YT YouTube2Text

YouTube2Text → Transcripts → This Whole House Water Filter Almost Broke Our Rating System!

This Whole House Water Filter Almost Broke Our Rating System! — Transcript

by BOS Water · 3,341 words · 508 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

Open in transcriber Summarize with AI Download SRT/VTT

Full transcript

0:00$500, three stages up to 15 gallons a
0:03minute. The Brio is the 10th whole house
0:06filter that's gone on our water line,
0:08and it was love at first sight. But it's
0:10also the first system we've ever had to
0:12bypass. And the reason why is something
0:14pretty [music] much every whole house
0:16filter owner needs to know about.
0:22Hi, I'm Sarah with BOS Water and today
0:25we are reviewing the Brio FSWH300
0:29IMR. It's a three-stage cartridge-based
0:32whole house water filter and it's
0:34designed to improve your home's overall
0:35water quality by reducing chlorine,
0:37disinfection byproducts, and other
0:39organics like industrial solvents,
0:41sediment, and certain heavy metals. So,
0:44better tasting and ideally healthier
0:46water for drinking and cooking, cleaner
0:48showers, and less sediment reaching your
0:51plumbing and appliances. We really liked
0:54the system at first, and we still kind
0:56of do, honestly. But [music] we
0:57eventually had to bypass it over an
0:59issue that theoretically could affect
1:02any whole house water filter. [music]
1:04And that wasn't the only thing we ran
1:06into. Now, the reason we wanted this
1:07particular model on our water line comes
1:09down to filter [music] stage three. By
1:12now, we've tested five other
1:13cartridge-based whole house filters. The
1:15rest were tank systems. And the
1:17cartridge combinations are usually
1:18pretty similar. Sediment filter first,
1:20then granular carbon or a carbon block.
1:23And when a system targets heavy metals,
1:25it's almost always with a KDF cartridge,
1:27but KDF mainly works on water soluble
1:30metals. And across all our whole house
1:32testing, we've never seen it do much for
1:34the metals in our [music] water supply.
1:36Well, the Brio is different. Instead of
1:38KDF, stage three is what they call an
1:41iron and manganese removal cartridge
1:43based on cation exchange resin. Now, we
1:46don't consistently find iron and
1:47manganese in our city water. And if we
1:49do, then it's only in very low levels,
1:52but we were hoping that a cartridge
1:54actually built for metals might finally
1:56move the needle on some of the other
1:58stuff we do find. First and foremost,
2:00aluminum and barerium, but also
2:02strontium. But I don't want to get into
2:04our lab results for contaminant
2:05reduction just yet. First, Adam is going
2:08to take you through installation and
2:10daily use and filter replacements
2:12because it's why we badly wanted the
2:14Brio to succeed. [music] And by the way,
2:16there'll be just one more video before
2:19our big comparison where we put every
2:21system we tested head-to-head and pick
2:23our overall favorites. And we've been
2:25working towards that for more than 2
2:27years now. So, if you don't want to miss
2:29it, make sure you are subscribed. Also,
2:31down in the description, you'll find
2:32links to all of our previous reviews,
2:34plus our comparison sheet with every lab
2:36result, product [music] link, discount
2:38codes, and using our links and codes
2:40helps support the channel and lets us
2:42keep testing more systems. You can also
2:44find all of it on our website,
2:46boss-water.com. [music]
2:48All right, let's switch over to Adam.
2:51>> Hey guys. So, this was another
2:52cartridge-based ho house filter on our
2:54water supply. And while it was the same
2:56straightforward procedure as usual,
2:58there were a few aspects that made the
2:59Brio stand out in a good way, which is
3:01why it had me rooting for it because as
3:03soon as I took the system out of the
3:04box, I thought it looked very sleek. And
3:07I get that it doesn't matter too much,
3:09but it's probably the most aesthetically
3:10pleasing unit we've reviewed so far with
3:13it sharplooking black filter housings.
3:16The next thing is the stainless steel
3:17frame. Not only does it feel really well
3:20built, it also lets you choose between
3:22placing the system on the floor or wall
3:24mounting it. And for a side note, as
3:27with similar systems, there were no
3:29mounting screws included, but we decided
3:31to go the freestanding route anyway. The
3:33installation instructions are great,
