There are four different under sink water filters available through Crystal Quest each catering to their own clientele. They are all effective and good filtration units but the one I did the most research on was the Mega Double under sink water filter.
The reason I chose to focus on the Mega Double unit was because it seemed to offer the most for the money and is ideal for single family kitchen use for filtering drinking and cooking water.
After a fair amount of reading and research here are my findings for the Crystal Quest Mega Double under sink filter…
Filtration Method
The Mega Double uses 7 unique stages of water filtration and uses activated Carbon as a main filtration method. This ensures that the water is very thoroughly cleaned before you use it for drinking or cooking.
The unit comes with two filters that fit neatly under most kitchen sinks. Each filter has separate functions and work through the seven stage process to make sure the water is totally clean and odour free.
The Crystal Quest Mega Double water filter removes many contaminants including:
- Organic chemical compounds such as Benzene, PCB’s, volatile organic compounds (VOC’s, insecticides, pesticides and industrial solvents) and toxaphene.
- Suspended particles such as silt, sediment, cyst (Giardia, Cryptosporidium), sand, rust, dirt, and other undissolved matter
- Pharmaceuticals such as Lindane
- Disinfectants & By-Products such as Chlorine and trihalomethanes (THM’s)
- Lead, mercury, copper, nickel, chromium, cadmium, aluminum, and other dissolved metals
- Chlorine
- Bad tastes and Odours
- Industrial Solvents such as MTBE
- Herbacides and Pesticides such as Endrine, 2, 4-D, Silvex (2, 4, 5 – TP)
What I like a lot about this unit is that the whole 7 stage process not only filters the water but it also very effectively inhibits the growth of bacteria through the entire unit so well that there is no need for added silver – which is very common in carbon-only filters.
Silver is considered a pesticide by the EPA and consequently aquarain vs berkey must be registered with them. The fact that the Crystal Quest unit does not need to add it says a lot about the quality of their filters.
About Carbon Activated Filters
Carbon in general is very porous and can possibly provide a large surface area for contaminants to collect. Therefore many Carbon-only filters have a shortened life due to the fact that they must use the majority of their capacity for chlorine removal.
Watch for Carbon-only filters that use a bituminous coal carbon which is effective at removing chlorine but not at removing much else.
The Crystal Quest Mega Double uses high-grade coconut shell carbon which provides a far higher volume of micro-pores than coal, wood or lignite based carbon.
