When I first started researching what the best water filter jugs were, my research took me to “NSF” certification for water quality standards. I looked up all of the good water filter jugs that are NSF certified, only to realise that NSF certification isn't really a thing here in the U.K.
I wrote an article on the best NSF certified water filter jugs, which applies mostly to people living in the U.S. and Canada, but you'd still benefit from reading that article if you live in the U.K., since it will give you a better understanding of what makes a good quality water filter jug. I also mention NSF certification in this article, so please read the other article to get an understanding of why NSF is important. You can check out my article on U.S. water filter jugs here.
This article is just a list of water filter jugs available in the U.K. and whether they are reliable or not.
What Water Filter Jug Certifications Are Available In The U.K.?
NSF certification in the U.S. is a reliable source where consumers can see exactly which contaminants a particular water filter jug is certified to remove.
Although there are some NSF certified water filter jugs being sold in the U.K., our selection here is not nearly as extensive as the selection you'll find in the U.S. or Canada.
The best alternative we have to NSF certification in the UK is TÜV SÜD certification, which is a German certification that U.K. water filter companies use to certify their products. All TÜV SÜD certification shows however, is that the certified product is food grade and safe for use as a water filter. Unlike NSF, TÜV SÜD tells us nothing about how good a particular filter is at doing its job of filtering water. TÜV SÜD is not great, but better to go for a filter with TÜV SÜD certification than one without.
Here's a list of some of the more popular brands of water filter jugs that are available to us in the U.K.
Brita Maxtra+
Brita is the most popular water filter jug brand worldwide. If you read my U.S. based article on water filter jugs, you'll know that Brita's U.S. water filter jugs are one of my favourites. Their Brita Elite filter is NSF certified to remove the longest list of contaminants in all the water filter jugs I wrote about in that article.
Unfortunately however, Brita doesn't sell its Elite filter here in the U.K. The U.K. division of Brita only sells us the Brita Maxtra+ filter, and the Brita Classic filter, neither of which are NSF certified.
The positives of the Maxtra+ is that it's at least TÜV SÜD certified (I have verified this to be true), which tells us it is food grade and safe. It's also made in Germany. The Brita Classic filter cartridge is made in Germany, but not TÜV SÜD certified.
Brita being the industry leader in water filter jugs, has a reputation to uphold. I've heard great things about Brita from experts in the industry, they're apparently one of few water filter companies that drive research in the market. If there was any one company that I had to go on blind faith to believe that they filter my water properly, it would be Brita.
Without access to any reliable 3rd party certification on what contaminants the Brita Maxtra+ filter removes, I can only make a weak recommendation for this product.
You can get Brita water filter jugs here.
Aqua Optima
This is the first water filter jug I ever purchased. I bought it back in the day when I knew nothing of NSF certification and had no idea what a good water filter jug was. I merely bought it based on price. The aqua optima filters were not only cheaper than Brita filters, but they also lasted 2 months, while Brita's lasted for just 1 month. I can see that Aqua Optima is still a budget brand, offering 12 months worth of filters for just £29.99. But is that £29.99 money well spent? Or are you better off paying a little extra for the Brita?
Aqua Optima, owned by the Strix Group, is based in the U.K. They mention on their FAQ page that their filter is MADE IN CHINA!!!!! No way I'll be buying Aqua Optima anything again.
Seeing as it's made in China, I don't really care about their certifications any more, but in case you want to know, here goes. Surprisingly enough, Aqua Optima is NSF certified. It shows on the WQA (Water Quality Association) website, that they were certified in 2019 against NSF/ANSI standard 42 for chlorine, taste & odour, and zinc; and NSF/ANSI standard 53 for just cadmium, copper, and mercury. Not too impressive a list. Also, the one model number, BE32OU, that is certified on the WQA website, doesn't correspond to any of the model numbers that are currently on sale online or in physical stores.
I doubt their filter is very good at removing disinfection byproducts, since they say on their FAQ page about the disinfection byproduct, trihalomethanes, that “The media in our Evolve+ filter is known to reduce compounds such as trihalomethane, though we make no claims of it on our packaging.” If they make no claims about it, it's likely because they aren't able to prove that they can remove it.
They also state on their FAQ page that their filter doesn't remove fluoride. This is OK for me and for most people in the U.K., since most tap water providers in the U.K. don't artificially fluoridate their water.
