The culprit
UPDATE: I’ve totally given up on Brita. I had more “gastrointestinal problems” after writing the blog post. We’re now just buying huge jugs of water from the grocery store.
If you use a Brita water filter you need to be very careful with it. I pretty much lost a week of my life recently because there was stuff growing in it and I didn’t realize it.
I drink a lot of iced tea – probably a half gallon a day. Back in the day I was drinking Coke and Dan wanted to get me off that onto something that was more healthy, so we bought some tea bags and sugar and started making our own tea. Thing was the water in our building isn’t all that clean, so we bought the Brita filter/jug you see to the right.
Because it’s easier to make the tea and dissolve the sugar when the water is warm, we just kept the Brita jug on the counter. Sometimes I’d put it in the sun if I was about to make a batch of tea. BAD idea… I didn’t think about the fact that sun and warmth would let things grow.
About a week and a half ago I started getting sick. Stomach felt really bad, I was lethargic and there were bouts of diarrhea. I’m a bit prone to gastrointestinal stuff, so I just put up with it and thought it would go away in a day or two. Well, it didn’t go away. And when the diarrhea was worst I didn’t want to get dehydrated, so I’d drink more iced tea. What I didn’t know was that was making things worse.
Finally after 5 or 6 days I figured it out. I replaced the filter, cleaned the pitcher with hot water, and within 24 hours I was back to normal. Lesson learned.
I’m still using the Brita pitcher, but now it’s in the fridge. If you have a Britta or go to someone’s home who has one – make sure it’s kept in the refrigerator… Just changing the filters when they tell you to isn’t enough.
Brita water filters are very limited in their ability to filter out a wide variety of common contaminates present in many household water supplies. I realize they are better than using nothing at all though.
Perchlorates, fluoride, chromium 6 or old lead household plumbing requires a better filtration system.
Clean water is not free. It is going to cost everyone in higher taxes once the scope of the problem is brought out on the table.
What can concerned citizens do until water authorities take it seriously? At least filter your own tap water. I have been using this system for 6 mo. It is worth the investment. It will also make tea fast, without heating, like nobody’s business!
antioxidant water filters are the way to go!
You do realize the horror of your comment ” clean water is not free” don’t you.. Society is done
More like municipal water works need to be funded well to be better. Clean water is always free lol
I have the same problem just going to throw it away
Hi. Brita filtered bottles did something to the water and made me sick too! I noticed it several months ago when I had bad stomach cramps and finally realized it was the water in my bottle (after buying a second bottle). Yesterday, without thinking, I filled it with water. I then remembered and filled a soda bottle instead. Tonight, I went to empty the brita bottle and the water in it now has a strong chemical odor! It was fresh spring water. I don’t know if maybe we are just sensitive to something in the bottle or what, but I am going to write to brita. Of course, they will probably deny any problem, but I don’t want others to get sick. Thanks for sharing your experience.
Hi,
I also got stomach flu with the Brita water bottle. I used it normally, I rinsed out the bottle, refilled it and kept using the filter. One day, after using the filter for two weeks, I noticed an odd smell and taste after drinking half the bottle. I opened the bottle and the inside looked clean, and smelled like plastic, but when I looked at the filter, it was full of stinky mold. 8 hours later I was with stomach cramps, nausea, headaches and diarrhea. I wish I never bought into Brita. I am a graduate student and lost two days of study time, just rolling in bed with this problem. I will never drink Brita again.
The Brita bottle filters are SUPPOSED to be changed every week, no wonder you got sick if you left it twice that long. I’m sorry you got sick, but it’s not all due to the product, it’s also how you use it.
not true, it says 2 months or 40 gallons. and mine works fine, idk why you guys are complaining
Brita waterbottle filters are suposed to be changed every few months or so many gallons later. Not necessarily every week.
I rarely use my Brita water filter as I usually buy water from the store. But I ran out of store bought water and decided to use it after not using it for quite a while and there was a moldy taste to my water I looked at the filter and sure enough there was mold growing in it. I thought I just had to change it if I had used it, I didn’t realize it retained water and therefore was a breeding ground for bacteria and fungus.
Brita claims they need to be replaced monthly not weekly that would be more expensive than bottled water
Finally figured out why my stomach was killing me…the brita filter was bad.
Jay, I wish I had found your blog entry earlier. I just went through 4 of the sickest days of my life. I couldn’t figure out at first. I had diarrhea like I’d never had it before for days on end; sick as a dog. I didn’t want to dehydrate so I kept drinking water from the Brita container to keep from doing so. One night I was laying bed thinking about what the heck could be going on, when it hit me that the only thing that had changed in my diet was that I had bought the Brita container. I searched and found this blog post, immediately stopped drinking from the Brita and within 12 hours am well on the road to recovery. Thank you.
Poisoned by a Brita. Who would have thought it?
I used a Brit Water Bottle and got sick. The paperwork included with the filters mentioned a type of microbiological growth that could occur if the filter was not replaced as recommended. Does anyone know the name of the growth mentioned in the literature?
Yea, just contacted Brita about a system I purchased for my sink and I replaced the filter already after two weeks because the light stopped working and when I smelled the stench coming from the old filter I about threw up. After finding these posts now I know why my family has been having stomach problems the last two weeks since I bought it.
I found your post after looking up why my Brita water pitcher’s filtered water smells and tastes like mold. I clean it once a week with soap and water, and air dry it. I keep it stored on my counter since room temp afire water hydrated you quicker. I noticed a pinkish mold/mildew growing the water chamber. I resorted to using bleach to clean it after soap and water didn’t work. I also change the filters often. The smell and taste of mold doesn’t go away and I keep seeing the mildew build up in the water chamber. Now I started getting terrible acid reflux. After reading your posts I imagine the Brita is making me sick. I’ll go back to drinking tap water to see if I feel better.
Hmmmm. Very interesting. I have a very sensitive nose. I have never had a problem with filters until recently.I noticed that when I changed my britta water bottle water each day, I could smell mold. I change mine when I am supposed to. I opened a new filter and to my surprise, it wreaked of mold right out of the package. The company must be aware of the problem because they did not even want mine to inspect it, just offered to send me new ones. I just hate it when you think you are making a great choice for your health and the enviroment and wind up suffering for it. Could explain why I have been geting sore throats and sinus problems and bloating.
Hmmmm
I’m extremely allergic to mold and just found this page online after removing my brita filter and finding yellow spores on the bottom! I’m completely horrified. Probably my fault for not reading the replacement directions in the first place. But.. I’ve had similar issues the past few months with sinus issues/sore throats/ multiple allergy symptoms. I’ve also had a reoccurring bout of hives/rash breakouts all over my body. I also had my tonsils taken out in December and am wondering if this could’ve contributed to that as well. :/ I’m a junior in college and probably should’ve paid more attention to the Brita directions. However, the tap water in my college town is so disgusting that I assumed Brita would be a safe, healthy alternative. It’s a surprise to me that in 2016, Brita would not have the technology to develop filters that last longer than 2 months. I remember seeing Brita filtering products as far back as 2000, WHY ARE THESE PRODUCTS SO CHEAP! It’s been almost 20 years and this company should have developed better filtering systems by now.
