For many years now, Brita has been the prominent name in water filtration companies. Customers have come to expect quality water filtration products from them, and the Brita Longlast Filter should be no different. As the name suggests, Brita has advertised its Longlast Filter as their most durable filter. But how does the product hold up in our Brita Longlast Filter review?
In this article, we dive into the filter’s specifics and its performance in various categories, including value, safety, ease of use, and water quality. Read on for our full Brita Longlast review.
The Need For The Brita Longlast Filter
Brita designed their Longlast Filter because their standard filters only lasted for about two months at a time. A filter that could filter quality clean drinking water for more extended periods without needing to be changed would be a marked improvement on their already successful product.
Additionally, while all Brita filters remove potentially harmful chemicals from tap water, the Brita Longlast Filter tackles the serious issue of lead poisoning. Amid public health crises around poisonous levels of lead found in municipal tap water such as that in Flint, Michigan, it was imperative that a trusted water filtration company such as Brita design a product that removed lead.
With all this in mind, Brita designed their Longlast Filter to be durable and remove toxic levels of lead from tap water.
Performance Review
Below, we look at how well the Brita Longlast Filter performs in a few key areas.
Value
Each Brita Longlast Filter can filter up to 120 gallons of water. Brita estimates that this equates to about six months’ worth of drinking and cooking water for the average family, so, in theory, you would only need to replace your filter twice a year. This longevity is a significant improvement over their standard filters, which only filter 40 gallons of water (roughly two months of use).
Depending on how many members are in your household and on how much water you use for drinking and cooking, your Brita Longlast Filter might not last quite six months – it may end up being more like four months if your water usage is high. However, this is still a considerable improvement over the standard Brita filters.
This value only increases when we take the filter’s price into account. One Brita Longlast Filter costs significantly less in the long run than purchasing several individual filters.. Based solely on price and how long it lasts, the Longlast Filter is superior to the standard filter.
The filter also has a great value when considering it as an alternative to single-use plastic water bottles. Brita claims that the LongLast Filter gives you the drinking water equivalent of 900 standard 16.9 oz plastic bottles. This calculation translates into enormous financial savings, as well as being environmentally friendly.
Safety
The primary purpose of a water filter is to remove potentially harmful chemicals and other materials from tap water, so the Brita Longlast Filter must perform in that regard. Like their standard filters, the Brita Longlast Filter has been proven to effectively remove mercury and cadmium from tap water, as well as the taste and odor of chlorine. It also filters out benzene and asbestos, which the standard filter does not remove.
As we discussed at the beginning of this article, Brita created the Longlast Filter to fight against lead poisoning, and it has been shown to remove 99% of lead from tap water. This statistic is a highly impressive capability for a relatively inexpensive item!
The Brita Longlast Filter still maintains healthy levels of fluoride in water while removing harmful chemicals. It is BPA free.
Set-Up
Although it is a newer model, the Brita Longlast Filter is compatible with almost all Brita pitchers and dispensers (the exceptions being Brita’s Stream and Infinity products). The installation process is very straightforward – just follow the instructions below:
- Remove the filter from the packaging and insert it into the pitcher or dispenser reservoir, lining up the filter’s groove with the notch in the pitcher.
- Press the filter into the reservoir firmly to make sure it seals tightly.
- Use cold tap water to fill the reservoir.
- Activate the electronic indicator on your pitcher or dispenser (if applicable).
Brita suggests that you discard your first three pitchers (or first full dispenser) of water or use it to water plants.
This simple installation process makes the Brita Longlast Filter extremely easy to use. Unlike older filter models, the Longlast Filter does not require that you soak it in water before installation, and you won’t get those annoying loose black carbon flecks in your water like you may have with standard filters in the past.
Function And Taste
The Brita Longlast Filter produces water that tastes amazing. Customers can really taste the difference between filtered and unfiltered water and can also taste a clear distinction between water filtered with a Longlast Filter versus a standard Brita filter.
The only major issue with the Brita Longlast Filter is that it sometimes takes a long time to filter an entire pitcher of water. Some customers reported that it took hours to filter a single pitcher or dispenser of water or that the filter clogged over time and took longer and longer to produce filtered water. However, judging by these reviews’ dates, it appears that Brita may have solved this problem.
Pros and Cons
Based on our Brita Longlast filter review, we have balanced these pros and cons to help with your decision:
- Great financial value when compared to bottled water and standard Brita filters
- Environmentally friendly
- Removes 99% of lead from tap water
- Removes mercury, cadmium, benzene, and asbestos, as well as chlorine taste and odor
- Produces delicious tasting water
- Lasts four months longer than standard Brita filters
- Filters water more slowly than other filters.
Summary
Overall, the Brita Longlast Filter is a high-quality product. If making sure that your tap water is clean and lead-free is essential to you, if you are concerned about the negative environmental impact of bottled water, or if you are looking for a water filter that you only need to replace very occasionally, the Brita Longlast Filter is a great choice.