found in water that greatly contributes to forming hard water. Magnesium isn’t toxic if not a large dose is taken, but could be bad in long-term use. Brita water filter removes magnesium from drinking water, improving taste.
Does Brita Filters Remove Chlorine?
Chlorine is a chemical commonly found in water that is added to kill bacteria and other germs. But the downside is, this chlorine in high doses can harm humans as well. Brita filters remove chlorine from regular tap water with the help of activated carbon in the carbon filter. This is done after the bacteria in the water is removed with chlorine giving us both advantages.
Does Brita Filters Remove Lead?
Lead is a very dangerous compound when exposed for a long time. But unfortunately, many use lead pipes to supply water, these lead pipes with time dissolve in the water. Faucets made with lead could also cause the same effects. Brita water filters remove these lead from the water making it safe for use.
Do Brita Filters Remove PFAs?
PFA is now a widely known harmful contaminant that has found its way into water and food due to our faults of overusing them.
Since human bodies can’t break down most of these PFAs, they get to build up inside the body which would often lead to low birth weight of newborn babies, cancer, child developmental disorders, impaired or compromised immune system, disruption of thyroid hormones, reproductive disorders, liver and kidney disease, elevated cholesterol levels and many more.
Brita water filters aren’t designed to filter out this harmful contaminant nor do they claim to do so. But they do use the same process that is said to remove PFA as the U.S. EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) states. These include using an activated carbon filter and ion exchange resin. So they can remove around 73% of PFA on average but efficiency depends on the filter type you use. Only a reverse osmosis filter can remove nearly all the PFAs in water.
Do Brita Filters Remove Fluoride?
Fluoride ions are by far one of the most common contaminants found in water which most filters, unfortunately, don’t filter out. So do the famous Brita filters remove this contaminant?
To our unfortunate, no. Brita water filters don’t have the required technology to filter out fluoride ions in water; it doesn’t even affect the amount of fluoride present in water. But other types of filters do filter out fluorides.
Does Brita Water Filter Remove Limescale?
Limescale is yet another contaminant found in tap water that is formed when calcium and magnesium mix with water and react. Limescale has no adverse effects on our health, but it does cause pipe and faucet blockage and makes water taste bad.
Fortunately, Brita filters remove this limescale from water with the help of activated carbon and ion exchange resin, which therefore acts as water softeners.
Does a Brita Filter Remove Plastic Microparticles?
When talking about contaminants in water, plastic microparticles are also one of them. These contaminants with time have now become a very serious issue as more and more industries produce this as a waste product which is just spilled into nearby rivers and lakes. We wouldn’t want plastic microparticles to be collected inside our bodies right? So do these famous Brita water filters remove this harmful contaminant too?
Guess what, it does! While a Brita filter cannot 100% remove microplastics from tap water, tests show that the filter can remove a substantial amount of microplastics, making the water safe to drink. Brita filters also remove many industrial chemicals that make plastic microparticles as well. If you wish to remove 100% of these particles, it’s best to change them into a whole house water filter system.
Do Brita Filters Remove Chloramine?
Chloramine, yet another harmful contaminant that lurks around in tap water. This harmful contaminant can cause problems like itchy dry skin and damage digestive mucosa which isn’t great at all. So getting rid of this chloramine is another feature we would like to have in the filter we buy.
Likely, Brita water filters do remove Chloramine from water, but it does take some time to do so. Due to this reason, tap water should be run a few times inside the Brita filter for it to effectively remove the contaminant from the water.
Summary
The Brita water filter system is a great and easier way of filtering water. It removes harmful contaminants like mercury, cadmium, copper, zinc, calcium, magnesium, lead, limescale, plastic microparticles, chloramine, and many other contaminants.
If you want a reliable everyday filter from Brita, go with this one:
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However, there are still substances like Fluorides and PFAs that Brita systems cannot filter out. Brita systems do remove a small amount of PFA leaving out some in water. But in the end, Brita water systems can be a great companion which helps in supplying our family and loved ones with clean and fresh water.
Also, see my PUR vs. Brita guide
Related Questions
Does Brita Filter Remove Rust?
Brita water filters only claim to reduce the amount of dissolved heavy metals in tap water. So it might remove rust from the water, but this might also cause the filter to clog. An easier way to get rid of rust in the water is using water softeners, they are much more efficient in the task.
Will a Brita Filter Remove Salt?
Brita is famous for its ability to remove many substances and contaminants in water, but unfortunately, sodium, or more common salt, isn’t one of those substances that Brita water filters can remove. Reverse osmosis systems usually remove salts from water but Brita filters don’t use this technology in their system.
Hello, Andrew,
I really appreciate your article on Brita filters!
Since you are a plumber, I imagine that you will know the answer to this water quality question.
I live in an apartment that has very old cast iron plumbing (circa approx 1930). It’s the original plumbing and I know that cast iron rusts from the inside out. The out-take plumbing (sewer) lines were just descaled because of a build up of rust and clogged lines.
My question for you is this: how much do I need to worry about rust particles being in my drinking water? My drinking water is clear but I am a little freaked about whether I may be drinking rust particles from the old cast iron pipes.
What is your opinion on this? If you were in my situation, would you feel comfortable drinking the water using a Brita filter? I know Brita filters may not remove all of the rust particles.
Thank you in advance for your reply and insights! I have tried to look up online what filtration systems will remove microscopic rust particles from drinking water but I am not finding the information.
Jeanne
Hi Jeanne, thanks for writing in. Rust is a visible particle that needs to be mechanically strained out, so really it’s classified as a sediment. So a sediment filter would be better used for removing rust from drinking water. Go with one with a washable filter as they are expensive without a washable one. Using something like this will give you good results and rust-free water for peace of mind 🙂 https://amzn.to/37MUNZf
Andrew, thank you so much for replying and the information!
I just have one more question…
If my water appears completely clear to me and I don’t see any rust particles, can I then assume that there are no rust particles in my water? It sounds like what you are saying is that rust would not be microscopic?
Thank you again as you are giving me a lot of peace of mind with the info you are providing!
I’d like to stop buying bottled water and stop putting a lot of plastic jugs in the landfill!
Your best bet is to simply use a filter pitcher, I like the ClearlyFiltered one here: https://waterfiltercast.com/clearlyfilteredpitcher Brita is good as well but I’ve been using this one more often lately. The water is crystal clear.
Thank you so much for all of the info, I appreciate it!