3:35too. The manual explains the different
3:36steps really well and provides helpful
3:39images, so it didn't matter that there
3:41was no installation video. After
3:43shutting off the water, we didn't have
3:44to switch the flow direction this time
3:46since the Brio comes configured left to
3:48right. So, just know that switching the
3:50flow direction to match your plumbing is
3:52not a problem. All you need to do is
3:54unscrew, rotate, and then screw the
3:56mounting bracket back on. And one
3:58additional step required for the Brio is
4:00unscrewing the pressure gauges and then
4:02screwing them back on after rotating.
4:05Then it was time to unwrap the filter
4:06cartridges and rinse their housings.
4:08Place the cartridges inside the housings
4:11following the correct order. Sediment
4:13filter first, then carbon filter, and
4:15then iron filter. And screw the housings
4:18onto their caps. Tighten with the
4:20provided wrench. And it's not really
4:22complicated, but slightly more difficult
4:24than on comparable systems because of
4:26the frame getting in the way. Next was
4:29connecting the system to our incoming
4:30and outgoing water supply. Port size is
4:331 in. I added a fitting to each side.
4:35And those fittings are not included, but
4:37that's pretty standard. And then I
4:39connected our flexible stainless steel
4:40lines, which we use instead of hard
4:42plumbing as it makes testing multiple
4:44whole house filters in the same location
4:47a lot easier. Finally, I slowly turn the
4:50water back on. I checked for leaks and
4:53followed the flushing instructions. You
4:55flush with cold water until it becomes
4:57clear. Then you continue to run water
4:59for another 5 minutes, wait 30 minutes,
5:02then run cold water for additional 10
5:03minutes. In terms of dimensions, the
5:06system measures about 24x30
5:08by 9 in. So, all in all, another whole
5:11house filter install that can make a
5:13great DIY project if you make sure to
5:16follow the instructions, have the right
5:18tools and supplies ready, and know some
5:19basic plumbing. And of course, your
5:21specific plumbing setup can make a
5:23difference. And you also need to
5:25remember codes and permits. [music] And
5:27for daily use, we didn't experience any
5:29leaking and rated it up to 15 gallons
5:31per minute. Pressure and flow throughout
5:34the house held up fine, even with
5:36multiple fixtures running. So, water
5:38aesthetics were improved as well. All
5:40the odor was gone, and the taste was
5:42much better compared to our tap water,
5:44although it wasn't 100% perfect. Used
5:47for shower and bathing, the water felt
5:49no different. So, a similar experience
5:51to most of the whole house filters we
5:53tested. For filter replacements, there's
5:55a pressure gauge on each stage [music]
5:57and a sticker telling you to swap
5:59cartridges when pressure drops below 12
6:01PSI, but 12 PSI is really low, and most
6:04homes run somewhere between 40 and 80.
6:07So, by the time you hit that number,
6:09you've been living with terrible water
6:10pressure for a while. Also, pressure
6:13only drops when something physically
6:15clogs up, which realistically means the
6:17sediment filter. So, generally the three
6:19cartridges are rated up to 100,000
6:21gallons or 6 to 12 months depending on
6:25your water conditions. We'll discuss how
6:27realistic that really is in a minute.
6:29Replacing the cartridges isn't difficult
6:31either, although again, the stainless
6:33steel frame does get in the way of the
6:35wrench. So, in a nutshell, you shut off
6:37the water, relieve pressure through a
6:39nearby faucet, and use the pressure
6:41relief buttons before unscrewing the
6:43housings. You take out the old
6:45cartridges, clean the housings,
6:47lubricate the O-rings, insert new
6:49cartridges, put everything back
6:50together, and flush. An overall
6:53usability scored 4.65 out of five.
6:58Okay, now let's get to our lab results.
7:00To understand them, you need to know
7:02what's actually inside the Brio. Stage
7:04one is a 5 micron polyropylene sediment
7:07filter. It's totally standard. It traps
7:09dirt and particles to protect the later
7:10stages in your plumbing and appliances
7:12from clogging. Stage two is a coconut
7:15shell activated carbon block. Carbon is
7:17the workhorse in pretty much every whole
7:19house filter we've tested. It removes
7:21chlorine along with bad tastes and
7:23odors. And it also takes out
7:25disinfection byproducts. It's very
7:27common in city water, plus other
