Express WaterEZRO5 Countertop Reverse Osmosis Water Filtration System, RO, White

I live in an area with very poor water quality. The unfiltered water that comes from the tap has a TDS rating of 575. Absolutely hideous tasting tap water.My first attempt at cleaning up my water was a Brita pitcher. It did absolutely nothing to improve water texture or taste, but it may have been effective in filtering various unwanted particles, etc.My second attempt was a PūR faucet filter. Again, it did nothing regarding improvement of taste or texture. I did however like the convenience of the faucet attachment, and I was impressed with the amount of potentially harmful elements the manufacturer claimed it could remove.My third attempt was a Zerowater pitcher. Wow! This was the first time my tap water ever tasted as good as bottled water. I'm not sure how each of the three mentioned filters compare concerning the removal of harmful contaminants, but I do know that the Zerowater filter produced the best tasting water. Using the included TDS (total dissolved solids) meter, Zerowater delivered a zero reading just as promised.If Zerowater is perfect, then why am I here discussing an Express Water system? The expected lifespan of Zerowater filters is dependant on initial water quality. My TDS rating of 575 means that I would only get 8 gallons or less per filter. Even when buying filters in a bulk pack it would be MUCH more expensive than buying bottled water. It's simply NOT cost effective.Finally, my last and best solution: An EXPRESS WATER countertop Reverse Osmosis system.The Express Water system is incredibly easy to install. A simple to understand instruction sheet is included. (1) Remove the blue lock pins from the connector on the SED filter and also from the connector on the black hose coming from the ROM filter. (2) Pull out the protective pins, insert the two color coded hoses (that lead to the faucet connector), and then put the blue lock pins back on. (3) Attach the faucet connector and you're ready to go! It took me about 10 minutes to set everything up.It's recommended to let the water run through the filter for roughly two hours before you'll achieve the best quality.My results:Express Water fills a 64oz (half gallon) bottle in 13 minutes. One gallon in 26 minutes. It reduces my 575 TDS rated water to a rating of 9 and delivers water that has a very pleasing texture and taste.* Your results may vary depending on water pressure and quality.How I use it:I fill a couple of 64oz bottles with filtered water and keep them in the fridge. I also still use the Zerowater pitcher. The water going into the pitcher now has a TDS rating of 9, so the Zerowater filters last much longer (40 gallons or more) and the filtering process is much faster.No more carrying multiple bottles of water home from the store each week, and I feel better about not generating so much plastic waste.If you live in an area with a relatively mild TDS rating, the Zerowater pitcher may be all that you need. But, the only cost effective solution for those in areas with a high TDS rating is to use a Reverse Osmosis system. The Express Water is one of the least expensive to buy, maintain, and operate.I highly recommend the Express Water countertop system.Special Notes:Make sure the faucet attachment is correctly on the threads and tight. If too much water is leaking you'll reduce water pressure and end up wasting water.Even though the overall build quality is excellent, my ROM filter is leaking (directly under the large side of the filter on the left). Initially it was losing about a drop or two a minute, which adds up quickly. I was able to turn the large portion of the filter clockwise which stopped part of the leaking (now it's a few drops an hour). I'm going to give Express Water customer service a call to see if I can get it resolved. I'll update this review after I go through that process.Some people claim that it's not healthy to drink water with a low TDS rating. In my opinion that's nonsense. You don't have to suffer with foul hard water taste and a heavy texture just to get minerals and nutrients in your diet, you'll get plenty from other sources. Plus, there are simple methods to add minerals back into the water should you wish to.Keep in mind that the process of Reverse Osmosis generates a lot of waste water. It isn't like a pitcher or faucet filter system that only outputs clean, filtered water. With Reverse Osmosis you have a special faucet that outputs purified water, and at the same time you have another outlet that rejects the "bad water". For every one gallon of filtered water you're going to create a few gallons of "bad water". Probably a 3:1 ratio. You CAN collect the bad water and use it for watering plants, cleaning floors, etc. But it definitely should not be consumed. You may need to consider the extra usage of water in a Reverse Osmosis system if you have concerns about your overall water usage / water bill.If you plan on using filtered water in an aquarium the manual recommends that you add the DEIONIZATION filter upgrade.Required water pressure: Minimum 45 PSI / maximum 80 PSI. If your water pressure is too high you can add a pressure regulator to make it work.Beyond the brands that I mentioned, there are many other very effective pitcher filter systems available. Some do an amazing job of removing very specific elements (like Floride) and some remove a broad range. Most are incredibly expensive to maintain and in most cases they don't reduce TDS levels (which may not be an issue for you). My advice is to research the quality of your tap water and decide what is most important for you to remove. Then seek out the filter system that best suits your needs.

My tap water is 150ppm-180ppm which is quite good, but my plants and soil want less TDS in their water. With some plumbers tape to prevent any leaks and leaving the system running for 2 hours, you can begin using the water thereafter. Altogether a simple process as long as you have: a little foreknowledge of threading and plumbing tape, and the measurement of the fitting on your sink. This was a workaround for one of my sinks, as my main kitchen sink does not function with the system because of a large extendable spray head. This works great and my filtered water tests 6ppm and an approximate 6.8PH. Previously the tap water tested 150ppm-180ppm and had approximately a 7.5PH. I’m satisfied and it tastes good.

