Water filter to reduce calcium intake?

[Josie_lg]

Hiya I am looking at getting a water filter. To filter water before giving to my piggies to reduce calcium intake. Are there are that anyone recommends ? We live in a quite hard water area so am quite keen to get one.
thank you!
Josie

 

[Betsy]

I use a Brita water filter and it works quite well as the kettle no longer furs up.

 

[Wiebke]

I also use Brita. It does the trick in most cases and is easily available in many countries.

 

[Claire W]

I also use a brita filter jug for my piggies

 

[Mikatelyn]

I've been researching this question on line, and as best as I can tell, Brita does NOT filter out calcium. Or at least, their website is notably silent on the topic, and other articles have said things to the effect that Brita filters are essentially good only for cosmetic reasons, in that it filters out things that make water taste bad, like chlorine, but little else.
It does not filter out bacteria, which I'd always assumed it did. Quite conversely, I read an article that says if you don't change the filter regularly it can actually grow bacteria and be worse for you than tap water.
Another thing I'd always assumed: that it would filter out lead. The standard brita does NOT filter out lead. You have to get the higher quality one, called longlast.
What Does Brita Filter Out? Chlorine & More | Brita®

It looks like a reverse osmosis system may reduce calcium in the water, and is effective at removing bacteria.
Also, if you just want to remove calcium, then a water softener will do that, but it uses sodium to do it (exchanges the sodium for calcium and magnesium) which then causes saltwater waste which causes a lot of other problems. For that reason, it has been banned in several areas in the US.
My personal conclusion for best solution both for safer water and reduced calcium: reverse osmosis system.
Disclaimer: I am not a water expert, so if someone else is more knowledgeable about this, please do weigh in.

 

[rp1993]

It does say in the FAQs on Brita that it reduces water hardness, we have found that are kettle and coffee machine need far less descaling than before we started using it.

 

[Swissgreys]

I've been researching this question on line, and as best as I can tell, Brita does NOT filter out calcium. Or at least, their website is notably silent on the topic, and other articles have said things to the effect that Brita filters are essentially good only for cosmetic reasons, in that it filters out things that make water taste bad, like chlorine, but little else.
It does not filter out bacteria, which I'd always assumed it did. Quite conversely, I read an article that says if you don't change the filter regularly it can actually grow bacteria and be worse for you than tap water.
Another thing I'd always assumed: that it would filter out lead. The standard brita does NOT filter out lead. You have to get the higher quality one, called longlast.
What Does Brita Filter Out? Chlorine & More | Brita®

It looks like a reverse osmosis system may reduce calcium in the water, and is effective at removing bacteria.
Also, if you just want to remove calcium, then a water softener will do that, but it uses sodium to do it (exchanges the sodium for calcium and magnesium) which then causes saltwater waste which causes a lot of other problems. For that reason, it has been banned in several areas in the US.
My personal conclusion for best solution both for safer water and reduced calcium: reverse osmosis system.
Disclaimer: I am not a water expert, so if someone else is more knowledgeable about this, please do weigh in.

Please remember that tap water quality controls and standards are very different in different countries, and as such what water filters are used for will also vary.

In the UK and Europe Brita filters definitely filter out calcium, so are very suitable for use with piggies.

 

[Mikatelyn]

Oh, excellent, @rp1993! Interestingly, the US website doesn't seem to mention calcium, but the UK one does.
So now I'm wondering if the product I get here is different from the ones you guys get.

 

[rp1993]

Oh, excellent, @rp1993! Interestingly, the US website doesn't seem to mention calcium, but the UK one does.
So now I'm wondering if the product I get here is different from the ones you guys get.

