Filter kitchen tap for coffee machine?

cybervic

Does any have a kitchen tap with filter function? Does it improve the water taste (no/less chlorine taste) and reduce limescale thus won't clog up the inside of a bean-to-cup coffee machine?

The coffee machine at work had to be replaced every 1 or 2 year despite being cleaned and descaled regularly. I've been using 2 Brita jugs to double filter the water at home, not only does the water tastes great the coffee machine has no limescale too. The cost is a bit high and it's a hassle filtering twice though.

jk0

You can get a Brita tap & filter plumbed in. Presumably that would do the same job?

Sky_

Yes, I have a 4-in-1 boiling water tap which also provides cold filtered water. I use the filtered water for the iron and bean to cup machine (among other things) and neither of them seem to get limescale.



It's pricey to run though as it needs a new £40 filter every 6 months--we tried cheaper generic filters, but we got limescale with them so decided that the risk of breaking an expensive tap wasn't worth saving £40 or so a year.

coffeehound

Almost all the generic drinking water tap filters are just carbon block or activated charcoal granules to remove taste and odour. They don't reduce hardness / limescale.

As above, Brita filters do reduce hardness. Another option is to buy cheap mineral water with about 100mg/litre total dry residue. Much less than this and your coffee will lose flavour.

cybervic

Thanks for the the info. £40 Brita filter is quite pricy, Is there not any generic filter cartridge that can reduce limescale?.

Can I mix match tap and filter system? i.e., use other brand of kitchen tap (I like a pull out tap too) and combine with other filter under the sink?

knightstyle

We fitted a Brita 3 way tap several years ago and love it. All our drinking water comes from the filter outlet. Yes at £40 the filters are expensive but last a year for our family of 4 using it.

Nick_C

I have a water softener, and a reverse osmosis and charcoal filter on the drinking water tap in the kitchen. The water is great. But my espresso machine still insists on me running a descaling operation every 6 weeks or so. I find domestic espresso machines used about 6 times a day fail after 2or 3 years. That's why I would never recommend a bean to cup machine, or an integrated machine. My grinder is 12 years old and going strong.