7:29organics like pesticides and industrial
7:31solvents and certain metals like lead.
7:33And because the Brio's carbon is a block
7:35rather than granular carbon, the tighter
7:38pore structure gives you some of the
7:39fine mechanical filtration on top of
7:41that. And then stage three, the cation
7:43exchange cartridge that we already
7:44talked about, the iron and manganese
7:45filter. Rio says it intercepts metals to
7:48protect your pipes and appliances and to
7:49get rid of unpleasant tastes and odors.
7:52Specifically, they claim iron down from
7:54three parts per million to 0.01 and
7:57manganese from 1 ppm to 0.01. Now, the
8:01usual disclaimer here. Comparing an
8:03unfiltered sample with a filtered one is
8:05never an exact science. Small handling
8:07errors, crosscontamination, or natural
8:09fluctuations in the supply can all
8:11affect results. And as you're about to
8:14find out, that's more important with the
8:15Brio than with any other whole house
8:17filter we've tested. And finally, we can
8:20only test for what's actually in our
8:22water. Let's start with metals because
8:24that's the reason we bought this system
8:26in the first place. And here, the Brio
8:28actually delivered. Barerium 100%
8:31reduction and that's a first. The best
8:33we've seen before was 78%. Strontium
8:35came down 87% which is also the highest
8:38we've seen from any whole house system
8:40so far. And iron went to zero although
8:42in fairness there was barely any iron in
8:45our feed water to begin with. So that
8:46one could just be a natural fluctuation.
8:49Aluminum though only came down 14%. So
8:52one of the metals we were most hoping to
8:54see move basically didn't. Now,
8:57chlorine, and this is where it starts
8:59getting strange. The Brio reduced
9:01chlorine somewhere between 64 and 99%.
9:05That's a wide range in a limitation of
9:07the lab method. What we know is that
9:09chlorine was still detected in the
9:11filtered sample, but below 0.1 parts per
9:14million, which is the threshold where
9:16the lab can put a confident number on
9:18it. So, we can't tell you exactly how
9:19much was left. What we can tell you is
9:21that it was not zero. And that matters
9:24because every other whole house filter
9:26removed 100% of the chlorine in this
9:29water. Chlorine is generally one of the
9:31easiest things to take out. It's the
9:33baseline job of an activated carbon
9:35block. The Brio is the first system
9:38where we didn't see that. And
9:39disinfection byproducts were even worse
9:41and those were also targeted by
9:43activated carbon. Bromemo
9:44dicchlorommethane 25% reduction.
9:46Dybrchloromthane 33%. Chloroform a mere
9:5012%. Every other whole house filter
9:53we've tested removed 100% or very close
9:55to it. And [music] yeah, we've seen
9:57incomplete DPP reduction before with
10:00other kinds of filters like pitchers and
10:01gravity systems, but never anything
10:03remotely close to 12%. Now, results like
10:06this should make you suspicious of your
10:08own testing first. So, we went back and
10:10checked everything on our end. First of
10:12all, we confirmed that we installed the
10:14system using the correct flow direction.
10:16Plus, we used the same 2.2 2 gpm flow
10:19rate we always use before taking our lab
10:21samples and the carbon filter cartridge
10:23also looked properly seated and the
10:25housing had filled normally. The
10:26pressure gauges read and still read
10:28around 50 PSI so perfectly normal. In
10:31other words, it doesn't seem like we
10:33caused an accidental bypass of the
10:35carbon filter block, which would be the
10:37most likely explanation for the low
10:39reduction rates for both chlorine and
10:41disinfection byproducts. We can't rule
10:43it out completely, but nothing we found
10:46points that way. So, that's chlorine and
10:48disinfection byproducts. But there's a
10:50second finding, and it's the reason the
10:52Brio is currently bypassed. Four
10:54substances showed up in our filtered
10:56sample that were not in our unfiltered
10:58tap water sample, which we took just
11:01before the filtered one. The first is
11:03copper at 0.01 parts per million. That's
11:06negligible, and it's probably just
11:08fluctuation. We're mentioning it for
11:10completeness. The next two are the
11:11problem. 12 dchloroeththane at 0.55
11:14parts per billion and 112
11:17tricchloroeththane at 0.78 parts per
11:20billion and at least one of them can be
11:22linked to the Brio's cation exchange
11:24resin in stage 3.2 dchloroethane or EDC
