Pur Water Dispenser Filtration System and Filter

THE ABSOLUTE BEST !! (Important info re: cleaning..please read!). I had a Major name brand Company water cooler for about 5 yrs. We were renting instead of buying, for fear of the unit breaking down sooner or later & we wanted to be covered. It became costly, & having to lug the big bottles of water into the house & returning empties was more than I cared to deal with on a monthly basis, due to our busy schedules, & their office hours.Also, I saw on a famous nightly news documentary T.V special that the spouts on rental water coolers can get contaminated just by sitting every day with the usual dust & dander of every day life. They said it should be picked up every 3 months or so to be taken into the office, professionally cleaned & then returned. A nice gesture mind you, but inconvenient! I didn’t want to be without the water cooler for a few days.I went to use the spout on my large stand-up unit, to give my cats some water after 2 wks of not having used it (on vacation-cats were @ my mom’s.) Much to my amazement & disgust, 2 spiders had made the spout their living quarters, as they both fell into the cat dish along with a cob web or 2. GAG. I phoned the next morning & canceled our rental subscription. They came a few days later & the huge unit was removed (made lots of extra room in the corner of the dining room!!) The water tasted fine mind you, but the hassle of worrying about arachnids & who knows what else, along with germs & the thought of removal & re-delivery of the unit after being professionally cleaned was simply non-appealing in every way!IMPORTANT INFO —–> **It was never brought to our attention when we got the unit, that the spout needed to be cleaned & flushed out every few months with some chemical cleaner in their facility. It wasn’t endorsed, or mentioned at all. After I saw the T.V special, I called & voiced my concern & only then did the agent admit that yes, the spout should be cleaned every few months, & that it had to be taken into the office to be serviced & that it would take anywhere between 3-7 days to be finished. We could take it in ourselves or they’d pick it up & bring it back for $5.00/trip**I’d seen commercials for PUR & decided to browse on Amazon & saw this item, the PUR DS-1800Z 2-Stage Water Dispenser. I read the comments & saw the ratings. I liked what I saw! I didn’t just want a regular pitcher, I liked the sleek design of this, & the LARGE amount of water it could hold, & LOVED the fact that it has a dispenser spout instead of having to pick it up & pour. Great for kids with little hands, or my Grandma who can’t lift anything heavy with her one hand.It sits on the top shelf of our fridge & there’s always FRESH, delicious water available for my family, including our very loved cats (they deserve the best H2O.) It’s comforting to know that when company visits, I’m providing them with the freshest, cleanest water. That makes me feel like a good hostess.The price could not be beat!! The filters are economical too. I like how it has the filter-life gauge indicator so I know exactly when to change the filter.I top it up, or completely re-fill it nightly before bed or whenever I’m leaving the house for, so that it’s always full & ready to go! I don’t think the complaints about the water taking too long to go through are much to worry about. It just means the unit is doing it’s job by ridding our water of all the contaminants we don’t need!My husband & I drink WAY more than the recommended 8 glasses/day thanks to this awesome item! I’m thankful I can clean the spout myself with warm soapy water, & NOT have to send it out to the company’s office for a cleaning, & be without the unit & then sit around & wait for them to re-deliver it. One of those “We’ll be there sometime between 9am & 4pm”. WHO wants to sit around with a waiting window like that??YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED if you purchase this!Everyone needs water for drinking, cooking, whatever. I highly recommend that you pick yourself up one of these for each fridge that you have in your home! It makes the best gift for bridal showers, weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, WHATEVER…& especially baby showers!(new moms need to keep their water intake up).I’ve gotten this unit for about 7 family & friends. They’ve ALL raved about it, & now they’re paying it forward by purchasing it for their loved ones.THANKS PUR !!!