Greetings,
No Brita Filter here, I have a refrigerator that uses a filter to filter the water that comes through the door. The same EXACT symptoms you all described happened to me. So it is all filters! All can cause this if unchanged. I, the biologist, couldn’t figure this out until it was way too late. I was sick for over a week because I kept contaminating myself. Glad I know this now!
I have the brita pitcher and I drink a lot of water. I developed asthma that was triggered from either allergens or mold. I just noticed the black mold under the filter– even though the pitcher was clean and the water looked clear. I came to the computer to figure out to clean the filter and saw this blog. I have gone to a number of doctors, ear, nose throat, pulmonary, allergy doctor, gotten chest X-rays, etc. I had cleaners to come in and clean my house, looked for mold, nothing. I am throwing my brita out. I am so thankful that I saw this site.
Same here, family of four has been sick for months (vomiting, diarrhea, upset stomach). I, my husband, amd my children , missed school and work due to numerous bouts of stomach illnesses. I am so mad at myself, as I just realized that I have not changed that brita water filter for a very long time now. Upon googling ‘old brita filter sick’ I stumbled upon this website and various others confirming my susicions to be accurate…. Stomach is hurting at this very moment…
?? Yesterday was my one year anniversary of finding this e-conversation and figuring out what had made me sick for (two weeks short of ..) one year: Brita water filtration pitcher. My GI and nervous systems were poisoned by moldy water. It was the worst experience of my lifetime.
I think my Brita filter has caused me to have cystitis. I have had cystitus for nearly two years and the doctor didn’t have a clue after all the tests. I modified all my food, etc. but it wasn’t until all that I had left to try was to stop using the water jug that my pain stopped. It may be coincidental I am not sure, but it seems really odd that nearly two years of painful urine would stop after a day of not using a filter.
This is discusting I came on too look why my filter had the most vile odur coming from it yet the water looked clean and tasted fine, I cleaned it regular too, Ive bin feeling really poorly now I no why, its going straight in the bin, How they are aloud to sell these things I dont no! Terrible!
Yea, just contacted Brita about a system I purchased for my sink and I replaced the filter already after two weeks because the light stopped working and when I smelled the stench coming from the old filter I about threw up. After finding these posts now I know why my family has been having stomach problems the last two weeks since I bought it.
Thank God I found your blog. I start feel sick again when I bought Brita filter three weeks ago.Stomach crack, lots of thick saliva, very hard to expectoration. I was sick exactly the same way two years ago, but did not check properly and thoroughly websites. Actually, because I am Polish I checked lots of polish websites, but everywhere where great reviews only. I remember one night when I fell very bad I went to the kitchen and had a glass of water from Brita. Suddenly I started feel sick,got very strong, continuous cough,then fever. I thought I am dying. This effect was not possible from other source than Brita. I checked carefully whole jug,it was not signs of mould or anything on it. New filter was rinsed few times one day earlier. I gave up using Brita and slowly slowly I got better. But unfortunately human memory is short and after moving home, because water was very unpalatable and chlorinated bought Brita again. And symptoms repeat !!! I feel now exactly the same as before. Thank you for sharing information , now i am sharing your blog by Facebook.
I have used a Brita water filter picher for years and never had a problem until I bought a box of replacement filters a couple of weeks ago. Once filtered the water has a very strong chlorine smell much more than the regular tap water. I have contacted Brita about it waiting on a reply.
I have also had gastrointestinal problems from Brita filtered jug water. I am very weary of this water filtration method and think it must be a breeding ground for mold and bacteria that causes this stomach upset. When I use the Pur water filters on my faucet, I have absolutely no problems at all.
I am amazed how long these issues have been going on. 2011 – 2015 so far!
Since putting in a new filter 3 weeks ago (the new oblong kind called “Maxtra” in the UK), I have had an intermittent upset stomach. I thought it was a mild food poisoning until I read this article and the good people’s comments. Thanks to you all.
I believe the reason I have had rather mild problems is that I only use the filtered water for cooking or coffee and tea, so it’s been boiled briefly. I went away for a week and got better, then came back and got the Bombay Trots again! Each episode lasts up to a week.
I’ve taken the Brita unit apart, washed it with washing up liquid, then poured 3 kettles of boiling water over every part of it. I will put a new filter in and put it in the fridge from now on and will report back.
Thanks again to everyone who contributed to this post 🙂
I had bought the brita filter water bottle and have been using it for about 2 years now. I kept getting sick with a sore throat and fever and cold like symptoms. I didn’t know what was wrong because I was eating healthy and drinking plenty of water. “Why do I keep getting sick?” I kept asking myself this question. I made sure I washed my hands frequently, took vitamins, ate more fruits and vegetables, and drunk more water. I even made a list to see what I was eating or drinking that could be making me sick. I always washed my water bottle but did not think to take top and filter apart unless I was changing the filter. To my surprise when I took a look the top and filter apart it was filled with black moldy stuff. I had been contaminating myself for a while and didn’t even know it. I had been more sick within the last 2 years than I ever had been in my life. I kept getting cold and flu like symptoms. The symptoms would go and come back. I’m so glad I finally realized what the cause of this was. I hope this helps someone. I will not use the brita water bottle filter again.
I discovered the stinking filthy moldy Brita filter about a week after putting in a new filter. My father contracted a major stomach illness months ago so I began to look at everything in our kitchen. He’s been using Brita all this time and didn’t realize his filter were immediately becoming foul. Smelling the inside of the Brita pitcher reveals a big problem. I am considering legal action.
I uses the brita pitcher and became very I’ll I had very bad dehydration and diahreah. I’m still sick and throwing up . I’m throwing it away right now going to take a hammer to it. Going to destroy it I feel like shit .
It have me extreme diahreah
Folks this is for real. I have a large Brita system that we keep on the kitchen counter and refill daily. For the last few months, I started having diarrhea and intense abdominal pain but no fever. Enough that I have had to take many sick days and leave work with uncontrollable bouts of diarrhea, and just in the past four days have been in the hospital with severe diarrhea and abdominal pain accompanied with pure exhaustion. They said I have a stomach virus and need rest and let it pass. Today after finally feeling well and had a regular bowl movement I decided to actually test this theory after checking every single thing I did and ingested. I drank about 2 oz of water from our Brita and sure enough, in about 2 hours I was back to the upset stomach and then started with the diarrhea again. Immediately the Brita went out the window. I smelled the recently replaced cartridge and it was awful. It smelled like dirty fish tank water, if you know that smell. Lesson learned, there needs to be a better way. There needs to be a class action suit.
I’m so glad I found this blog and also, it seems that I’m one of the lucky ones who got away with less serious symptoms. I’ve been feeling bloated and a general discomfort in my stomach for two weeks now, especially after meals but it wouldn’t entirely go away at any moment of the day.
I was falsely blaming the poor sushi bar where I ate a couple of days after I had started using a brand new Brita filter. The interesting thing is that 3 days ago I also developped sinus problems after starting off with a sore throat.
I guess I didn’t go as far as having a serious diarrhea because I started taking probiotics as soon as I felt that something was wrong with my digestive system; that might have counteracted the thing.
I just checked the cartridge more thoroughly and I could find some very tiny dots of black mould, but I had to look very closely, so definitely no visible slime or green stuff on mine.
