You go into your kitchen for a nice cool drink of refreshing water just to find that someone used the last of the water in your Brita dispenser. You start to refill the pitcher from your tap and wonder how soon after you add water to your Brita dispenser can you drink the water from it.
You can drink water from a Brita water filter right after it has been filtered. Once the water has gone through the Brita filter, the water will be improved to the extent that the filter is intended but a Brita water filter does NOT remove all impurities from water to purify the water.
A Brita water filter is intended to remove certain impurities from your water that can improve the taste and remove odor from your water and once the water has gone through the filter, the water will have been filtered and ready to drink.
Here’s What We Are Going To Discuss:
- Is The Water From A New Brita Filter OK To Drink Right Away?
- How A Brita Filter Works. (Video)
- Why Is My New Brita Filter Water Cloudy?
- Can I Drink Cloudy Brita-Filtered Water Right Away?
- Do You Only Need To Put Water Through A Brita Filter Once?
- Does Filtering Water Through A Brita Filter Twice Make It Better?
- Can You Drink Brita Water If The Filter Is Overdue To Be Changed?
Is The Water From A New Brita Filter OK To Drink Right Away?
I recommended NOT drinking the first gallon of water that is filtered through a Brita filter because it may contain carbon dust or air bubbles from the carbon inside of the filter which could make your Brita-filtered water taste odd or appear cloudy.
If your Brita-filtered water appears cloudy after filtering, allow the water to sit in a glass for several minutes. If the cloudiness clears, it was probably just due to air bubbles and should be fine to drink right away.
If the cloudiness does not clear or you see the cloudiness settle to the bottom of your glass, the cloudiness is likely due to carbon dust that has come from inside of the Brita filter and you should dispose of the water and add fresh water to the Brita water filter.
Although carbon dust is generally not harmful and air bubbles in your water should not cause any harmful effects the carbon dust or air bubbles could inhibit the quality of the water and it will not be as good to drink as intended by a Brita filter.
It is commonly suggested that you dispose of the first gallon of water that is filtered through a Brita filter to ensure the water that you will be drinking is the best that a Brita water filter can produce.
Check Out This Quick Video On How A Brita Filter Works!
Why Is My New Brita Filter Water Cloudy?
Although the grains of carbon used in a new Brita filter are free of impurities, small amounts of carbon dust may be trapped in the pores of the carbon which can be rinsed out during the first use of the filter. This carbon dust can be suspended in the water making it look cloudy.
In addition to carbon dust, air bubbles trapped within the filter can be released once water flows into the filter and these bubbles can remain suspended in the water after the water has been filtered and make the water appear cloudy.
Recommended Reading: Why Is My Brita-Filtered Water Cloudy?
Can I Drink Cloudy Brita-Filtered Water Right Away?
The small amount of carbon dust that could make the water cloudy from a new Brita filter should not cause any harmful effects other than affecting the taste of the water.
If the water from your Brita filter is cloudy due to air bubbles in the water, it should not affect the taste of the water but it could odor in the water depending on what created the air bubbles.
Generally, cloudy water from a Brita water filter is perfectly fine to drink and should not contain any harmful impurities that were not present in the water, to begin with.
Do You Only Need To Put Water Through A Brita Filter Once?
A Brita water filter is designed to remove all of the impurities that it is capable of removing in just one pass through the filter.
Since a Brita water filter primarily uses grains of carbon to remove impurities from your water, the carbon is capable of removing gasses and tiny particles with only a single filtering.
Does Filtering Water Through A Brita Filter Twice Make It Better?
The pores of the carbon granules in a Brita water filter will trap impurities until the carbon reaches its capacity which is when the filter is no longer effective and putting water through an exhausted filter will not substantially improve the quality of the water.
Can You Drink Brita Water If The Filter Is Overdue To Be Changed?
I have used Brita water filters longer than the recommended time that a Brita filter is designed to be effective. A Brita water filter can produce quality water far longer than suggested if the water to be filtered is of good quality, to begin with.
Water with high levels of chlorine will use up a Brita filter faster than water that has very little chlorine in it.
The chlorine gas that can cause your water to smell and taste bad can be removed by a Brita filter until the pores of the carbon can no longer hold more.
So a Brita water filter that needs to remove high levels of chlorine will need to be replaced often whereas a Brita filter that only needs to remove a small trace of chlorine could be effective well after its suggested effective life span.
To Sum Up:
You can drink Brita filtered water right away!
Once the water has gone through a Brita water filter, the filter has effectively removed the impurities from your water that it is designed to remove providing that the filter has not reached its maximum capacity of filtering.
Cloudiness in newly filtered Brita water may be caused by air bubbles which you can drink right away or carbon dust which I recommend disposing of and starting again with fresh water.
If the water from your Brita filter contains odor or tastes bad, you may need to replace the filter before drinking water from the dispenser.
