My Mom would boil water, leave to cool, to make it consumable… Kill germs? Tap water in Singapore is fit for direct consumption, but we still want to play safe. At my own home, I am using the Advante Water Filtration System H20 Plus, which has a big water tank on top, and both hot and cold water dispensing. For unknown reasons, the cooling function hasn’t been working, hence I am likely to dump it. This model has served me well over the years, with the ease of providing hot water for making formula milk, at relative low cost – only $698 and quarterly $32 for filter changing.
Looking for a replacement though, and other alternatives. Though Advante is good, it takes up space. And I am quite tired of the daily adding of water manually, quarterly cleaning of the tank (bottom of tank quite disgusting actually). Been googling – some counter-top options came up: brands like Novita, Philips, Livingcare, BluePro, 3M, Lelong (new brand?)… etc.. These boast of alkaline, reverse osmosis, x stages of purification, UV light for antibacteria, etc, with options of small tank or direct tube piping.
My considerations for the replacement are as follows: (1) Capital cost, (2) Recurrent costs, (3) Space, (4) Need for installation – I would prefer minimal installations, (5) Ease of use and maintenance. See, I just need basic filtration, but anything extra within the above considerations will just be good to haves.
Let’s see what I have shortlisted:
- LELONG SG LL520 at about $500, annual filter replacement at $140 (costs from Shopee). Note this is as bulky as Advante
- Novita Water Purifier NP330, at $699, annual filter replacement at $365 (costs from Novita site). Note there is no water temperature options
- Philips ADD6910, at $699, filter replacement at $199 for 2000L (costs from Shopee). Note there is no cold water
Not in consideration:
- Ruhens V Series, 3M Water Dispenser, Livingcare Jewel Series, Cosmo Quantum: all 3 are at least $1500, with filters at least $100. Price aside, they are all bulky.
- BluePro : only hot water dispensing, has negative review on YT, I am also conscious of the international delivery part, not sure of any local support
It is quite an irony, that after googling on-off for months, I may decide to opt for a water pitcher option instead. The Novita HydroPlus NP2290 is selling at $99 each, if I buy 2 pieces, one can be kept at room temperature and the other in the fridge. The filter costs $49 for 3 pieces (costs from Novita site). After all, I have a hot water flask which meets my need for hot water… Hmmm…
Planning for my Bidadari 3Gen BTO 