I had a Brita system for a couple of months and my entire body reacted very seriously bad. The last days I used it I had become so week that I couldn’t even cut a slice of cheese. And it all began – and ended- with the Britafilter. I got thyroid problems and I got severe neurological reactions. And The only thing I had changed was the drinking of Brita water. Testing showed that I reacted on the huge amount of silver particles that comes from the filter. And that I not was the only one who had the same reactions from Brita. Silver is a heavy metal that is really poisonous for us and the fact that the filtered water contains severe amounts of it -which the Brita company is fully aware of- makes it very lethal.
I have been suffering from stomach pains, diarrhea sickness and bloating for the past week since using my new Brita filter jug, and I’m glad I found this blog because I felt sure the problem was due to the filtered water and now I’m convinced it is. I’ve been suspicious of the fact that there is always a small amount of water which sits just underneath the filter, and the refill of fresh water going in may not flush the stale water through. The only way to clear it is to remove the filter each time you refill the jug. I’ve even taken the jug back to the shop and they’ve said that this is how Brita make them now. I can’t believe how dangerous these filter jugs are. Mine is on it’s way to the bin right now.
About a month or so ago by boss bought a Brita filter for the office. (Mainly because I drink SO much water he was sick of paying for the bottled kind. ) I haven’t really had any major health issues with it that I can pin point, but I have noticed it just makes me feel “funny” Like almost dizzy and lethargic and maybe a bit of an upset stomach. The one we have is the screw-on to the faucet kind. Has anyone else experienced something similar?
Glad all of you have provided your comments about the reactions you have had with the Brita water system. I have used Brita in the past, with no problems at all, until recently. Couldn’t understand why I felt nauseated most of the time, when I had made no changes to my diet. Just this morning I happened to notice a green substance at the bottom of my Brita water pitcher. Bong!, then it occurred to me why I felt sick most of the time…the water system. Think a prior commentor was correct–I need to keep the water pitcher in the fridge, altho I prefer room temperature water. Thanks, all of you.
Same problem here folks, months, even years of abdominal pains only disappeared when I moved and began using water from my new fridge. The Brita was the culprit, but upon investigating, noticed in the directions, printed on the filter package “do not touch the filter”, I had been contaminating it myself, needless to say it went in the garbage and no more cramps! BEWARE.
I bought a Brita water filter pitcher about week a go I thought it would be good for me and my dog so we both drink the water that day later that night me and my dog got bad stomach pains worst I have ever had I know my dog was sick because she was wining and had to go out plus she was foaming at the mouth no not rabies just a upset stomach. The next day my skin started breaking out now I am a man of 57 I am in great shape and I take no medications so this seemed very odd to me, after searching the internet for answers I found out that it could of been the water filter so I tested it I drank about a cup and about 20 minutes or so my skin started breaking out and I have never had any problems with my skin until I used the Brita water filter pitcher you know my dad and mom used to tell me son if it looks like a snake and acts like a snake then its a snake. So I believe that Brita is not being truthful with this product so there fore they are a SNAKE
Glad to have found this information. I thought that the bad mold smell in the water pitcher was from the water source from the taps and wondering if it was the pipes or the public water supply. If it is just the pitcher or filter, that is a much easier problem to address.
Years ago in another house where I lived I had a pur filter/pitcher and I had to clean it really often because black mold would collect on the bottom. I would only see the mold when I wiped the inside of the pitcher with a paper towel. Point being I don’t think that the mold in the pitcher is a Brita problem I think it is a pitcher/filter problem.
I too have been seriously ill from a Brita water filter. I did the same thing. After getting diarrhea, I didn’t want to dehydrate, so I kept drinking the Brita water. Then I noticed that the water had a funny taste and smell. By that time, what was ailing me had gone to my lungs and sinuses. I had severe sinusitis and bronchitis. Finally I discovered that the inside of my Brita pitcher was covered with mold. I put it in the dishwasher, but it didn’t come out clean. So I through it away. After that, I could literally FEEL the mold in my lungs and continued to cough up something gritty. I’m still recovering and it’s been six weeks. There were times when I thought I was going to stop breathing and had to use inhalers (I do not have asthma – been tested) and anti-histamines and twice a day anti-biotics. The cough is almost gone now, but it still lingers. Yesterday I had a bladder infection that included blood. This all started with that nasty water in the Brita pitcher.
After feeling sick for the oast weekend, I thought I had a stomach virus but I didnt have diarrhea or fever or other symptoms relating to the stomach virus. I usually drink a glass of water every morning before I eat and I drank a big gls ss and noticed my stomach felt really sick and became dizzy and very weak after a few minutes. I immediately went to the bayhroom and threw up and I forced myself to throw up since Iknew the water was the culprit…I feel somewhat better but im happy I found this website because now I know what the cause is. Even my daughter felt sick and weak after drinking the brita filter water. She usually drinks poland springbut we ran out this week. Brita seriously needa to fix this problem because as far as I’ve read in previous comments their filter has caused numerous health problems. I have missed tqo days of work so far and I hope I dont have to miss tomorrow. I feel weak still and my stomach is a little woozy since I couldnt regurgitate all of the water but atleast I fell a little better. I am never going to use brita filters ever again. Ill buy and stock up on poland spring. Thank you for this blog!
I have just gotten over the worst stomach flu/food poisining type issue. I am sure it is the Brita filter as well. I have used Brita for two years now . I do remember having cramps and bloating in the past with the old filters (now that I think about it) . This time I used the new type and followed all directions. I got sick right away then I went to my daughters for 3 days and drank bottled water and got a little better. Then I came home and drank from my Brita pitcher and I immediately bloated and cramps. Then vomit for the afternoon and then the rest. I have not used the pitcher now since yesterday and I feel a little better. Throwing mine away.
Just purchased the travel bottle for Christmas. It had a very strong chemical smell. I tried one bottle and refilled the second and put in the fridge. I was up all night with cramps and I had to urinate every hour. I lost so much fluid and I have pains I my back. I am wondering if I should seek medical help? The high silver particles made me nervous. Any advice?
Ok. This is so weird. I have been having non stop sinus infections and Monday night i had to go to the ER because i had such bad pains in my colon. well, my tummy started feeling better, but it’s because of this: i use a Neti Pot and get my water for the Neti Pot from the BRITA FAUCET FILTER! guess what was inside my screen? dark green dots of something or other. maybe mold? omigosh!! I have been unwittingly making myself sick and given myself sinus infection after sinus infection. and, unfortunately i just used the Neti pot earlier today before i made this gruesome discovery. i am on antibiotics for another bad sinus infection. so, i hope they will keep me from getting sicker now. i can’t believe this, i try and do a good thing and wash my sinuses out and i ended up hurting myself each time i did this. i looked up info in the type of bacteria it could be and it said Mycobateria, and it can actually go into the brain and lungs and cause TB. please everyone, take care of how you use your Brita Filter. and your Neti pot.
I purchased a Brita 10 cup water filtration pitcher at WalMart, after a recent move. The water in new place tasted icky. I have had Brita pitchers for many years, with no issues…or so I thought.