11:28seems to be the most common solvent used
11:30to make gel type cation resin which is
11:33exactly the type of resin Brio says is
11:35used for their iron filter and
11:37apparently not all of it washes out
11:39during manufacturing. There's even a
11:41patent for the solvent-free process that
11:43lists residual solvent in the finished
11:45resin as one of the reasons to stop
11:47using it. As for the tricloroethane, it
11:50comes from the same production chain as
11:52EDC. So, it doesn't seem like a
11:54coincidence that the two are showing up
11:55together. Both also came out above the
11:57strictest health guideline we could
11:59find. For EDC, that goal is 0.4 parts
12:02per billion where we measured 0.55 ppb.
12:06For the tricloroeththane, it's 0.3. So,
12:09we measured more than two and a half
12:11times over. And these aren't taste and
12:13odor guidelines, although not federal
12:15legal limits. Both public health goals
12:17are set for carcinogenicity. There's a
12:19fourth substance, too. Xylines at 0.65
12:23parts per billion. Also not present in
12:25our tap water sample. But here, the
12:27strictest guideline we could find is at
12:29500 parts per billion. So, roughly 770
12:33times higher than what we measured. We'd
12:36obviously still rather not see it, but
12:37it isn't in the same category as the
12:39previous two. Long story short, lab
12:41testing the Brio FSWH300 IMR resulted in
12:45potential leeching. We can't prove it.
12:47That is unlikely [music] to cause any
12:49immediate harm, but could have health
12:50effects if it were to continue for a
12:52prolonged period of time and if the
12:54water was used for drinking. And this is
12:56the part that goes beyond the Brio
12:58because if you'd installed this system
13:00in your house, you'd have had [music] no
13:02way of knowing. The water tasted better.
13:04The odor was gone, pressure was fine,
13:06the gauges looked normal, everything you
13:08can actually check was telling us this
13:10filter works perfectly fine. The only
13:12reason things might point in the
13:14opposite direction is that we sent the
13:17water to a lab. So, [music] if you've
13:19got a whole house filter on your house
13:21right now, that's the part worth [music]
13:23thinking about. Potential leeching that
13:25you can't taste or see. That said, the
13:27good news is we didn't detect any
13:29concerning leeching with any of the
13:31other whole house filters we tested. And
13:33to be fair, if the Brio's cation
13:34exchange resin is indeed leeching these
13:37chemicals, it may as well subside
13:39quickly. We just don't have the
13:41long-term data to say. There were also
13:43three substances the Brio didn't affect
13:45much or at all: boron, zinc, and
13:47fluoride. But none of that surprised us.
13:50The Brio isn't designed for those. And
13:51if you want them gone, you need
13:53additional filtration. So, all in all,
13:55that's a filtration score of 0.64 out of
13:58five, the lowest we've ever given. But
14:02we're not done with the Brio yet because
14:03there are two claims we still need to
14:05talk about. The first claim is the
14:07filter life rating on the stage 3
14:09cartridge. 100,000 g at three parts per
14:12million iron. Our lab results tell us a
14:15lot about what that cartridge is
14:17actually doing. Calcium dropped from
14:1929.28 to 4.32 parts per million.
14:23Magnesium from 8.46 to 1.34. Hardness
14:27went from 108 down to 16.3. and sodium
14:31went the other way from 10.87 up to
14:3453.89,
14:36almost five times higher. And that's a
14:38water softener. It pulls calcium and
14:40magnesium out of your water and puts
14:41sodium in instead. And softeners are
14:44known to take out low levels of iron
14:46along the way. So, as an iron cartridge,
14:49that's not a crazy design. It also
14:51explains our aluminum result. Cat iron
14:54exchange only grabs positively charged
14:56particles. And at our water's pH,
14:59aluminum isn't really in that form
15:01anymore. So, the resin can't hold on to
15:03it. But it's worth thinking about
15:04because a softening resin has a limited
15:06number of slots and hardness minerals
15:08fill them up. And that's why a normal
15:11water softener regenerates. It flushes
15:13itself with salt every few days to empty
15:15those slots out again. This cartridge
15:17can't do that. It just fills up. So,
15:20whether that 100,000 gallons is
15:21realistic may also depend on how hard
15:23your water is. And that's not something
15:25we could find anywhere in Brio's product
15:27description. Now, the cartridge is
