While I have somewhat mixed feelings about the greenness of having a filter on my kitchen faucet, I must confess that I love my Brita On Tap. I’ve never been the kind to buy bottled water other than for my earthquake kit, so it’s not keeping me from buying that, but I’ve certainly seen some benefits to having it.

We do drink quite a bit of tap water in my family. I fill up a container to keep in the fridge, so there’s always cold water available. The kids love it, although they’ve never commented on any difference between filtered and plain tap water.

Probably the biggest improvement was the day we had the kitchen pipes torn out because the old cast iron pipes for the drain had rusted shut. They also had to cut some of the pipes bringing water into the house and replace them with new.

At that time, the Brita was not attached. The plastic adapter it comes with is a piece of junk, and while we had bought a metal one to replace it, we hadn’t gotten around to actually doing it.

But the day we tasted the water coming through the new pipes, my husband and I knew it was time to put the filter back on, and hope the metal adapter worked better than the plastic one, which had allowed the filter to fall off the faucet every couple days.

Glad to say it works much better. The filter still hasn’t fallen off, months later, and even though the nasty taste that came from the new pipes is now gone, I’m enjoying that filter. We drink a lot of water here, and San Diego region water has never had the best flavor.

My grandparents’ well water in Sacramento, on the other hand… used to make sure to fill up there on trips. But that’s off topic.

My one frustration is that there’s currently no recycling for the Brita filters in the United States. I read someplace or other several months back that some other countries do have that, so I know it’s possible. Hugely frustrating to have something that could be recycled, but isn’t, due strictly to lack of recycling facilities.

Actually, I do have another frustration, but it relates more to how the water comes into my house. During the summer, the cold side often starts out hot. Sometimes steaming hot. You’re not supposed to run hot water through the filter.

We do have this problem solved, though. We keep a couple empty jugs by the sink. If we need cold and the water’s running hot, the jug collects the hot water, which is saved for the garden. Cuts down on the water waste and lets me help some of the plants that have been rather more sensitive to our recent hot weather.

All in all, if your local plain tap water isn’t what you enjoy, this isn’t a bad option. Some may prefer the Brita pitchers, which also work well. But if it keeps you from buying bottled water, a basic filtration system is well worth it.

Oh, and the replacement filters are often much cheaper through Amazon than locally! Check out the price differences, and if you’re buying online try to get things in as few shipments as possible. Increase your odds of free shipping and hopefully cut down on packaging.