For forty five days I have been bedridden, headachy, vomiting, very ill. I googled “brita pitcher problems” because my pitcher , out of the box, brand new, was a hot mess. The lid is warped and doesnt stay on when you pour water! It tumbles off, allowing the undiltered wate in the top of pitcher to pour all over the place. The little filter changer reminder meter thing doesnt seem to work. There are always flakes of black crap floating in the water.. Charcoal? So, while Im ill, in bed, I came upon this interesting collection of Brita pitchers & bottles causing serious health issues. Its time to call the health department, people!!!! CALL YOUR LOCAL DEPT of health & LET them know what happened to you!!! We must stop this company from causing harm to people! Please! Thank you so much. 🙂
Glad I found this. I stared feeling ill on Tuesday, nausea, stomach cramps and tiredness then after awhile some nasty diarrhoea (sorry!). The next morning I noticed blue/green/black mould inside my Brita Filter Kettle in the initial water pouring reserve area bit. The glass container below looks sparkling clean so I never thought there would be hidden black mank hiding above. It’s since been bleached (and left unused) but I’m STILL feeling crap 5 days later! I kind of hope it WAS the filter that’s made me sick – at least I know. Any readers who have felt the same, did you wait it out and how long did it take to feel better or did you go to the Dr? And what would they give anyway? Antifungals? I hate medication at the best of times but will use if necessary 🙁
I’ve been having gastro and sinus trouble for ages now. Worst sinus problems I’ve ever had. And respiratory problems for a week now. I kept smelling a moldy smell in my bedroom when I was in bed but couldn’t figure it out – no garbage, nothing in the room to blame it on. I prefer room temp water and keep (kept) my Brita jug on my bedside table. I poured a glass of water todnight after rinsing my sinuses (with non-Brita water) and smelled the moldy smell in my glass of water. Lately I haven’t been able to smell except after I do a sinus rinse and I’ve never had a glass of water right after – so glad I did today. I googled to see if it was possible that the water could get funky and found this page!
I noticed at some point over the years that Brita had changed the length of time you keep a filter for (much less now than before) and I noticed their claims of what it does have changed – it’s not about cleaner water now – it’s about better tasting water.
I dumped my filter in the kitchen garbage and tightly shut the lid. I poured the water from my glass and the jug down the drain then got a fresh glass and filled it with tap water. That was over an hour ago and my sinuses are a bit better already. This also explains why my old girl (my doggy) hasn’t been sleeping in my bedroom for the past few weeks.
Just out of curiosity, since it wasn’t mentioned, and should have been…how many of you who got sick from their Brita actually followed the instructions and SOAKED THE FILTER for 15 minutes before inserting it into their pitcher? I had almost forgotten that instruction when I went to replace my filter…and being the frugalist that I am, wanted to see if I could use my old filter longer than when it says to change it, so that’s how I got here. I’ve never gotten sick from my Brita. My water smells good. However, I have felt ill from a friend’s Brita and I think it’s because she didn’t change the filter, and I have no idea if she followed directions. I’m soaking my new filter right now.
From Brita:
Filters should be kept in the sealed Brita® bag and stored in a cool, dry place until you’re ready to use them.
For pitcher filters, remember to soak the filter for 15 minutes prior to using. It is important that the bottom of the filter be in contact with the filtered water to prevent the filter from drying out. If the filter dries out, resoak for 15 minutes.
If your Brita® Faucet Filter has not been used for several days, you should let water run through the filter for 30 seconds before use, in order to wet and reactivate the system’s filter.
I want to cry, because this is the answer to my Stomach Cramps and boughts of diarrhoea and lethargy. We have a water filter on our kitchen counter, it’s next to the window, and has a tendency to cultivate some green mould in the section that holds water after its gone through the filter. Every time I see it, I clean the hell out of the whole water filter unit. But it always comes back and I don’t seem to be feeling any better. Might just throw it away and buy bottled in bulk. Recycle!
Thank you so much for blogging your experience.
Seems like I’m having a lot of the same issues as you all. I’ve been drinking a lot of water from my Britta (at least 10 glasses per day) and am feeling quite sick, nauseated and almost what I believe is asthmatic (which I don’t normally have). Stomach has been really achy and hasn’t been due to any specific food but am now convinced it’s cause of the Britta. I did have a lot of black stuff where you fill up the water but had just changed the filter 2.5 weeks ago plus had soaked it (as always) for 15 mins. I’m convinced this filter was/is spoiled so have just changed it to the new ones that don’t require the 15 min soaking. Hopefully this makes a difference but hoping I feel better as it feels like a bad flu without a fever. Pain in throat, stomach issues and this asthmatic slight cough,
Same for me. I was drinking Puri water ( a shop near to our apartment ) and then 4days back I got this Brita UltraMax Filtered Water Dispenser. Water from this tastes like shit. And now I am having stomach cramps. This is so embarrassing. I don’t know what to do with this product. Please don’t buy it.
I’ve been using my Brita water filter (pitcher) for about 3 years. No health problems here. I do soak the new filter before using and then I run a gallon of water through and discard. I also don’t let the water sit in the pitcher. The idea of the filter catching all the debris and then letting that filter sit in my water makes me leary so I just don’t do it. I have a 2.5 gallon jug that I keep in the fridge. Every weekend I filter about 10 gallons of water with my Brita and store it in 1 gallon jugs. Throughout the week, we refill the large pitcher as needed. When I’m done filtering for the weekend, I wash my pitcher with hot soapy water and lay the filter inside the white top but not in the tube so that it can dry thoroughly. It’s a bit of extra work on the weekend but just the thought of that debris soaked filter sitting in my water scares me.
THIS MAKES COMPLETE AND ABSOLUTE SENSE…This is the problem. The water should be filtered and put in another container. It does not make sense that the bottom of the filter with all the contaminants continues to touch the filtered water. I never would of looked at it in that way. I am going to try your method. I am going to get a glass pitcher to pour the filtered water in…Thank You
You’re lucky you figured it out in a week! I had stomach issues for years, ans just recently decided to give up brita and what do you know. Im back to my old self. I wish I figured it out sooner, ill never get those years back.
Ihave notice mold repeatedly on my brita filter. The filter is changed religiously and I sanitize the container regularly. It and was just changed days before I noticed it again. We always refrigerate the water. It is clean city water from the tap. The filter promotes mold growth. I will not drink from it again. I would throw it out but my husband prefers mold!
When I read of what some people do I am not surprised with mold and bacteria problems.
I have had a brita system in one form or another for over 25 years and here is what I do to keep it clean or at least as clean as it can be:
1. I change the filter once a month without fail. Sometimes sooner. I mark it on a calendar. I do this even though it states I can do it every two months or so. I do this to keep bacteria levels down and also because my NYC water appears to be hard (it kills pur filters within a day) and i believe will use the filter faster. So I change it once a month and on every change I clean the pitcher with antibacterial soap and sometimes a little bleach. The pitcher, at least 5 years old, is very clean.
2. I always keep it in a cold fridge. Every time I have kept it out in the long ago past, especially if the weather is warm, the pitcher and water gets nasty within a week, even with good turnover. I keep it in the fridge to keep bacteria growth slowed.. slower than it would be if sitting in the sun.
3. One thing i have not been able to eliminate entirely is the pink bacteria that can grow in the top of the reservoir. It is a hardly noticeable pink discoloring that forms at about 14 days. For that I will sometimes empty the water out and clean the top reservoir. This pink stuff is very common around water. This I have found to be the biggest problem. Some say it is harmless… others less so.
