As we quickly discovered, though, the real appeal of this unit to most people lies in its ability to impart a variety of flavors into the water (i.e. strawberry, grape and lemon). In the words of someone we met recently while looking at water filters in a local department store — because we had nothing better to do while waiting to get tires put on the car — “The taste of truly clean tasting water bores me. I truly prefer the flavored brands of filtered water in the stores and if something like this ( CR-5000 PUR Pitcher Water Filter with PUR Flavor Options ) can make my water taste better, think of the cash I’ll save on bottled water!”

Why did we bring this product back into the limelight? Quite simply, a reader named Mark asked, “is your PUR Pitcher Water Filter with PUR Flavor Options available at stores in montreal, Canada? thank you”

Well, Mark, we would imagine that you could find a local merchant that carries the CR-5000 PUR Pitcher Water Filter, but we cannot say which one.

We tried using the ‘locate a store’ function on the PUR corporate site but got nowhere since we don’t know any specific zip codes in Montreal.

Oh, and did we also mention you have the option of easily adding subtle, tasty flavors to the purified water it produces?

What importance does NSF Certified have?

Getting back to what really matters when it comes to a water filtration system, the PUR Pitcher Water Filter with PUR Flavor Options has passed independent laboratory testing and certified to NSF Standards for its ability to reduce levels of the following nasty water contaminants (if present to begin with):

• 2,4-D Reduction
• Atrazine Reduction — test for atrazine
• Benzene Reduction
• Cadmium Reduction
• Carbofuran Reduction
• Carbon Tetrachloride Reduction
• Copper Reduction — test for
• Cyst Reduction
• Mercury Reduction — test for mercury
• Simazine Reduction — test for simazine
• Tetrachloroethylene Reduction
• Toluene Reduction
• Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction
• Chlorine Reduction – Aesthetic — test for total chlorine / test for free chlorine
• Nominal Particulate Reduction, Class I
• Taste and Odor Reduction
• Zinc Reduction — test for zinc

The PUR Water Filter in this water filter pitcher was successfully tested and certified by NSF International against NSF / ANSI Standards 42 and 53.

No, this filter will not protect your family against EVERY possible drinking water contaminant, but it does offer a decent amount of protection against some truly unpleasant compounds that don’t belong in your water.

Know what contaminants your drinking water contains

The best thing to do before ordering a water filter of ANY size, brand or type… Get your water tested to find out what you need to remove! If you have serious reason to suspect your water contains contaminants, consult with a certified water testing laboratory with proper accreditation. A lab like that will have the equipment and expertise to accurately assess any risks posed by contaminants in your water.

As an example, National Testing Laboratories, a water testing lab certified to perform water testing in pretty much every State in the US, offers three different water testing packages as well as a host of other contaminant-specific tests to the general public.

Click here to view National Testing Laboratories residential water testing packages.