Brita Basic Faucet Water Filtration System In-depth Review
Overall Verdict
The Brita Basic will be a decent faucet filter for most people. It’s affordable and capable of filtering out most of the problematic chemicals in tap water, such as chlorine. And while its flow rate could be better, it’s understandable for the price.
Design-wise, the Brita Basic can fit into any kitchen with its metallic appearance that looks quite premium. There were a few design issues, like how the filter can pop out of the housing without needing the user to depress the filter release button to the side. Fortunately, most of these issues are minor enough that most people can overlook them.
Things We Like
- Relatively affordable.
- Excellent chlorine filtration ability (nearly 100%).
- Looks premium with its chrome-plated housing.
- The routing valve’s handle is intuitive to use.
- Comes with a filter change indicator.
Things We Don’t Like
- The filter could be tugged out of the housing without depressing the filter release button.
- Leaks during filtration, necessitating the use of plumbing tape.
Brita is one of the most reputable brands on the market when it comes to water treatment technology. Consumers highly rate the company’s filter pitchers. So, it stands to reason that another product line in their water filter portfolio — faucet-mount water filters — will do just as well, right?
Surprisingly, yes! The Brita Basic scored quite high among other top performers in our list.
Our review team has tested the Brita Basic faucet-mount water filter in our lab for a few weeks, and we’re quite happy with the result. This review will show you our observations and the test results of the Brita Basic filter in detail.
9.2 Performance
Brita didn’t let us down with the Brita Basic filter. In our chlorine filtration test, the filter performed excellently and removed nearly all traces of free chlorine in the water.
Our only issue with this filter is its mediocre flow rate in filtering mode. Attached to our high-pressure faucet (2.2 GPM), the filter could only produce clean water at a rate of 0.7 GPM. If you’re used to faucets with high flow rates, the filter may be annoying to use.
10 Lead Test
10 Chlorine Test
The Brita Basic filter treated the highly-chlorinated water that we pumped through it until it was totally free of chlorine. We used a water testing kit to assess water quality.
A strip was used to test the chlorinated water, resulting in 10+ mg/l of chlorine. After the water had been pumped through the filter, we collected the filtered water in a vial and performed the same test with the strip, which showcased a result of ~0 mg/l.
We gave the Brita Basic a perfect score on this test for the excellent result.
6.0 Flow Rate Test
The Brita Basic has a mediocre flow rate in filtering mode.
During the flow rate test, the filter is attached to our high-pressure faucet with a flow rate of 2.2 GPM. When we switched the Brita Basic to filtering mode, there was a noticeable decline in flow speed. The measured flow rate of the filter comes down to about 0.7 GPM.
While it’s not considered bad, this flow rate is only mediocre, especially when we compare it to the filtering flow rate of other faucet-mount filters like the Waterdrop WD-FC-06 (1.3 GPM in filtering mode) or the Waterdrop WD-FC-01.
As such, using the Brita Basic can be a bit annoying if you have a high-pressure faucet at home and are used to the speed.
6.7 Design
Our impression of the Brita Basic is that it’s a good-looking and well-built faucet filter. Its exterior is chrome-plated, giving it an expensive shine that fits right into any kitchen. However, do note that the filter is chrome-plated and is not made from metal.
There were a few design issues, such as the loose fit of the filter even when it was supposed to have been “locked” into the filter compartment. But overall, the design of the Brita Basic isn’t shabby (especially for the price).
In the Box
- No. of Accessories: 3
The content of the Brita Basic’s shipping box is fairly modest. You get the filter housing and the filter block (separated in the box in two plastic bags).
In addition, you’ll get three plastic faucet adapters and rubber seals. A manual is also included.
So, in total, you get the following in the box:
- The filter housing
- The filter block
- Three faucet adapters (and three rubber seals)
- A manual
Weight & Dimensions
The Brita Basic is much lighter than other filters we’ve tested. It’s all thanks to the mostly plastic construction, which helps it retain an impressively light weight of just 0.8 pounds. It won’t bog down your faucet too much and thus can be helpful if you have a weakened faucet.
Besides the lightweight, the Brita Basic is also highly compact. The filter never got in the way during our performance tests while we worked.
6.2 Build Quality
Aesthetic-wise, the filter scores very well thanks to its shiny chrome plating. It allows the filter to fit into any kitchen design seamlessly. However, while the filter may look like it’s made from metal, it’s actually made mostly from plastic. The filter is only chrome-plated to make it looks metallic.