That said, I also use bottled water like Aqua fina. I mostly try and use brita water for applications involving heat or that require high volumes of water so this way any low bacteria counts will like get lower after boiling temps. So for cooking or the coffee machine tank. I’ll also drink it too.
I also took apart a brita filter recently because I was curious… it’s filled with activated charcoal… and the material seemed to be slightly damp, but smelled fine. No mold smell or chemical smell at all. I do wonder how much silver passes out of the filter and if this is a healthy thing.
My son bought me a Brita Matrix filter jug for Xmas as I live in a very hard water area and the kettle furred up with lime scale very quickly. Since using it I had terrible stomach pains making me run to the toilet, I became really worried not thinking about filter jug so went to doctors worried I might have got my IBS back that I’ve not had in over 30 years, the doctors were quite concerned and thus I have just finished multiple tests for bowel cancer which I’m pleased to say was all clear. A few have mentioned about a smell but as I have no sense of smell I cannot rule that out, but after reading all these comments I am now going back to ordinary tap water and see how it goes. Hope all those that have been made poorly are now feeling better.
is it just the pitcher and bottles that are having the problems or is it all britta products? I just got a filter for the sink and i’d rather not go through what you all have
I have been ill more on than off for 3 months now. Significant bloating, frequent (and yes, entertaining) loud flatulence, major fatigue, sudden depression, super soft Hulk green BMs …every time, no fail – multiple times a day. Doctor feels certain it my med, friends feel certain it’s my high stress job… But, wait for it. 1-I don’t have a Brita anything 2-I don’t feel this way when I travel for work 3-My teens aren’t sick so clearly it’s not contagious p-t-p HOWEVER. I did replace the PURE2 filter in my fridge in March. My sons don’t use the ice or the filtered water – and they haven’t been ill at all. Once I pinned this down as the culprit 2 days ago – I started drinking tap water so I was at least hydrated. No Hulk green poop, no low fever, and belly bloat is subsiding significantly. So glad I’m not totally nuts…
I’ve been using a Brita water filter jug for about two weeks now and it’s been a pain in the ass, literally. For the first couple of days all was well, but after that things took a turn for the worse. It felt like my stomach and intestines were in a constant battle. I got upset stomach and diarrhea (HEY PEPTO BISMOL), and was confused wondering how in the world did I get so sick.
It didn’t take long for me to pinpoint what exactly changed in my diet and that was the introduction of the Brita water filter jug to my life. It is the cause and effect for my problem and your problem. Brita screwed us over. I used to take a glorious morning dump everyday, but the diarrhea caused by the tainted Brita filter has me running to the washroom over 5 times a day and I’m still recovering.
People have been mentioning fungus and bacteria growing at the bottom of the filters, I checked mine today and holy mackerel, there was that crap everywhere. Seeing it makes me want to throw up. Oh well, straight to the garbage. Never again Brita. There’s nothing Bright or Right, with Brita.
I wonder if there’s any girl in the world named “Brita.” … DOT DOT DOT …
I usually drink arrowhead water. Either the big jug or the bottles. I’m very healthy, haven’t been sick in over 3 years. Since we purchased the Brita pitcher in 2011, I will occasionally use the water from it for cooking -only-.
All instructions when changing filters followed to a T. I’ve never had any problem when cooking.
Within that year of purchase there was mold inside the container (green) and wiping the sides with a paper towel to see any discoloration showed brown on the towel. As if you wiped in a fishbowl. Very gross. But since I don’t mainly use it I did a courtesy thorough clean and always assumed others would upkeep or notice it. Others (and my child) use it as a main drinking source, but like I said before I don’t. Only with cooking, so any toxins are boiled away. Fast forward to now 2015 and I used it recently because I was low on water. I did this once or twice before and the water always tasted funny or I felt a little off afterwards. So I would limit and make sure to pick up ‘my’ water ASAP.
Well this time, it has been really hot lately. Our a/c just broke. I drank quite a bit more Brita water and by the evening I felt so sick. I threw up horribly (all my dinner) and my appetite didn’t come back for two days. I felt so weak in my stomach. Since then, not knowing the water might be the culprit, I still diluted things with Brita and like I said. My stomach still felt weak and appetite weird. I thought it might be heatstroke but I’ve had that before and this didn’t feel exactly the same. I literally felt weird anytime I drank the water. I was too weak to go to the store to buy my water so I didn’t realize. So fast forward to today and I didn’t dilute anything with it and felt fine. But in the afternoon I diluted orange juice with it and again, a little off…. so I googled Can Brita make you nauseous and voila. All these posts. It makes sense now. Unless you’re militant with the filter I only see problems. I immediately stopped drinking my diluted orange juice and had a regular full glass and felt completely better. No more nausea. I found a spare Arrowhead water bottle and haven’t had a nauseaos feeling all night. I didn’t realize either my child has had more throat issues since 2011. His throat easily gets irritated and he gets diarrhea a lot. I thought he just has a really sensitive stomach because he eats VERY healthy and balanced. Loves vegetables and rarely eats junk/candy. Doesn’t drink soda. But now it all makes sense. You give a growing child bacteria and they are bound to have indigestion problems. We are all sticking to the Arrowhead huge jugs (maybe Kroger for cooking) and not looking back.
I don’t have a Brita, and I realize many of you had mold issues, but I think it’s possible some people experience a reaction to the charcoal in fridge water filters. I definitely did. I’m not blaming the filter. I think some people, under certain circumstances, are or become sensitive to the charcoal. especially if the water sits in the filter for prolonged periods of time, like overnight. I have seen this mentioned by a few people on the internet, mainly in filter reviews, and thought I would share, since that’s how I wound up here.
We have been using various activated carbon filters for our fridge water ever since we purchased it a couple of years ago. We always changed our filters as specified, so it wasn’t the filters being old. I’m a stay-at-home mom, so that fridge water is pretty much the only water I drink; and I drink my fair share. A few years back I was very ill, spent some time in the hospital pumped full of antibiotics and was on more antibiotics for months. I had ongoing digestive problems thereafter. When I began having intense heartburn, stomach cramps, diarrhea, acid reflux, and constantly smelling “smoke” (smelled like a wildfire or leaky woodstove) I ascribed it to all the antibiotics wiping out my good gut flora. I tried every type of over the counter antacid, proton pump inhibitor, etc. Nothing helped. We’re talking almost at least 2 years of this. I chewed so many Pepto tablets my tongue turned black a few times.
I was researching causes of heartburn and stumbled across some links about refrigerator water filters potentially harboring bacteria or fungi and went back to drinking tap water. Within hours I felt better. I am on day 5 of tap water and I have had no symptoms the last 4 days. It is the first time I have gone this long without stomach pain and acid reflux in, literally, years. It was like someone flipped a switch. I am so happy and starting to feel like my old self again. I didn’t realize just how much that had been impacting my life, health, and even mental outlook. My husband pulled out the water filter, put the plastic bypass plug in (so glad I kept that thing now), dumped out all the old ice, and ran about 5 gallons of water through the fridge system. The crazy thing is that even our ice has no smell or taste now (it has been sort of funky the entire time we’ve had this fridge). Our water supply tastes great and tests out well; we had only installed the filter initially because it came with the fridge, so we’re not going to miss it.
