Brita Bottle

I was really glad to see a recent TV commercial for the Brita Bottle. I have the older Brita Fill & Go bottle, also BPA-free, from 10 years ago and, since it was discontinued due to a U.S. lawsuit for patent infringement by Innova Pure Water, I haven't been able to find replacement filters for it except on Amazon which doesn't always have them; the Innova website has had all its products on back order for years. I was thinking I'd have to do something drastic like go to Europe to stock up.

Evidently the patent infringement is no longer an issue since Brita has its own bottle back on the market, newly designed to fit car cup holders, in blue or green with a MSRP of US$9.99. The capacity is 20 ounces.

The replacement filters are good for 20 gallons, 128 refills, or about 2 months. The new filters have holes near the top rather than the bottom like the old bottle filters and carry the MSRP of $7.99 for a package of two filters.

The reason I like the Brita filtering bottle so much is because it's great for domestic travel providing consistently great-tasting water no matter where I am without the inconvenience and expense of buying bottled water. It's lightweight, easy to squeeze, and the push-pull sport top means I don't have to put my lips on it and ruin my lipstick.

Yes, I know. It's a girly-thing, but there it is.

In addition to my lipstick issue, I also prefer a sport top because not needing to touch it with my lips means there's no backflow to contaminate the water or the inside of the bottle.

With Brita being such a large brand name, the bottle filters will be easy to find at many stores across the country once again.

I also like the Brita filtering bottle because the Brita filter makes water taste good by removing chlorine and reducing heavy metals, if any. Also, because it filters on-demand, chlorine remains in the water, keeping the water safe for consumption, until right before I drink it.

I feel better about on-demand filtering when I'm out and about than filling a water bottle with pre-filtered water such as from a filtering pitcher because unless ice cubes are added to keep the water cold, the absence of chlorine allows the growth of organisms if the water is not consumed soon enough. This last isn't an issue with filtering pitchers kept in the refrigerator because the low temperature inhibits bacteria growth which is the main purpose for refrigerating food items.

Besides, with water pre-filtered at home or motel room, if I drink it all, there's no way for me to filter more water while I'm away making me subject to whatever bad-tasting water is available or buy a bottle of water which doesn't always taste good to me, either, depending on the brand name.

With on-demand filtering, I can refill my bottle from any tap, anytime I want.

Another advantage with the new Brita Bottle is that it comes with a removable carrying loop; the older Fill & Go bottle didn't. For that, I got a carrying strap holder that clipped onto my laptop briefcase. Since I had no problems with either the TSA or the airlines after 9-11, there's no reason to anticipate issues with the new Brita Bottle as long as it's empty for the TSA screening.

Based on my experience with my old Brita Fill & Go bottle, I think anyone wanting a filtering bottle should try the new Brita Bottle. Just remember that the filtering is for aesthetics only, to improve taste and remove odor, and is to be used solely with water that's already safe to drink. Because the filter is for particulates 50 to <80 microns, it will not make unsafe water potable.

To make water safe from protozoans such as cryptosporidium (protozoans being the largest of the three groups of nasties that make us sick followed by the smaller bacteria and viruses, the smallest), the CDC and EPA recommend an absolute pore size, not nominal pore size, of 1 micron or less.

I may buy a new Brita Bottle just to compare it to my old Fill & Go. If I do, I'll post a review after I use it awhile.