Jeff Meehan, Long Island, NY, asks: We use the Brita water pitcher at home and usually drink bottled water when we're not at home. Can you give an unbiased comment?

ANSWER Probably not! I'm pretty proud of our products, but I'll try. First let me say that I feel that there are no "bad" water filter products, any filter is better than no filter. Brita is the best-selling system in the world currently (we're gaining fast), and it does improve the quality of water. These types of pour-through filters are limited in performance, primarily due to size. They are not designed to perform at the same level as our products, a simple comparison of the Performance Data Sheets that come with theirs and ours shows. The real question is why pay more to get less? While these pitcher filters are less expensive initially, they cost considerably more to use, about 22 cents a gallon compared to 9 cents a gallon for Aquasana, and they simply don't work as well! As for bottled water, since U.S. regulations on bottled water are so weak, the quality is at best unknown. With a good home water system, you can fill your own bottles and be sure of the quality. Occasionally, ...  more