Not impressed at all by Aqua Optima. You're much better off going for Amazon Basics (below), which is both cheaper and made in Europe, is TÜV SÜD certified, and generally just better than made in China Aqua Optima.
Aqua Optima is available here.
Amazon Basics
The U.K. version of the Amazon Basics water filter jug looks different from the U.S. and Canada version, in that it is designed to be able to fit the U.K.'s most popular filter, the Brita Maxtra+ (though Amazon Basics have their own filter too). They don't mention NSF certification, and the WQA website only lists the one U.S. based model on their website, so the U.K. version is not NSF certified.
They do however, claim to be TÜV SÜD certified, and I have verified this to be true. This only tells us that their filter is food grade and safe, it says nothing about how effective the filter is at removing contaminants. Another positive is that they're made in Switzerland and Germany.
Since Amazon is a reliable company, with a NSF certified, decent budget water filter jug in the U.S., if I had to recommend a budget U.K. water filter jug, it would be the Amazon Basics one.
You can get the Amazon Basics water filter jug here, and cartridges here.
Aquaphor
These guys pop up a few times on U.K. searches for water filter jugs, so I thought I'd mention them. Aquaphor is based in Estonia. I couldn't find any mention online – neither on their website, on Amazon, or anywhere else, of where their product is made. Seeing as it's so cheap, I'll assume it's made in China.
They brag about all the contaminants they remove, but make no mention of any form of certification, forget about NSF. Just in case, I searched the NSF, WQA, and IAPMO databases, and there is no mention of Aquaphor.
Avoid.
In case you are interested, you can get Aquaphor's water filter jugs here.
ZeroWater
Please read my U.S. water filter jug article for a better understanding of what I think of ZeroWater filter jugs.
In a nutshell, ZeroWater charges a premium for reducing total dissolved solids (TDS) in water, even though reducing TDS isn't necessary for improving your health. It's great at removing fluoride, but most tap water suppliers in the U.K. don't artificially fluoridate water, so we don't need fluoride removal.
The Modern Castle video I referenced in that U.S. article, found that the ZeroWater filter jug is not very good at removing disinfection byproducts, which is an important contaminant to remove, seeing as all tap water contains them and they are harmful to health.
The ZeroWater filter jug is NSF certified to only remove very few contaminants. Their filters are made for cheap in a 3rd world country (Mexico). There are a lot of complaints about their filters getting clogged up by all those dissolved solids they are removing, and lasting just 1 to 2 weeks.
Though ZeroWater is one of few NSF certified water filters you can get in the U.K., I personally will still not buy a ZeroWater filter jug.
In case you are interested in reducing TDS to zero, or removing fluoride from your water, you'll find various ZeroWater water filter jug options here.
Waterdrop
Please read my U.S. water filter jug article for a more detailed analysis of the Waterdrop filter jug.
Waterdrop was the #1 performer in the Modern Castle video, which I discussed in my U.S. water filter jug article. It was great at removing disinfection byproducts and heavy metals, and didn't add any extra contaminants to the water.
However, from my analylsis, I found that Waterdrop filters are made in China. They are NSF certified, but they are not certified to remove any health effect contaminants. Their NSF certification is less impressive than even ZeroWater's.
Despite being one of few NSF certified water filters you can get in the U.K., I personally would not buy a Waterdrop filter.
If you are OK with made in China water filters, and are impressed by the Modern Castle video results, then you'll find Waterdrop's various U.K. water filter jug and cartridge options here.
Epic Water
Please refer to my U.S. water filter jug article for a more detailed analysis of the Epic Water filter jug.
Epic water filter jugs are made in the U.S.A. They claim that their water filter jug, the Epic Nano, is NSF certified, but their is no record of it. I emailed them and they said that their certificate expired and they have not renewed it due to the high costs involved.
The Epic Nano filter jug is the only filter jug I know of that gets rid of bacteria and viruses. As a result, their filter jug is super expensive. However, since tap water in the U.K. is tightly regulated to be low enough in microbes to do no harm, there seems no point in paying extra for a filter jug that specialises in removing microbes.
The price you pay in the U.K. is exorbitant compared to what you would pay in the U.S. (since it's made in the U.S. and they have to factor in shipping and import taxes).
