Brita water filters and Lead pipes

[Doobielicious]

Will a Brita filter filter out lead from water due to lead pipes in my house. Actually I have lead pipes coming in from the water main into the house so that is the main concern.

[cowboy]

yes, the Brita can eliminate better than 98% of lead

some of the Culligan faucet filters may even do a better job

you can help these filters do an even better job yet, by running the tap for

2 full minutes each morning before drawing any water into the filter

also run them for at least two minutes any other time that you have not used the water for several hours, such as returning from a vacation, or when you get home from work if you live alone and no one has been using the water all day

the water leeches the lead from the "main to house" link over time, so the less time the water has been sitting in the lead pipes, the less lead will have to be removed, and the better job the Brita or Culligan can do

I use a Culligan FM-4 faucet filter

also, do not use hot water for drinking or cooking, if a recipe needs hot water, draw some cold, filter it, then microwave

also, do not use hot water in Brita or Culligan or other filter, will promote bacteria growth

[Michael Daly]

No.

[cowboy]

excuse me? I think Brita, Culligan, the entire scientific community and Consumer Reports would differ with you. People, if you don't know what you are talking about, please resist the urge to type an answer!

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Whoa, cowboy!. Not every filter will eliminate lead. Britas states theirs do. Culligan states that some of theirs do, but not all of them. They also state "reduce" lead, not eliminate.

"Culligan?s do-it-yourself drinking water products can improve the taste of your water, the clarity of your ice cubes and eliminate unpleasant smells. At advanced levels, our products reduce lead, cysts, mercury, Lindane, Atrazine, MTBE and other impurities*."

[toller]

I bet you posted as "cowboy" just so you could make that reply!

[cowboy]

reduce is a legal term, you can't say "eliminate" unless you get out 100% of lead, but in the latest consumer reports testing, the Brita and Culligan filters were removing 98 to over 99% of the lead, and if you run the tap for a couple minutes first, the percentage gets quite close to 100%

so I will stand by my earlier comments

cheers!

cowboy

[wally27781]

Dude

If you got lead pipes, start shopping for a funeral. You'll need it soon. First, your brain will stop functioning, then your nervous system will fail and you will develop any number of nervous system disorders. Then your liver will fail and possible kidney damage. Then your heart will be affected and result in a very painful death. If you live any number or years at all, you will develop alzheimers disease at a very early age, prior to your early death. If your brains are not yet fried, save your dollars and have the pipes replaced ASAP, or do not use the water for drinking or cooking at all.

[cowboy]

Agreed.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

At least clarify them as a blanket statement is wrong. NOT every filter CLAIMS to reduce lead. Some do nothing with it at all. Do NOT assume that any Culligan filter is going to help.

[Michael Daly]

Lead pipes have been used in municipal water systems for a _long_ time. If all this was true, the death rates would show it.

Mike

[Stretch]

Then I must be dead already. I lived in a house with a lead water main till I was 14 years old. Every house I have ever lived in had copper pipes with tin lead solder. I am 52 years old and still functioning OK. My gerat grandfather lived to 106 years old under such circumstances, although his first years were in a house without indoor plumbing. Be careful of blanket statements. The amount of lead leached from the lead pipes depends on the chemistry of the water. In some areas it will be very bad, in other areas barely noticable.

Stretch

[Edwin Pawlowski]

When is this going to start? Tens of thousands of homes have lead pipe bringing in the water. Mine did and I raised a family there with no ill effects. If what you say is correct, a million people a day should start dying soon.

[cowboy]

hmmm........this explains a lot

hehe

[blueman]

For the humor impaired, I believe it is fair to say that the big lettered "SARCASM" warning was left off... then again maybe some people are so scared of any chemical that they would actually believe and write that stuff :)

[Edwin Pawlowski]

OK, I missed it. Just that there are so many that would think it is true . .. . . . . .