“My husband and kids have no manners. We live in a place where temperatures hit the high 90’s for a good part of the year and since our tap water pretty much stinks (literally! yuck! so much chlorine!) we bought a Riviera filter by Brita and so far it has worked out GREAT — except that my family can’t seem to figure out how to refill the friggin’ thing so that when I get home I can have a glass of water, too! Do they make a larger pitcher or do I need to go out and get another Riviera and write my name on it?”

Ha ha. We have all grabbed a carton of milk or orange juice out of the fridge only to find that it had no weight and no contents. Now a similar heartbreaking event happens with filtered drinking water? What’s this So annoying! Well, lucky for you some folks at Brita must also have lazy family members because Brita does actually make a larger version of its very popular Riviera model.

The Riviera holds approximately 64 ounces of filtered drinking water at most which makes it kind of heavy when full so rather make a larger pitcher, Brita decided to make an in-fridge water dispenser called the Brita UltraMax Dispenser capable of holding an additional ten full 8-ounce glasses of cold, refreshing filtered drinking water more than its cousin the Riviera.

What do these Brita filters remove/reduce?

Both the Riviera Pitcher Filter and UltraMax Dispenser use the OB03 Water Filter, a filter certified by the NSF and the Water Quality Association to reduce levels of copper, mercury, cadmium, chlorine, and zinc in drinking water.

What NSF Standards does the Brita OB03 water filter certify to?

A very good question! While cruising around the web we found a number of sites claiming that the Brita OB03 water filter does a number of things… that we could NOT verify on the NSF, WQA or Brita web sites.

Therefore, we proudly present certification information about the Brita OB03 water filter that we COULD verify on the NSF, WQA and/or Brita web sites:

1) The Brita OB03 water filter has certified to NSF/ANSI Standard Number 53 (Health Effects) for the reduction of Copper, Mercury and Cadmium.

2) The Brita OB03 water filter has certified to NSF/ANSI Standard Number 42 which deals with the reduction of specific aesthetic or non-health-related contaminants (chlorine, taste and odor, and particulates) that may exist in drinking water for the following: Aesthetic chlorine, taste & odor, and zinc.

3) None of the aforementioned web sites mentioned earlier said anything about the OB03 having certifications for its ability to remove or reduce lead or volatile organic compounds (VOC’s).

Question: Do other organizations other than NSF International also do independent testing of devices to ensure product quality and help guarantee that manufacturers have not fabricated the claims made in their literature.

Answer: Yes. One such organiztion goes by the name of the Water Quality Association and it, too performs and/or outsources manufacturer-independent testing of drinking water quality devices. They call their program the Gold Seal Product Certification Program and make the following statement regarding its purpose and place in the drinking water quality industry:

“The Water Quality Association’s Gold Seal Certification Program is dedicated to providing public health and safety services throughout the USA and globally, while maintaining expert service, superior reputation, and fair pricing. The Gold Seal Program offers certification of all products and chemicals that contact drinking water.” (source)

Question: Does either the Gold Seal Certification Program or the NSF Certification Program guarantee that a product will perform exactly as it needs to in order to provide you with good, clean and safe drinking water?

Answer: Not unless you know ahead of time what aspects of your drinking water need correcting! Think of it this way… Buying a high quality running shoe that fits your foot perfectly will not help you when you need to go ice skating.