Again, I’m not suggesting the filter or any component was to blame. It seems like only a small segment of people have a reaction to the charcoal in water filters and I happen to be one. If you’re having totally unexplained, sudden onset, acid reflux and gastic issues or smelling “smoke” when there is none *and* you use any form of carbon / charcoal filter on your water, try switching to tap water again and see if it clears up for you too.
Thanks to the original author for sharing your info and having this page!
Thank u! You,re the only one who mentioned smelling smoke when there is none and I’ve had that same symptom (and cramps, fatigue, etc, etc) thought I was going crazy! No more filters 4 me!
Not entirely sure if the brita filter’s caused it but I was getting sick too after I started using a brita filter. My pee started to look metallic and oily.. stopped using the filter for my cups of tea and I’m back to normal. I did a little reading up on it though and apparently if your kettle has an exposed element then using filtered water will cause water to leach metal from the element into the water and cause you to get ill. Im gonna do 1 more test before I ditch the filter and just accept that tap water could be a lot worse. By using tap water in the kettle and brita filtered water just to drink plain old water il be able to see if that is the problem…. hopefully I won’t get ill again.. maybe il find something to blow up the filter with if I do 🙂
I filter my (horrible) city water with a DuPont 4-phase faucet filter, and pour that into a Brita Box (uses the pitcher filters). I keep the box in the fridge, and at 34-36 degrees. I change the box filter at 40 gallons or so — it is getting pre-filtered water so it tends to make it to 60 gallons if I push it, but I had noticed growth from time to time, so I stick with 40 gallons. For my family of 5 that works out to once every couple of weeks. So I think low temperature, pre-filtered by DuPont filter, and quick turnaround, with cleaning the box once a month have avoided issues. But I have noticed the pink growth in the top tank sometimes, but nothing in the lower. DuPont filter is the 200-gallon rated filter, but the city water is horrid, so I get 150 gallons or so from the 200-gallon filter. Recently, I have been buying the WalMart GV 3-filter pak for the Brita pitcher/box, and usually one of the filters in its SEALED plastic has off-gassed something, and is puffed up like a balloon. This being abnormal from all the normally shrink-wrapped filters, and indicating some kind of chemical breakdown (organic growth?), I have just thrown out these occasional puffed filters. I think I am going to start returning them to WM, though. They need to know their filter source is messed up (perhaps the 3rd-shift run at the Brita factory)…
I have been using a Brita pitcher for 4 days now. The last 2 days when I woke up my hands smelled really metallic (like I had been holding pennies). I didn’t think anything of it yesterday but today I also had a metallic taste in my mouth and bumps on it. The bumps are right where the water touched my lips. When I realized this I researched. Had I known that it contained silver, I would never have used this filter. I am HIGHLY allergic to silver/silver nitrate.
I’ve started using a Britain water filtration jug also. In the past 3 days I’ve been rushing to the toilet with pain and diarrhea every 40 minutes or so. Yesterday, I just drank milk and some cordial and I was fine. Today back to the water and bam. Diarrhoea is back.
I’ve cleaned the filter every week and washed out the jug, but to no avail. Turns out a Britain made me sick too.
We are now going to buy a spring water cooler. I suggest you do the same
I have recently developed anemia, and for the past year i have had a lot of bouts of diarrhea but not felt all that ill. I put it down to too much stress or possible ibs. I never thought about the issue of bacteria despite being very clean because i never saw where they could come from. For a few years ive been using cartridges for 3 months, as they seem too expensive to get rid of after a month. I have never kept my filter in the fridge because i dont like my water really cold.
Last night i started wondering about the filter and if it has caused me to get low grade stomach upsets, which has meant ive not been absorbing my nutrients fully over a long period of time. It would explain why im not all that healthy considering i eat well, am not under weight or over weight or short of anything in my diet, i even take vitamins. I dont get symptoms of indigestion or anything. A while back i saw this thing somewhere about african countries where they have to drink river water or stagnated water and they get persistent diarrhoea which over time causes loss on minerals.
We have pure water here coming out the tap, my reason for filtering was in the hope it would remove pesticides or anything that acts like estrogen from tap water bc apparently these are causing endocrine problems. Thing is though we are getting them back in our food. Im starting to think that many of us are going too far in an attempt to maintain health, to the point where its creating new disease. Im gonna change it once a month and keep it in the fridge from now on.
People with children need to be aware these bugs could be more severe for them, unless one lives in an hard water area it may be better not to filter water at all, just run the tap well.
Why don’t you try a reverse osmosis system.
I have been using Brita for about two years and had no problems until recently. I have noticed black mold spores inside the rim and in between the spout and clear plastic container. I clean them but then they usually come back quickly. I have been healthy up until recently when I contracted a lower resispitory problem diagnosed as bronchitis.
I am going to stop Brita and move to Pur because I have heard too many horror stories here. I am 80% sure this is what caused my ailment.
I’ve had the same problems since recently starting to use Brita filtered water. I didn’t realise until reading this page it seems to be a common problem. Personally the first time it happened I thought it was a bit odd as the filtered water directly caused me to throw up when the water felt like it was sat in my chest…like a bit of food that got stuck. I’m going to my doctor to find out if it is a direct result…If it is I’m contacting Brita for a full refund
Fuck this product ! I’ve been so weak and constipated which is not Me and my stomach has been so bloated and hurting. My roommate has a brita I’ve been using it for 3 months and I’m going to stick to water bottles now . It’s been day 2 without using it and my stomach still aces so give it time I hope.
I am so glad I found this forum. My husband and I bought a Brita pitcher filter about 2 weeks ago. We both drink a ton of water and about a week ago I started having bad diarrhea and my rosacea completely flared up and has resulted in bad reactions on my face and itching all over my body. I’ve felt very lethargic, unfocused, and foggy. My husband is having really sticky spit and is having problems clearing his throat. I realized that it was the Brita tonight and am glad I stumbled on this and that I caught it early.
We’ve had our water filter jg for about a year. My son has been having frequent bowel movements/diarrhoea on and off for the past 6 weeks or more. He only drinks water from the filter whereas i only drink tap water. I’ve been going mad looking up possible causes on the internet. I thought it was food intolerance or Ibs. Have even got a blood test scheduled for him to rule out serious bowel conditions. Had wondered about the water filter previously so changed the filter and cleaned out the jug a few weeks back (i even opened the old filter to check inside for mold but found nothing). Over the past couple of weeks when he’s been off school his symptoms got much worse and wouldn’t clear up. I suddenly wondered again about the water filter and googled it to see if there were any known problems with them. Since finding this thread i have been out and bought some bottled water for him (he doesn’t like tap water). I’m hoping this will clear up the problem. After reading this thread i think i am going to ditch the jug anyway. Its not worth the risk.
Re my previous comment. Just pulled out the filter and found lots of tiny little black bits floating in the water that had collected underneath it. Decided to pass what was left of the water in the jug, through several layers of kitchen towel, placed inside a colander. I found several of these little black bits left behind on the towel. No idea what they are but i assume they have come from inside the filter. They are not mould. Bit worrying really as they were not visible to the naked eye when the water was poured out into a glass.