15:29labeled catalytic, and we had almost no
15:32iron in our water. So, there may be
15:34something else going on that we couldn't
15:36test. And if we're missing something
15:37here, Brio is welcome to tell us, but
15:40what we can say for certain is that it's
15:42working like a softener, and softening
15:44is a job that runs out. We did ask Brio
15:46about the rating and the catalytic
15:48claim, but we haven't heard back. One
15:51more claim on their website. Brio says
15:53the stage 2 carbon cartridge reduces
15:55chromium 6. We couldn't test that
15:57because there's no chromium 6 in our
15:58water, but it's a very unusual thing to
16:00see on a carbon filter. It's a
16:02recognized claim under NSF ANC53, so it
16:05can be certified. We've just never seen
16:07a carbon-based drinking water filter
16:09that actually is. So, we're not saying
16:11it's false, just that nobody has
16:13verified it as far as we know. Okay.
16:15Normally, we'd look at thirdparty
16:17customer reviews at this point, but
16:18there just aren't many for the Brio yet,
16:20so there's nothing meaningful to go
16:22through. So, let's talk cost. At the
16:24time of filming, the Brio FSWH300 IMR is
16:27$499.99.
16:29We don't have a discount code, but for a
16:31three-stage whole house system [music]
16:33with sediment, carbon, and cation resin
16:35filter, plus a steel frame, and pressure
16:37gauges, $500 seems like a good deal for
16:40the hardware. Warranty is one year.
16:42Replacement cartridges run roughly 320
16:44to $440 a year. That's definitely on the
16:47high side. At least [music] you can save
16:4820% with a filter subscription. And the
16:50system uses standard 20-inch cartridges.
16:52So third party replacements are an
16:54option, too. And that estimate assumes
16:56Brio's claimed filter life. Like we said
16:58on hard water, the stage 3 cartridge
17:00could be long gone before the 100,000 g.
17:03And then you'd be replacing it sooner
17:05and paying more since the iron filter is
17:07the most expensive of the three at
17:08almost $200. Anyway, based on Brio's
17:11claimed filter life, that's a cost score
17:13of 3.1 out of five. And with filtration
17:16weighted at 60% and usability and cost
17:19at 20% each, the Brio FSWH300
17:23IMR ends up with a final score of 1.94
17:27out of five, the lowest we've given any
17:30whole house filter. And that's a shame
17:32because this is genuinely one of the
17:34nicest systems we've had on our water in
17:36terms of build quality and overall
17:38installation. So, if this review were
17:40only about the hardware, the Brio would
17:42be at the top. But a water filter has
17:45one purpose, and our lab results raise
17:47real doubts about whether the Brio
17:50fulfills it. With chlorine and
17:51disinfection byproducts barely moved,
17:53and two substances detected in the
17:55filtered water, but not in our tap
17:57water, both above their strictest health
17:59guidelines, we decided to bypass the
18:01system eventually. And that's why we
18:03can't recommend it with good conscience.
18:05All right, that's it. Check out our
18:07comparison sheet for all the detailed
18:08test results, product links, and
18:10discount codes for every whole house
18:11filter we've reviewed so far. And if you
18:13found this video helpful, please
18:14consider giving it a like and subscribe
18:16for our upcoming whole house water
18:17filter comparison. Thanks so much for
18:19watching, and we'll see you in the next
18:21one.

About this transcript

This page contains the full transcript of This Whole House Water Filter Almost Broke Our Rating System! by BOS Water, generated from the public captions YouTube serves with the video. The transcript has 3,341 words across 508 segments, with the original timestamps preserved so you can click any line to jump to that moment in the embedded player.

What you can do with it

Use the transcript to take notes, quote the speaker, build a study guide, generate a summary with ChatGPT or Claude via the YouTube Summary tool, or export it as a timed subtitle file with YouTube to SRT. You can also re-open it in the transcriber to choose a caption track available on the video.

Free YouTube transcript tool

YouTube2Text is a free YouTube transcript generator — no signup, no daily limit. Paste any YouTube link and get the full transcript instantly, with timestamps, click-to-jump, caption language selection, AI prompts for ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, and exports to TXT, SRT, VTT, or Markdown.