10 Cup Water Filter Pitcher, Blue/White

The filter is great. I have used a competitor’s filter pitcher for close to 10 years. I decided to try ZeroWater and I am satified with the water from the ZeroWater Pitcher. My water definitely tastes better as does my coffee made with filtered water. My beef is with the design of the pitcher itself. First, the entire lid must be removed to fill the reservoir, instead of a small trap door in the lid, as on the competitor’s pitcher which is much more convenient. Second, the prefilter reservoir is tiny compared to the pitcher capacity taking 3 or 4 fillings of the reservoir to fill the pitcher, which is time consuming. Third, the pour spout on the top of the pitcher is terrible. Nine times out of ten, no matter how careful I am, some water winds up on the counter or floor. There is a lip on the front of the little flap that covers the spout that causes water to pour everywhere. Lifting and holding this flap open helps but doesn’t solve the problem. It’s very awkward to hold the lid and reservoir in place while holding this flap open and pour into the teakettle at the same time, not impossilbe but .... jeez. Fourth, if you don’t hold the lid/reservoir assembly in place there’s a good chance the whole thing will pour out of the pitcher along with your water. To be fair, this same problem happened with my old filter pitcher too. There’s gotta be a simple fix. Fifth, there is a push button type pour spout on the bottom of the pitcher’s handle. Fine if you’re pouring a small glass of water I guess but if you keep the pitcher on the bottom shelf of the fridge very inconvenient. Also this spout is awkward to use and takes forever to fill a large glass or container or even the teakettle. For the filtering aspect of this product I would score 5 stars. For the design and convenince aspect of this product I would score 1 star, as it does contain the water without a problem. ZeroWater’s engineers should try using their product alongside their competition’s product. They’d see the deficiencies right off. UPDATE: I put this picther in use on December 10, the day it was delivered. Today, January 3rd is the the first time I replaced the filter, it lasted a total of 24 days. I noticed the water from the tap varies in respect to TDS (total disolved solids) from 350 to 290 range. Through the life of the filter, the filtered water was clean tasting and fine. Toward the end of the filter’s service life a very small amount of fine charcoal granules were apparent in the pre filter reservoir. This did not affect the finished, filtered water in any way. My pitcher from the major competitor to ZeroWater typically lasted 2 plus months but it only filtered down to about 150 TDS. Take that for what its worth. Remember different localities will have different numbers out of the tap. I definitely taste a difference with ZeroWater, this filter being much better than the competition. I pour from this picther about 6 or 7 times a day. I can count on one hand the number of times in the 24 days I’ve used it when I’ve been able to pour from the ZeroWater without some amout of spillage on the counter, floor or stove. Keep a towel handy when you use this pitcher. IT IS A SIMPLY AWFUL DESIGN. I’ve had friends and family to try pouring from it with the same results. It’s a mess. The reservoir lid is, at best, difficult to remove without the entire reservoir coming out of the pitcher with the lid. I compared this spout with several other pitchers I own that don’t exhibit the pouring problem. Bottom line is the others have a squared off spout as opposed to ZeroWater’s rounded/pointed spout which effectively “fans” the water column out instead of keeping it compact to aid in directing the water where you want it to go. The flap that covers the spout MUST be held open to avoid even bigger messes on the counter. I mentioned in my first review the lack of flap or trap door for filling the reservoir. That problem is even more apparent when you realize that you laid the underside/inside of the lid on the countertop making it necessary to rewash the lid (and wipe the counter dry) before replacing it on the pitcher. The size of the prefilter reservoir is still an issue, because the filter works so well it is considerably slower than the competitor’s; it literally take 30 to 45 minutes and 3 to 4 fillings of the reservoir to fill the picther from empty. A larger prefilter reservoir in relation to the overall size of the picture could easily solve this. I see from reading other older reviews many of the problems I have were mentioned long ago by others. I wonder why ZeroWater has done nothing to resolve these issues and keeps selling an inferior pitcher to go with their superior filter. In my opinion a pitcher made to store and pour water is a pretty simple concept. I think that function should trump form. This pretty blue pitcher with its swooping curves and stylish looks literally ignores the purpose and seems to want to “look good” instead of “work good”. I want a pitcther that filters my tap water and is simple and easy to use with no mess. Too bad ZeroWater can’t deliver. June 16, 2019 I have now been using this pitcher about 6 months, about one of every ten pours does not result in spilled water on the counter, floor or stove. (I’ve learned to place the vessel I’m pouring into on a towel to make clean up easier.) I have carefully watched how I am pouring to determine if it’s my fault or the design that causes the spills. It’s the design, pure and simple. My advice is if the manufacturer can’t fix the design flaws they should offer a supply of free towels to be used when pouring from the pitcher. I have noted on the underside of the reservoir there is a lip near the spout that seems designed to spread the water column and also to push the reservoir out of the pitcher. RIDICULOUS! It’s very awkward to try to hold the reservoir in place while holding the spout lid open while holding a towel to the pitcher to prevent a mess on the counter. Perhaps if ZeroWater is averse to a redesign of the pitcher they would be open to making filters that fit the competitor’s pitcher. That one works as pitcher should. Again, I love the clean tasting water from the filter, the pitcher is a piece of junk!