Re my previous 2 posts:-
OMG its a miracle! After removing the brita jug and switching to bottled water my son is like a new person. He t brilliantly, woke up bright, happy and lively, and his diarrhoea has completely disappeared. I can’t believe he was made so ill from the water he was drinking. He has missed loads of school and was due for blood tests and referal to a dietician to see what was making him so ill. Thank god I suspected the brita filter and found this thread. It would have taken ages to find a solution via the usual medical channels, assuming they were able to find a solution at all. I’ve had the water board out to test my water supply incase whatever was bothering him is lurking in my pipes. If the tests come back ok i’ll be getting straight onto brita and the relevant authorities, as this is completely unacceptable.
I have, never been able, to drink filtered, or bottled water. I instantly have severe, gastrointestinal pain and diarrhea , headache and, muscle pain. I found out that I am allergic to chrome, stainless steal and, aluminum. Most water filters use aluminum as filtering agent and stainless steal tanks. I now use zero water, which I think has saved my life. If I leave the filtered on my counter it will develop yellow mold, black dots, and pink slime. I have to leave the pitcher in refrigerator and change filters every 2 weeks.
The pink slime just started being a problem in our toilet and bath fixtures after our water supply was switched from chlorine without flouride to a water supply that uses chloromine and floride and the city also uses a lot more aluminum than other towns. We tried whole house aquasana filters without metal parts. This 5 year filter clogs up in less than one year, which is does’t make it worthwhile. So, spending $22 a month on zero water replacements is the best solution for us.
If you have longterm sickness, please look outside the box for answers. Getting rid of metal in my water and food solved my lifelong illness. P.S. I traveled and dark the tap water in 8 different countries in Europe for over 6 months and did not get sick a single time from the, water. Their governments don’t semester to put floride or alluminum in their water supply.
Well people, after my daughter moved back in and complained of having heartburn every single night since she’s been here , about 6 weeks, I decided to investigate WHY, and hoped I could resolve WHY I have had chronic vomiting and nausea, WHY my 6 yr old and 9 yr old have it. I racked my brain at what was NEW or different around the house and umm new Brita filtration on the sink faucet. Followed all the instructions when I installed it , so no user failure there, was willing to live with the low water pressure, however when I went to google what I thought was going to be an UNHEARD OF issue I found this blog!! Filter GONE- ENOUGH SAID.
I have a 23 cup Zero Water dispenser that stays in the refrigerator at all times and I have noticed mold growing on the lid. I did not think that mold would grow in a fridge but then again it can grow on cheese so I guess I was wrong. My dispenser is blue and I have never inspected it to see if there is mold growing anywhere else but after reading these posts, maybe I should. I could have mold inside the filter and not be aware of it as the filters last for months. I have read that the fishy smell that can happen is not actually from bacteria but the resin in the filter when it breaks down and goes bad. The Zero Water comes with a tester and bottled water tests the same as my well water, about 125. There is a difference that is noticeable when using the Zero Water and the water tests 0.
Greetings from Finland, where the water is supposed to be very clean. And often times it is.
Despite this, I did buy the Brita can, thinking it could aid my health.
I had read about filtration systems and so on and finally got the Brita, during the beginning of the year.
Honestly, last year I wasn’t feeling so good. I did replace the filters on a timely basis and I kept cleaning the pitcher.
Stumbed upon this site while I searched for information about rinsing the Brita filters before usage. I had done that, just wanted to refresh my memory.
So many strong voices against the usage and many symptoms I’ve had for a longer time, such as upset stomach. And gas.
I have been convinced to try to go with the tap water for now. I didn’t have problems with it before, so why I switched to Brita?! I think I was looking for better health, but surely didn’t find it from the filtered water.
Thank you all. At times the filtered water did feel better I think (taste wise), but I’ll be doing a 180 and seeing what changes.
I’ll probably keep the pitcher, but I won’t put a filter in. One thing why I bought the pitcher is that I would remember to drink a good share of water during the day.
Best of health to all of us! Thank you Original Poster!
Oh dear. I have been feeling so bad – nasty flu like symptoms, weak, sinus aches and pains painful cough which started with a sore throat and then I drank some water from my jug and it tasted nasty and then I realised I’d not pressed the digital readout because I felt I was changing the filter every 2 weeks and yet Brita say changing it every 4 weeks is sufficient. So I put a date in my diary to tell me when 4 weeks was up. Big mistake. Sadly we have a special tap with a filter from Brita that is meant to last a year but we havnt found a plumber willing to fit it yet. I guess the mold problem would be even worse in a filter so old so I am now not having it fitted. My best wishes go out to all the sufferers on this web site… I am now taking lots of Vit C & D and fingers crossed I will get better soon. God I hope so. This is a horrible feeling.
Have had a Britta for about a year and a half. Have had a lot of stomach issues that came following heart bypass surgery. Avoiding all preservatives in diet. I did leave my brita on the counter because I try to monitor water intake. One time I smelled mold in the top part of the unit. I decided to scrub everything down and put in a new filter. I bought filters in bulk and kept track of dates. For the last two weeks I have had an upset stomach and loose bowels for no reason. I recently had a colonoscopy and endoscopy with no significant issues. My stomach will feel okay most of the day and when evening comes around the bubbling and growling starts up. Tired of the Brat diet I decided to try to figure this out. I went to the Brita and sure enough I smelled mold when I lifted the lid. I washed it thoroughly and put it in the fridge, grabbed my iPad and found this site. Pretty sure I have discovered the answer. Thanks for sharing,
For 3 months now I have had a serious sinus infection, tons of mucus, sore throat, cramps in my stomach, diarrhoea, no energy, no motivation, cough, cough, cough. Been to the doctor 3 times. More antibiotics, nasal steriod, inhalers etc. to no avail.
My friend came over today and told me I had mold in my Brita Jug. And I sure did.
My fault totally but I thank God I now know the reason why I have been suffering for so long.
My Brita is in the garbage.
Thank you all for posting here. To WARN others about the Brita. About a year ago I decided to eat better food and drink better water. I started with bottled water then tired of lugging home bottled water (San Pelligrino glass bottles). I bought a BRITA pitcher from Costco. I was experiencing diarrhea, upset stomach, bloating, fatigue and a sharp pain that slowly developed during that year. It started in my neck went to my shoulder then arm. I thought it was my pillow so I bought new pillows and started taking probiotics. Thinking I could beat this thing caused by stress and/or illness. I already drink Brita all day but decided to up my water intake to prevent dehydration. I make pitchers of infused water with cucumbers, ginger and lemon zest, sometimes parsley to help sooth my stomach. All with the BRITA pitcher. I was already making all kinds of doctor appointments.
After reading all these insightful posts, I decided to wipe down my Brita with a clean white paper towel. It was Black. I inspected the outside of the filter and did not see any black dots or yellow and pink mold. I usually just wash it. Thinking I can see that it looks clean. My friends that’s when looks can be deceiving. I wash it regularly and keep in in the fridge all the time, never out on the counter. Maybe it was the Black mold I wiped out with the paper towel or maybe the metals they use inside the filter.
I ditched the Brita and by the next morning my stomach was already better. My muscle cramps in my neck and arm are gone too. I am returning this Brita to Costco and will be getting a full refund. Although I will not be receiving compensation for my year of suffering. I’m glad to be away from the Brita mold factory.
