Being from the midwest, I grew up a milk drinker. Milk was the only option for drinks at dinner (unless it was a special occasion) and it was unfathomable to have anything else with desserts. I think because of this, I've never been a big water drinker. When I would play sports or something I'd have water, but it wasn't like I would be hanging out in the summer and just have to have a glass of water. It wasn't until I got older that I started to really understand the benefits of water, and it wasn't until I moved to the desert and got pregnant in the 120 degree heat that I realized how necessary water actually is! Then, start nursing a newborn and you will put away water like a camel!
When I was approached to review a water filtration system from
Zuvo I was intrigued to see if this simple system could actually make my tap water taste better. I'm not "snobby" about many things but drinking water from the tap out here gives me the heebie-jeebies. In addition to taste, I was also interested in the cost and environmental benefits of a system that connects right to your faucet. By having drinkable, safe, water right out of the tap, I would save money on constantly buying bottled water and therefore save on constantly disposing of the used bottles. Yes, I recycle, but still, it's a waste of money and resources to buy it in the first place. So, needless to say I was intrigued.
**DISCLAIMER** I am not a chemist, biologist, water analyst, or anything that ends in -ist. This is only my personal experience and I am not qualified to speak authoritatively on the water purification process.But, if you want to know how Zuvo works, check this site out"
The folks at
Zuvo agreed to send me a system of my choice. They have two options, one for on top of the counters that attaches directly to your existing faucet, and another that is hooked up under your sink and connects to a designated Zuvo Beverage Faucet. Since my kitchen sink has a sprayer hooked to it and no designated water faucet, I opted for the "on the counter" system and thought I would hook it up to the sink in B's bathroom. I've said it before, sometimes my parenting decisions are based on the idea of "working smarter not harder" and if I can give B safe, clean water to drink before bed, or in the middle of the night, without having to go down to the kitchen, why not?! :)
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| Even in the bathroom, it doesn't take up much space |
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| How fun with the lights off! |
So, onto the DIY installation part. I LOVE DIY projects and I love when they are just as easy to do as they appear on the outside. Hooking this system up was a breeze! I simply unscrewed the existing faucet nozzle, screwed on a male/female faucet adapter
(I ended up getting this from Home Depot. Zuvo's awesome product manager did send me two different male/female adapters but my faucet is ridiculous, so neither worked. The one I got from Home Depot was about $6) screwed on the Zuvo system and plugged it in. It seriously does not get any easier than that! Once it was plugged in, I followed the instructions and turned the faucet on. Then I pulled the pin that's on the adapter and the machine lit up! This mini-water tornado was happening on the inside of the Zuvo and that's what was flushing the filter and making the water clean. According to Zuvo's website: "The Zuvo Water Filtration System is based on a
unique, patented five-step cleansing process including Ozonation, Ultraviolet Light, Photo-Oxidation, Filtration, and Post Filtration UV" This is what is actually making the water safe to drink. For us non-scientific people; it's also pretty to look at and intriguing for children to watch the tank light up and the water spin around.
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| All hooked up in the bathroom! |
So, how did I test it? Well, the first test was the installation,and like I said, that was a breeze! Super easy and self-explanatory! I did notice a little "leaking" coming from the top of the faucet a couple days after installation.It only happened once the Zuvo system turned on. To solve it, I simply unscrewed the nozzle, added some of the white plumber's tape that was provided, screwed the nozzle back on and viola! No more leaking!
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| The water comes out the small spigot on the right |
The next test was the taste test and I'll be honest, I wasn't looking forward to it. I was nervous about what I was signing my tastebuds up for given my past experience of drinking tap water. I delayed it as long as possible, but then decided to dive in. First, I tasted our regular tap water. Eh, city water. Not terrible, but tasted kind of metallic-y (not metallic-a! HAHA!), and a bit like pool water. Next was the Zuvo filtered water; It tasted clear. Surprisingly, the metallic/pool water taste was gone. I venture to say, with a couple ice cubes I could even pass it off for fancy "bottled" water!
My last test was actually with the water itself. We have city water, which by city standards it's already deemed "safe to drink" but the taste is terrible. I contacted a lab, certified by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to ask about the Zuvo claims and how it would affect my water. The lab director that I spoke with, Jim, stated since we currently use city water I could take the two samples to any pool store to have the water tested free. Otherwise, their tests were $20 a piece and I would need to specify which contaminates I would want to test for. I read him the details about what the Zuvo system claims to remove and he again indicated a pool store would be able to test for those. (I almost wish we didn't have city water to be able to run these tests. I have a feeling people with well water or something similar would have dramatic differences in their water!) Anyway, after going to the pool store, the tester there told me the tap water was clean but that there were definite levels of chlorine. When I gave him the other sample he said "Well, whatever you did to this one got rid of the chlorine". I told him it was a water filtration system hooked up to my sink. He seemed a bit surprised that that's all it took to remove the chlorine, but conceded nonetheless that the chlorine was gone. Resulting in the much more pleasant taste.
I've been using this system for about a week now and haven't had any issues with leaks (after using the plumbing tape mentioned above) or the taste of the water changing. When it is time to change the filter, I found this out from Zuvo's
FAQ page:
Standard-capacity and VOC filters should be changed every 3 months, or after 250 gallons of water have flowed through the filter, whichever comes first. High-capacity filters should be changed every 5 months, or after 400 gallons of water have flowed through the filter, whichever comes first. However, water quality and water usage may affect the frequency of filter changes. Monitor your water usage if possible, as it can change seasonally. If you start to see degradation in water flow from your Zuvo Water Filtration System or experience an unusual taste, change the filter. The 300 Series models have an indicator light that tells you when it's time to change your filter. The newer 100 Series models have a buzzer that tells you when it's time to change your filter. The indicator light and buzzer take the guesswork out of changing your filter.
So, that's it. It really is that easy to have clean, safe, drinking water right from your tap. If you just can not wait to stop wasting money and protecting the environment, check out this
website to find out where to get a Zuvo Water sytem for yourself.
-OR-
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**Thank you to Zuvo Water for providing the products for review and giveaway. The above review is of my own opinion and may differ from your own.**
When I took it out of the wash, it looked identical to when it went in! The colors didn't change, the shirt didn't shrink, and the fabric was still super soft! I was impressed! Because B is thinner for his age I have no doubt this shirt will last through the summer and then some! I'm tempted to send it back at the end of B's use to try out their other clothes, but part of me wants to hold on to it for the next baby too! I can't wait to try out their bodysuits for the little one on the way. How cute would they be with a fluffy bum underneath and some baby legwarmers? Something this soft definitely needs to be next to a baby's skin! 
Each set contains 12 reusbale paper towels. They are made of either cotton terry cloth with a cotton print or an organic/hemp terry blend with an organic cotton print. There are tons of colors and options to choose from. My favorite part is the fact that the towels all snap together! I've seen "unpaper" towels before that are meant to just sit in a drawer or on the counter, these babies are meant to shine! They all snap together, then snap to the tube so they become just as convenient as your throw-away paper towels! Bevin also takes great care in making sure the snaps she chooses for the towels match the cotton print pattern. The snaps are also plastic so there's no worry about scratching counter tops or little one's face when wiping after a meal!