Being in the U.K., our options of good NSF certified filter jugs are very limited. Epic seem to me to be a reliable company, it seems unlikely that they would have made up their 2020 test results, which is available on their website. If you are OK to take them on their word (that their certificate is genuine), then you might consider getting their filter jug. At this high price though, it's worthwhile getting it tested yourself by sending a filtered water sample to an independent lab.
I personally don't see the point in paying such a high price to remove microbes when I don't need to remove microbes from my tap water. The Epic Nano removes other contaminants too of course, but I'd rather get a filter that removes those other contaminants for less money.
You'll find Epic Water's few water filter jug options here.
Aqua Crest
Aqua Crest is made by the same Chinese company that makes Waterdrop. This division of their company focuses more on inline under sink filters, so if you are OK with a Chinese filter, you are better off getting Waterdrop filters.
You'll find a selection of Aqua Crests' water filter jug cartridges here.
Other U.K. Available Water Filter Jugs
Phillips
Made in China, no claims of any certification, no mention on NSF/WQA/IAPMO websites. Avoid. Why would you get a water filter from a company that doesn't specialise in making water filters, when there are companies like Brita, who's sole focus is water filters?
Wilko
Made in who knows where but who cares. No claims of any certification, no mention on NSF/WQA/IAPMO websites. Avoid.
Verdict: What Water Filter Jug To Get If You Are In The U.K.?
The NSF certified water filter jugs available in the U.K. – Aqua Optima, ZeroWater, Waterdrop, Epic Water, and Aqua Crest – are not great options.
The only water filter jugs I can make an albeit weak recommendation for (due to lack of reliable 3rd party certification that shows what contaminants they remove) are Brita Maxtra+ and Amazon Basics, both of which are TÜV SÜD certified and made in Europe. I would recommend doing your own testing using a 3rd party lab to ensure they remove the contaminants you are concerned about in your tap water.
Another option is to import the best filters from the U.S., which in my opinion is the Brita Elite filter. Thankfully, you only have to import the jug once, and the filters are small and last an extraordinary 6 months (hence low and infrequent shipping fees)!
Over time though, with the shipping fees and import taxes you pay for these, you'll likely end up spending more than a one time cost for a 3rd party test on a U.K. based Brita Maxtra+ filter. If you do the test and find the Maxtra+ to perform well, then you'll save money in the long-run by buying the Maxtra+.
If I do my own 3rd party tests on U.K. water filter jugs in future, I'll see about posting my results on here.
Before you send for your water filter jug though, there's one last thing to consider…
Is The Plastic In A Water Filter Jug A Problem?
The vast majority of water filter jugs are made of PLASTIC! Studies show that plastic containers leach hormone disrupting chemicals into their contents – the likes of microplastics, phthalates, and bisphenol A (BPA). The soft plastics of water bottles are much worse than the hard plastics water filter jugs are made of, but they are made of plastic nonetheless. A lot of these water filter jugs claim that they are “BPA Free”, which means absolutely nothing, since studies show that even BPA free plastics leach oestrogenic chemicals into their contents.
Factors that increase how much of these contaminants leach into your water from the container, include long storage time, heat, and exposure to sunlight. Unlike with plastic bottled water, where you have no control over these factors, with a water filter jug, water will only be in contact with the plastic for a day or two at most, and you can keep the jug in a cool place away from sunlight. So I don't think it's a huge deal that these things are made of plastic, but I would still prefer to have one that was made of glass.
Unfortunately, like with filters, the U.K. has a poor selection of glass water filter jugs compared to the U.S. The only option I could find that has good reviews and is compatible with a good filter cartridge (the Brita Classic filter cartridge), is this PearlCo one.
Since there aren't any pre-verified great water filter jugs available to us poor folks in the U.K., and hardly any glass water filter jugs, you might want to think about…
What Are Some Other Water Purification Methods You Can Use?
You have other types of filters available too. I've noticed that in-line filters that you connect to your piping are generally better at filtration than filter jugs. They are also cheaper in the long-run, more convenient to use, and you don't have to worry about storing the water in a plastic jug. Reverse osmosis systems are better still.
There's also distillation, which is what I currently use and have been using for the last 4 years. The only reason I'm now on the lookout for a water filter jug, is because my wife and son don't like the taste of distilled water. I also live in rental accommodation, which prevents me from installing an in-line filter or a reverse osmosis system. I'll do a write-up on distillation in future (you can check out the water distillers I recommend here).
If you have anything to add about your experience with water filter jugs in the U.K., please chime in and let us know in the comments section below.