This is my first RO system and after using it for a couple of weeks I have to say that I'm more than thrilled with the way it's performing so far! First, I was surprised that the system arrived all put together, for some reason I expected that I had to put everything together but no, the only things you need to worry about are the metal spout and the threaded kitchen sink connector, everything else is already put together by the time it gets to your house. I had an issue with the ROM filter leaking water but I contacted Express Water via email and they instructed me to "tighten" the filter head in order to stop it and it did (I used my hands to do it). Express Water support is very responsive, they usually responded my emails in about 8 working hours. I was not a fan of the metal spout but I found that you can use the EW "upgrade kit" (see pics) to attach a 5 feet hose to it that I can then use to fill up my 5 gallon water jugs sitting on the floor. It's the perfect setup! The upgrade kit may be a little expensive for the purpose but I went for it because EW told me that it could be used to replace the metal spout without issues while I couldn't say the same about cheaper alternatives like small hoses that others have mentioned in other reviews. In terms of effectiveness, I get 3 ppm from the filter (see pics), that's 2 ppm less than the bottled water I used to buy. Tap water is 128ppm. Once I got a 35 ppm reading but I don't recall if that was after I mineralized the water with pink hymalayan salt (the readings in the pics was before mineralizing). Value for money is not that good in the country I'm from (the system is on the expensive side) but I bought it for convenience and peace of mind since you can't really trust the people that distribute the bottled water around here, as it turns out (had somewhat of a health scare with one of the jugs they sold me which prompted me to seek out alternatives).PROS:* Easy to setup!* Very effective. I get a 3 ppm on the filtered water. Bottled water I used to buy was 5 ppm.* Express Water support is very responsive, they usually responded my emails in about 8 working hours.* Easy to extend with a hose with the EW "upgrade kit" (this is also a con, see below).CONS:* Wastes a lot of water, that should go without saying.* After I first set it up I had an issue with the ROM filter leaking water. I contacted Express Water via email and they instructed me to "tighten" the filter head in order to stop the leak and it did (I used my hands to do it).* I'm torn on value for money.. monetarily speaking is not the best compared to alternatives available in my neck of the woods. I will need to use this filter for a couple of years to see a _monetary_ return on investment. However, I was aware of this before buying and I still bought it mostly for convenience and peace of mind since you can't really trust the people that distribute the bottled water around here. I had somewhat of a health scare with one of the jugs the company sold me which prompted me to seek out alternatives like this RO system... but I digress.* Stated filter life expectancy. Express Water should be more forthcoming/honest when it comes to the filter's life expectancy. Saying that the filters need to be replaced every 6 to 12 months makes zero sense. A family of 5 will make a much more intensive use of the RO system than a single person household and saying that they both need to replace the filters after the same amount of time is not very honest imho. Instead they should provide an estimation based on filtered gallons per day, assuming that the tap water has a certain PPM range. That would be way more useful, accurate and honest.* In my opinion, the little metal spout is not the best approach for many use cases. Even to fill a small 1 gallon jug you still need to get a funnel or risk making a mess. The system should include some kind of alternative setup where we could fit a hose instead, or on top of, the spout.

Simple to install, everything came well fitted and the printed instructions were clear. I followed another review's advice to do the initial setup in the sink, just in case there were leaks anywhere, and all went well with no leaks anywhere. The water tastes great and is a nice improvement over the previous apartment solution I was using. Filter replacements are also more reasonable. I'll come back and update this review in a few months.

got this at a great price on primeday... been looking at countertop RO systems for a while. for the price?UNBEATABLE!is it the most attractive unit on the market? nope. although it looks nice & neat up on my counter & its already a part of the fam. the ugly stepchild is not THAT ugly.setup? mostly smooth. note the threads on the faucet adapter are 'touchy'... you have to get them lined up perfectly to screw it on... usually a very simple job but it took a bit to find the sweet spot. found it. just attach it slowly to avoid any chance of stripping.leaks? YES! BUT SOLVED! after 1st hooking it up, it was dry as a bone. put it thru the 2hr setup. checked 3 or 4 times every 10 minutes. no water dripping/spilling. next check? water all over my counter! AARRGGH! it was collecting on the metal tray then finally spilled onto the counter, which is why i never saw it.couldnt figure out what was leaking but remembered a review here that mentioned it. said the company told him to tighten the ROM cartridge. so i took a close look... YUP! a small drip at the bottom of that filter. almost impossible to see. so i hand tightened the ROM housing.. NO MORE LEAKS SINCE!quality? takes my tap water from 180+ppm to 6-10ppm. IT WORKS!filter speed? slow but not horrible. i prob have decent water pressure. it takes me 9-10mins to fill a 1/2 gallon mason jar. thats fine... just set a timer for 9 mins & go turn it off when the timer beeps. its done. very easy. but it doesnt 'pour' out of the RO faucet. mines a steady light stream. well worth the wait! wouldnt want to wait to fill 1 glass of water to drink though! be prepared to store your water in the fridge (colder tastes better anyway, or you can leave it on the counter).BE AWARE: yes, you are getting crystal clear water and only water. h2o. the taste? flat. RO water is not healthy to drink 'as is'.since youre removing ALL dissolved solids, youre also removing the good minerals that give the water taste AND more importantly make it healthy. you MUST remineralize your RO water. ExpressWater sells an add-on ALK filter, but they do not suggest using with this system (thats what they said on the phone regardless of what it says on the site). I bought an alkalizing/remineralizing WaterDrop filter. tastes better, but only raised my ppm by about 20-25ppm. thats laughable. and it barely moved the ph.switched to trace mineral drops (aussi trace minerals... found here). ppm shoots up to 400+ppm!!! GOOD quality minerals & great taste! so the pH pitchers? theyre a gimmick & a joke in the industry. theyre for the brita crowd who only care about 'taste'. if you want real clean, healthy, mineral rich water, go for the drops. 20 drops in a 1/2gal. the remineralized water is also much more hydrating... straight RO water or the water from the virtually useless pitcher dried my mouth out constantly. the drops solved the problem. now easily going thru my 1 gallon of water a day... constantly hydrated & feel much better!so all in all im VERY glad that i finally ordered this unit (& that it dropped by $50 on primeday)! hoping it lasts a long long time!