I’ve been suspicious of water ever since I was a child. Family friends gave us a few guppies and instructed us to fill the fishbowl with water, but … we had to let it sit overnight before putting in the fish. Why? Because, they said, the chlorine in the water had to evaporate or the fish would die.

If water kills fish, I thought, it can’t be good for people, either.

Since then we’ve all become more aware of what’s in our water – lots of nasty things that no sane person would ingest. These days I have well water, which contains no chlorine so far as I know. On the other hand, we live downhill from a company that is notorious for dumping toxic chemicals into the ground, and every household around us uses pesticides, herbicides, and insecticides that inevitably wind up in the ground water.

One solution to my water-intake shortage would be to purchase bottled water but I have problems with that, too. First of all, it comes in plastic bottles that contain BPA (bad!) and that add to my recycling pile. Second, I’m appalled by the idea of paying good money for something that comes out of my tap for free. I’m willing to bathe in well water, but drinking it requires a greater ability for denial than I possess.

I live on coffee. My theory is that the water is heated and filtered well enough to make it safe for me to drink. So what if the caffeine contributes to dehydration? At least I’m getting liquid into my body, right?

When I received the MAVEA Elemaris Water Filtration Pitcher recently, I never expected it to change my life. I scrutinized the box before I opened it, thinking this might be one of those items that gets re-gifted as soon as possible.

Instead, I was intrigued by the claims that the MAVEA Pitcher softens water AND is 100% BPA-free plastic. Chalk one up for MAVEA. The pitcher is reusable and safe, so it’s good for my health and for the health of the planet. Naturally I checked the website, and learned that the filter also reduces organic impurities (benzene and  tetrachloroethylene), metals (mercury, cadmium, and copper), and some pesticides (simazine and atrazine)

That was enough to convince me to take out the pitcher and give it a try. I was impressed by the total lack of Styrofoam packaging, and sent a silent blessing to the shipping department for their consideration. Then I buckled down to the task of putting together the components. I counted on a half hour or so of heavy construction, but the pitcher and its filter system was up and running in about two minutes, even with my limited ability to follow instructions.

According to the User’s Guide, it reduces chlorine (not a problem with well water) and limescale (big problem with well water!).  The filter uses a mixture of “activated carbon and ion exchange resin beads” that improve water taste, and reduce odor.  My first sip confirmed this claim, so I just kept on drinking.

Friends have mentioned that their filtration systems sometimes let black particles float around in the water. I watched my MAVEA closely but never spotted anything like that.

There are all sorts of fancy technological innovations with this pitcher, but the single most important selling point for me has nothing to do with how well the MAVEA works or how smooth and clean the water tastes.  The MAVEA has a meter that tells me when it’s time to replace the filter, but what do I do then? Get this —  the filters can be recycled! Yes, not a single piece of this little gem goes into the trash. Here’s a company that cares about more than just making a sale.

Okay, so now I sound like I’ve just discovered a new religion, right? I’m raving like one of those wild-eyed guys roaming the sidewalks declaring that The End is Near. The truth is, I really have been converted by this product. MAVEA gives me clean water for drinking with no BPA, no continuing flow of filters to trash, and a user-friendly pitcher that I can safely put into the dishwasher.

Brothers and sisters, let me share the good news! Through the grace of MAVEA, my fear of water has been washed away!