I have been looking for a counter-top RO water filter for years – and ZIP is perfect! No plumbing required, easily accessible and cleaning, and as much fresh RO water as you need. We have been burning through ZeroWater filters at – each, so we were looking for a more affordable solution. The ZIP RO filter life is estimated at about a year, depending on your usage and local water supply.
ZIP comes with alkaline post filter which returns a small amount of calcium and magnesium back to water once it has been purified by reverse osmosis – just like Dasani bottled water for an improved taste. Because water is enhanced with minerals, the TDS will be slightly higher comparing to reverse osmosis system without an alkaline post filter. And the pH will also be more alkaline than bottled purified water like Dasani, which has tested at a pH of around 5.0. ZIP’s RO water tests between 7 and 8.
As with any other reverse osmosis water filter, we recommend flushing the system by running 2-3 cycles before the first use or testing. Once the system is flushed we suggest TDS testing after 2nd consecutive batch. That will give you a benchmark to help determine the life of your replaceable RO filter.
This unit rejects the dirty water back into the collection tub. ZIP has a 1:1 ratio or 50% recovery rate. Meaning for every 1/2 a gallon waste water, you will get 1/2 a gallon of filtered water. Most undersink systems only have about 15-20% recovery rate: 1 Gallon of water goes into the system, 0.8 gallons goes into drain and 0.2 gallons is purified.
We highly recommend emptying out the bottom tank from left over – rejected water after each cycle and starting with fresh 1 gallon of tap water before each new batch. Because if the left over (rejected) water is filtered over and over the TDS concentration will continue to climb with each cycle causing the membrane to fail prematurely.
Overall, it’s fairly quick, taking about 20 minutes to filter a half-gallon of water. And the water tastes great! You can find more info or order one online here: http://amzn.to/2wNmwl1