I Traded My Brita for This Plastic-Free Water Filter System, and I’m Never Going Back

I’ll be honest: Water quality wasn’t really on my list of “things to care about” until recently. For years, I was content with fridge-filtered water or even (gasp) straight-from-the-tap H2O, so long as I was getting my eight-ish glasses a day.

Then two things happened: I became a mom, which has come with anxiety about anything and everything going in my babies’ bodies. At the same time, water contamination and quality issues seemed to start filling the news (or maybe I was just paying more attention). There was the July 2023 government report that found PFAS (aka, “forever chemicals”) in nearly half the country’s tap water, for example. And more recently, in September, a federal judge said there’s reason to believe the amount of fluoride in drinking water may be harming kids’ IQ levels.

We had been using a Brita filter pitcher, so I didn’t panic when these news reports came out, but I also knew it was time for an upgrade. I wanted to ditch the plastic pitcher, free up space in my fridge, and feel ultra-confident about the quality of the product I was using.

Enter the Boroux legacy. Water Filter System, one of the best water filters on the market, which has delivered peace of mind when it comes to my family’s hydration.

The Boroux basics

The Boroux is a countertop system with two stacked stainless steel chambers and a steel-and-ceramic spigot. It comes with two or four black foundation filters that remove PFAS, lead and other heavy metals, glyphosate (a common herbicide), DEET, pharmaceuticals, and a slew of other tap water contaminants. The black filters don’t remove fluoride, but Boroux will have separate fluoride filters available later this year, which I plan to buy.

The foundation filters are NSF-certified, which means they’re rigorously tested by this independent organization to confirm that they do, in fact, filter out exactly what they claim. And it’s not a one-time deal—the filters are tested regularly to keep the NSF seal. This is an optional certification for water filter systems, and it makes me feel that much more secure in my choice.

Quick tip on the filter options: The brand recommends purchasing the two-filter system ($300) for a household of up to four people and the four-filter system ($400) for families larger than that. For my household of two adults and two kids, I chose the former.

My experience with the system

Beyond its functionality, the Boroux has a sleek look, so I don’t mind that it’s a little imposing. It stands nearly 2 feet tall on its own, and the optional stainless steel stand ($30) adds another 6 inches, making it a very visible part of my medium-sized kitchen.

Because it tops out right at my height (I’m 5-foot-6, for reference), filling it up requires lifting a container of water above my head to dump into the top tank. This isn’t a problem, per se, but it does make me wish I was just a couple of inches taller (a lifelong dream, really) so I could peek into the tank without standing on my tiptoes or employing a step stool.

Fortunately, the system holds 3 gallons at a time, so I only have to fill it once, in the morning, and then we’re good to go for the day. My husband and I work from home, and the tank is enough to get us through 24 hours of hydrating ourselves, our kids, and the cat with plenty left over for cooking (with two carb-loving toddlers, we always seem to be boiling water for pasta or mac and cheese).

Without springing for the water level spigot ($50), it is difficult to know at a glance how much H2O is left in the tank without manually lifting the chambers apart. But after just a week or two, I’ve gotten a feel for how much we use and how often to refill the system (and I only overfilled it once!).

Admittedly, setting up the system took a little more time than I thought it would—not nearly an Ikea furniture-level time commitment, but more involved than your average water filter pitcher. From start to finish, it clocked in around two hours. Part of the process includes adding red food dye to a few gallons of water and then watching as the system completely filters out the color, delivering crystal-clear H2O (pretty cool).

Once it’s all together, though, maintenance is easy. Boroux recommends washing the upper and lower chambers monthly, but the filters only have to be swapped out annually, so it’s somewhat of a set-it-and-forget-it situation. Actually, I set it and then set a reminder on my phone’s calendar, because honestly, the less I need to rely on my brain for these things, the better.

Final thoughts

The Boroux legacy. Water Filter System is a sleek-looking, high-capacity system that’s NSF-certified to filter out dozens of potentially harmful water contaminants. It delivers crisper-tasting H2O all day long without the need for constant refills, and it’s made of high-quality materials backed by a lifetime warranty.

It does take up a bit of counter space, though, so it may not be ideal for smaller kitchens, and setting up the system can take a few hours, between assembly and priming the filters.

Overall, I’m glad I upgraded to the Boroux system from my water-filter-pitcher situation, and I see it having a place in my home for many years to come.

After all, with all there is to be anxious about these days, I can at least cross water quality and water filter maintenance off my list.