Most likely the case that we get a different product, the U.K. and the US have very different standards when it comes to food etc so I’m not surprised!
I don’t Know how hard the water is in the US and whether it will cause issues just know that we go through lots of limescale remover in our shower

 

[RedLoredAmazon]

Reverse Osmosis is the best way to remove calcium from the water; carbon does not. I have hard water here and a fish tank that I use activated carbon in. In fish keeping, the problem with R/O is that it removes everything. You want vitamins and the good stuff in your water to keep your fish healthy. When you use R/O in a fish tank, you have to add back in nutrients to your tank: micro and macro to keep things healthy.

Not sure how much guinea pigs need nutrients from water, but this is an interesting topic. Does the UK Brita filters state how much calcium that it removes?

 

[Wiebke]

Most likely the case that we get a different product, the U.K. and the US have very different standards when it comes to food etc so I’m not surprised!
I don’t Know how hard the water is in the US and whether it will cause issues just know that we go through lots of limescale remover in our shower

On the whole, the USA has softer water whereas the UK is mainly a hard water country. That is why some diets and diet recommendations cannot be translated directly from country to country and will not work for everybody even in the same country. Getting the calcium balance right for yourself is very much down to fine tuning by learning what works for you and what not. That is also the reason why there is not a one size fits all perfect diet.

If you have concerns about Brita, could you contact them for more precise information on the question or google for other calcium and mineral filter jug brands in your country? Alternatively research for low calcium bottled water. Please be aware that too little calcium in the diet is ultimately as harmful as too much. But water is one of the major ways calcium comes into the diet, only in very varying degrees.

 

[Jesse's pigs]

On the whole, the USA has softer water whereas the UK is mainly a hard water country. That is why some diets and diet recommendations cannot be translated directly from country to country and will not work for everybody even in the same country. Getting the calcium balance right for yourself is very much down to fine tuning by learning what works for you and what not. That is also the reason why there is not a one size fits all perfect diet.

If you have concerns about Brita, could you contact them for more precise information on the question or google for other calcium and mineral filter jug brands in your country? Alternatively research for low calcium bottled water. Please be aware that too little calcium in the diet is ultimately as harmful as too much. But water is one of the major ways calcium comes into the diet, only in very varying degrees.

Does anyone have a link on Amazon or anything for the real deal Brita jug?
I’m trying to find one the real one but I can only get the filters up.

 

[Wiebke]

Does anyone have a link on Amazon or anything for the real deal Brita jug?
I’m trying to find one the real one but I can only get the filters up.

Google for 'Brita water filter jug' and amazon links should come up?
You can also get one in most larger supermarket chains like Tesco or Sainsbury's (which is where ours have come from).

 

[Josie_lg]

I've been researching this question on line, and as best as I can tell, Brita does NOT filter out calcium. Or at least, their website is notably silent on the topic, and other articles have said things to the effect that Brita filters are essentially good only for cosmetic reasons, in that it filters out things that make water taste bad, like chlorine, but little else.
It does not filter out bacteria, which I'd always assumed it did. Quite conversely, I read an article that says if you don't change the filter regularly it can actually grow bacteria and be worse for you than tap water.
Another thing I'd always assumed: that it would filter out lead. The standard brita does NOT filter out lead. You have to get the higher quality one, called longlast.
What Does Brita Filter Out? Chlorine & More | Brita®

It looks like a reverse osmosis system may reduce calcium in the water, and is effective at removing bacteria.
Also, if you just want to remove calcium, then a water softener will do that, but it uses sodium to do it (exchanges the sodium for calcium and magnesium) which then causes saltwater waste which causes a lot of other problems. For that reason, it has been banned in several areas in the US.
My personal conclusion for best solution both for safer water and reduced calcium: reverse osmosis system.
Disclaimer: I am not a water expert, so if someone else is more knowledgeable about this, please do weigh in.

Thank you! This is so helpful. Is the filter easily replaceable ? Do you buy a new one or just clean it and reuse it?

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you! This is so helpful. Is the filter easily replaceable ? Do you buy a new one or just clean it and reuse it?☺

You replace the filters and can order replacements. They are not like coffee filters but capsules.