Plastic is used to construct most filter components. Over the long term, they may not last as long as filters with components cast from stainless steel.
Remarkably, there is a mesh screen built right into the filter housing. You can find it in the filter’s mounting port. The mesh screen prevents debris in the water from getting into the filter and clogging it up. We don’t see this feature implemented in many faucet-mount filters on the market.
However, while testing, we noticed a problem with the Brita Basic’s construction.
The filter piece fits into the filter compartment via a series of ports within the filter compartment. Within, there’s a locking mechanism to hold the filter in place. To release the mechanism and release the filter, there’s a small button that you can depress to quickly slide the filter out of the compartment. However, we were able to tug the filter out of the compartment without pressing the button at all, proving that the filter lock is very loose.
While this small problem won’t affect the filter's performance, it’s still a concerning problem that may affect long-term durability.
If durability is your concern, we recommend checking out a stainless steel filter, which should be much more durable, such as the Wingsol WS-FM001.
7.0 Filter Piece
According to Brita, the main filtration media in the filter piece is Granulated Activated Carbon (GAC). It’s qualified for ANSI Standard 42, 53, and 401 and should be able to filter 100 gallons before it has to be replaced.
Brita recommends that the filter be flushed for at least 5 minutes when it’s used for the first time. We did as instructed, and for the first few seconds when the tap’s first turned on, the water coming out of the filter was black, confirming the presence of charcoal inside the filter.
The filter block connects to the filter housing via two female ports inside the filter compartment. You only need to align the filter and push down on it. The filter block will seamlessly fit in.
7.0 Routing Valve
The routing valve of the Brita Basic works decently well. We didn’t notice any significant leaking from the filter whenever we used the rotating handle to switch back and forth between plain and filtered water.
The handle is made from black plastic, with raised bumps on either end for easier gripping. There is a white notch to the side, so you can easily tell which mode you’ve tuned the filter to.
If you want to use filtered water, you can turn the handle until the notch points toward the marking with the word (“BRITA”) and a white water droplet.
Alternatively, if you only want to use plain water and bypass the filter, rotate the handle until the notch turns toward the black water droplet.
8.9 Usability
The Brita Basic is very easy to install and use. Installation can be done in less than five minutes at most, even if you have a faucet with internal threading. Once it’s been installed, you only need to turn on the tap and switch back and forth between plain and filtered water modes as you see fit.
Maintenance is as simple as tugging the spent filter out of the compartment and replacing it with a new one. However, the Brita Basic comes with a low-capacity 100-gallon filter, so you’ll have to switch it out far more often than other types with 200 or 300-gallon filters.
8.0 Installation
The installation process is simple. For faucets with external threading, seat the filter’s attachment point flush against the head of the faucet, then rotate the black plastic ring to tighten the filter against the faucet.
A metal mesh screen will be at the center of the attachment point. No need to worry! Just install the filter as normal. The mesh screen is supposed to be there and can fit perfectly between the filter and the faucet.
If your faucet has internal threading, you can use the plastic adapters that come in the shipping box to mount the filter.
10 Ease of Use
Overall, we’re satisfied with the Brita Basic filter’s ease of use. Once installation is finished, it’s as simple as switching the handle of the routing valve back and forth to get either plain or tap water.
The mounting collar of the filter is solid, and once it’s been tightened onto the faucet, the filter doesn’t wiggle around on the faucet when it’s in use.
9.0 Leak
The unit we received didn’t leak from any of the seams on its body. And while we struggled at first with errant sprays of water shooting out from the mounting point, we quickly fixed the leak with plumbing tape.
Plumbing tape isn’t provided in the box, so we had to use our own.
8.0 Maintenance
Despite having a fairly low filtering capacity of 100 gallons, Brita claims that you don’t need to replace the filter for up to 4 months. We aren’t certain how true this claim is since we haven’t tested the filter for long enough to verify this. But, for now, the claim is questionable.
Replacement filters are still available as of February 2023.
An indicator light at the filter's top can help you track your filter’s lifespan. Once the filter has expired, the light will begin to flash red instead of green.
The filter change process is simple. Depress the filter release button to the side and tug the spent filter out of the compartment. Then, plug the new filter into the compartment and continue using it normally.