What to know when buying these types of water filters
First off, I have ordered these PureSource filters on several occasions (2015-2016) and they are the original OEM filters made by Frigidaire. They come with a Frigidaire labeled box along with a performance data sheet on the filter. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THESE AND MOST OTHER GENERIC BRANDS: These OEM filters meet two water filtration certification standards, specifically ANSI/NSF 42 & 53. Most aftermarket/generic brands will only be certified for ANSI/NSF 42. WHY THIS MATTERS ANSI/NSF 42 Certification Standard - This basically means the water won't taste bad. It will primarily reduce chlorine, taste, odor, and particulates. Most people will review a water filter by how it tastes, but this shouldn't be the only consideration. ANSI/NSF 53 Certification Standard - This basically means the filter also removes some things that can actually make you sick, like cryptosporidium, Giardia, lead, volatile organic chemicals (VOC), and methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE). Most households do not need to worry about lead or organic particles in their water, but as a parent this just gives me a little additional peace of mind. ADDITIONAL FYI Getting a certification standard for a filter is very expensive, and aftermarket/generic brands that are not certified may have just opted to not pay for the additional expense. If a generic filter doesn't have a certification rating, it doesn't mean it isn't a good filter. They could be just as good, but you wouldn't know that so it's just a bigger risk on the quality of the filter. The ANSI/NSF numerical standard is further categorized by Classes (Class I being the best) so just because it meets an ANSI/NSF rating it could have a very low class rating and only filter out 25% of the chlorine etc. Read more
