I've been using Pur water filters on my kitchen faucet for over 20 years. I've never noticed a difference in the taste of the water, but since the water is from a private well and the water isn't chlorinated, I figured it would be best to run it through a filter for added safety. Over the years I've increased the amount of time between filter changes and haven't noticed anything significant as I've increased the amount of time. I ended up changing the filter once a year and everything was fine with the water source. I recently moved into a house with chlorinated city water and brought in an old Pur system with filter that had been in use for 6 months and immediately noticed a massive drop in water quality. It was difficult to drink compared to the filtered well water I was used to. I changed the filter and noticed an immediate improvement in the taste of my well water. I switched to this unit because it has an indicator that shows the life of the filter. I really appreciate how well this works now that I have a lousy water source that I need to improve. Highly recommended.