Review on Express Water Alkaline Reverse Filtration Filtration by Steve Brethorst

For years I had a Pristine Hydro Filter on my countertop that I paid around $1300 for. When we moved into our own home, my wife and I wanted an under-counter filter for convenience (and to save counter space, of course). Pristine Hydro sells one for about $2,000 which I believe uses your existing faucet (which is a great feature for many people). Don't get me wrong, they are an excellent premium filter. But for over $1800 I was wondering if I could justify that. After all, does one machine remove 99.9% of contaminants, remove harmful acids and remineralize water? That worries me. Pristine Hydro does this very well. (Honestly, I don't know what percentage of contaminants this filter removes, but it definitely has a lot of filters!) A few years ago, I tested 50 different bottled waters. This taught me a lot about what it takes to achieve alkaline pH and the effect of TDS on pH. Las Vegas water is already very alkaline, around 8.5, with a TDS of around 240 in our home. This is generally a much higher TDS than any water filter. But remember that there are MANY alkaline spring waters on the market (like Evian) that have TDSs over 200 or even 300. However, I find 20-80 optimal for me personally after filtering. Because ideally you want it to be filtered to 0 TDS and then lightly remineralized. If I had to choose my pH it would be 7.5-9.5. However, you can raise the pH very high with VERY few minerals. And once you hit 10.5, adding more minerals generally won't make it go higher. The pH value says more about how acidic the water is than about the amount of minerals. So if you have a high pH and a low TDS, it means the acidity is low. The bottom line for this filter from our Vegas water is about 10.5 pH and 38 TDS. I am happy with these results because it means there is little acidity. I wanted basic drinking water - maybe no higher than 10.5 - but that doesn't bother me. I don't think it's much different than 8.5 or something. What I LOVE is the significant reduction in TDS from 240 to 38. The filter does the job. Considering the price difference, I think this option is better. PS I installed it myself. Took about 2 hours and wasn't too hard as I already had a hole in my stainless steel sink. Now remember I removed the air gap from the hole and the plumber told me it would cost another $150 to drill the hole and get my sink on the code. Well, there are usually additional costs involved. Regardless, even if the hole has to be drilled, it's still a good deal. I think the yearly filter change is a good PITA, but that's what we're paying for the rest of the year for the convenience and healthy drinking water! Good job folks.