Brita water filter cartridges are the most commonly known on the market today. Brita water filter cartridges are made for more than just pitchers on today's growing market. They are also found in refrigeration units, to help to make the water coming out of the door and ice maker more pure.

Type of Filtration

Brita water filter cartridges use an absorption based water filtration system. This type of system is effective and relatively cheap, still averaging under twenty dollars for a three pack of replacement filters which normally have to be changed in pitcher filtration units about every three months. So the filters break down to just over a dollar per month for their use.

Absorption filters are really good at removing the chlorine taste from the water, which is the 'bad' taste that consumers normally find disconcerting in normal tap water. Brita water filter cartridges are filled designed to remove or reduce the chlorine and other particles and organic matter from the water, such as pesticides.

Other types of filtration on the market that Brita water filter cartridges do not use are the reverse osmosis types of filters, such as the Universal water filter cartridge that uses a combination of a reverse osmosis water filtration system and a carbon based absorption system.

A reverse osmosis based system is different from Brita water filter cartridges in that it uses a membrane to filter out the pollutant materials rather than absorb them out of the water. The membrane has microscopic holes in it so that it blocks all pollutants and only lets the water molecules through.

One problem with Brita water filter cartridges is that they can only be used in a limited number of water filtration systems, such as the pitchers and refrigeration units. There are also some countertop units that use Brita water filter cartridges, but the main focus of Brita filters is the portable units.

There are many other kinds of water filtration devices on the market. There are under the sink units that hook into the water pipe and allow for larger quantities of water to be filtered at a time. There are other units, like the point of entry units that allow the entire water supply for a house or office to be filtered. In addition, there are devices that are made especially for commercial use that allow thousands of gallons of water to be purified each day under strictly regulated conditions.