Wow! Thankful this blog is still up after all these years!! My family definitely got very sick from PUR faucet mount and fridge filters from whatever the filtering medium is. And now after reading this, I see clearly we were very poisoned from our under the sink Culligan filter at one of our old houses. We had nothing but GI problems there! I just replaced our under the sink Culligan Level 1 filter with a Level 4 filter that supposedly filters everything out, but clearly puts bad stuff back in. My husband’s skin has been on fire with itching and burning, my daughter has had non stop stomachaches and massive gas and I’ve had the gas but also terrifying bouts with vertigo, nightsweats and waking up all night long. God-damn mold or bacteria I’m assuming, plus silver if that’s what’s in the Culligan filters. I’ve been drinking slightly chlorinated tap water for about 24 hours and took my first solid turd in weeks!! I think we’ve all been swindled into thinking our regular tap water is bad, but I’m thinking these filters are worse. I’m seriously don’e for a while filtering my water, especially since we’ve also developed increasing and nonstop food intolerances for over 10 years, about the same time I decided we needed to filter our tap water.
Look at all these anecdotes. Let me add mine.
I bought the water filter and got stomach cramps so bad I put a jet nozzle in my arse and flew to the moon. this definitely happened because of my inattention in maintaining my filter and washing the jug.
sheesh.
British filters are horrible as are any filters that are left in a pitcher . My acupuncturist kept telling me there was something wrong with my water and I kept insisting that my water was filtered. My roommate at the time worked as a microbiologist and told me she would never ever drink out of a filter because she had already done tests on it and saw how much mold and fungus was in the filters. She compared them to Petri dishes. My main symptom was a super sharp pinching in my back that I couldn’t stretch out. Now every time I get that from familiar feeling I make sure check my refrigerator filter expiration date . and it’s always, always right on the expiration date if my back is hurting. British need to be constantly kept full of water and refrigerated as any air that gets in there will cause spontaneous generation of molds and fungus and algae.
One needs to know what’s in the water source before establishing a filters performance over time. Do your homework. A distiller is ones best bet, and the price for it will pay for itself eventually.The fact that this filter is immersed at times in the water it filters is suspect when nearing the filters end life. Filter life also depends where its stored (like the fridge). There is a reason why municipal water is chlorinated, because when it sits in the pipes (or your counter), bacteria will grow. Brita Removes some of this chlorine and bacteria or molds will grow in the filtered water if given the time and conditions it likes. The mold spores and bacteria floating around your house will astound you. Especially if you have pets and carpet.Changing out the filter without applying hospital standards can easily make you the master of your own destruction.Brita works if used with all things considered. My use of it considers all these things.
Extreme gastrointestinal illness – I almost never post reviews but my experience is so extreme I feel compelled to share it in the hope of helping others. I’ve been drinking nothing but bottled water for several years but bought a new Brita 10 cup water filter pitcher in April of this year to save money and cut down on plastic bottle waste. I also bought 2 of the expensive blue filters to go with it because they’re advertised as removing lead. After following the directions and carefully setting it up, my wife and I began drinking from the pitcher on April 14th. Within 2 or 3 days, my wife and I began having mild flu-like symptoms with headaches, mild nausea, some fatigue and a little loss of appetite. The symptoms were very mild at first and we didn’t associate our trouble to anything other than maybe a random “bug”.
Within a week my wife began having severe dental pain in all her teeth and I began having moderate to severe pain in both shoulders upon waking in the morning. My wife drinks a lot less water than I do and after about 10 days, she stopped drinking from the pitcher. In less than a week, her symptoms subsided and her dental pain was completely gone. I continued to drink a lot of water from the pitcher, between a half gallon to a gallon every day. My symptoms became progressively worse and by the first day of May, I was experiencing severe nausea, severe diarrhea, total loss of appetite, mounting fatigue and an extreme feeling of malaise.
I went to my family doctor who ran numerous tests including urine, blood, stool, ultrasound, etc. She also prescribed anti-nausea medication and antibiotics. My nausea was so severe she gave me a medication designed for chemotherapy patients. I was also experiencing night sweats, depression, a lack of mental clarity and even beginning to wonder if this was the end. My symptoms were so bad my doctor wanted to rule out colon cancer and set up a colonoscopy for me. I was so severely ill I had to re-schedule the colonoscopy for a week later. Taking the anti-nausea medication every 4 hours was the only way I could get through the day without extreme distress. I had my colonoscopy and thankfully the test came back clean. A tremendous relief.
By May 10 I finally put two and two together and stopped drinking from the Brita pitcher. I Googled “Brita water filter made me sick” and was met with hundreds of results from this website and many others with people reporting the same severe GI problems I was having after drinking from the Brita water filter pitcher. During this time the doctor’s tests revealed I had elevated liver enzymes but was otherwise inconclusive. After stopping drinking from the Brita pitcher my horrible symptoms finally began to subside. The diarrhea stopped and after losing 23 pounds in 2 1/2 weeks, I began to get my appetite back very slowly and began feeling more and more normal again.
The past month has been the worst nightmare of my entire life. I’ve literally never been sick before in 50 years. No surgeries, no hospitalizations, no nothing. Now I’ve lost a month of my life, all my vacation days from work and have been costed somewhere in the neighborhood of 2500 dollars for various medical tests and treatments. On top of being deathly ill for what seemed like forever. I’m highly suspicious of the Brita pitcher because my wife and I both got sick as soon as we began drinking from it and we both got well once we stopped. The hundreds of other individuals who report the same severe gastrointestinal illnesses after drinking from the Brita also bolsters our suspicions a great deal. Plus the only thing that changed at all in our diets during this time was the use of the Brita pitcher. We never eat at restaurants, we cook all our food at home and take our lunches with us to work every day.
From what I gather, silver particles are used in the filtration process and it seems a defective filter could possibly release a toxic dose of silver (a heavy metal) into the water and cause problems like my wife’s dental pain and my shoulder pain. I can’t state with 100% certainty that it was the Brita that caused our trouble but it being a coincidence is just too high to believe. At this point no one could convince me it wasn’t the pitcher. My hope is that no one else has to endure what I’ve been through. I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy. Thanks for reading.
How long after quitting the filter until you felt better?
ems with stomach cramps for many months and just figured it out. I had not been using the brita for awhile and never had any problems. The day I started using it my cramps came back so I knew it was the Brita.
Did a search and sure enough found this thread. Just changing your filter ever few months is not enough. My filter was almost brand new when I had problems. I believe the reason is because I don’t put it in the fridge. So not only do you need to change the filter as recommended, you need to put it in the fridge.
My husband and I have been feeling ‘off’ on random occasions, having mild tummy cramps and upset stomachs etc on and off for a while. I didn’t think too much of it, until our 6 month old baby developed bad diarrhoea. Obviously we will never know for sure, but I had very recently given him some water from our Brita jug for the first time (can’t remember exactly how long before his diarrhoea started). We always keep our jug in the fridge and it does not get heavy use, though the filter was due to be changed. It did not have any visible mould, slime, smells etc like others mention. I have gotten rid of the jug anyway and now we all feel great… If this made my baby crook I will be so freaking angry. It was two weeks of hell before he came right.
Has anyone experienced a very sour taste in their mouth from drinking The Brita Elite filtered water? I’ve been having a horrible sour taste 24/7 for about 2 months. I’ve been trying a process of elimination of supplements etc. And then I realized about 2 months ago I bought the Brita Elite filter for my water container. I’m just wondering if that might be the culprit. Anyone else experience anything like that?