Review: Santevia Countertop Gravity Water System with Fluoride Filter
Written by: Gene Fitzgerald // Expert Fact-Checking: Buddhini Dolapihilla, MBSS // Last Updated: Mar 11, 2024
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The Santevia Countertop Gravity Water System with Fluoride Filter is an affordable 5-stage filtration unit that can easily catch the eye of someone looking for a reliable solution for drinking water treatment. Is it worth the money though?
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Santevia Countertop Gravity Water System with Fluoride Filter |
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| Price: | $$ |
| Filter Process: | Ceramic Filtration, AA, KDF, GAC, Remineralization |
| Filter Life: | 4 Months to 2 Years |
| Flow Rate: | Not Specified |
| Annual Cost: | ~$200 |
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Overall Rating: 4.0/5.0 ⓘRating based on filtration performance, filter life, price and yearly cost, NSF testing/certification, customer support, product warranty, our testing/experience, user feedback, and other factors.
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Santevia Countertop Gravity Water System with Fluoride Filter – All Specs
- Last Price: $219.99
- Annual Maintenance Cost: ~$200
- Filter Media/Process: Ceramic Filtration, AA, KDF, GAC, Remineralization
- Filter Stages: 5
- Filtering Capacity: 4 Months to 2 Years
- WxHxD: 12″x24″x12″
- Tank: 2.6 gal
- Weight: 8.25 lb.
- NSF Testing: Standards 42 , 53, 401
- Warranty: 90 Days
Santevia Countertop Gravity Water System – Key Features
The Santevia Countertop Gravity Water System with Fluoride Filter doesn’t just filter water for impurities, it also adds healthy minerals which can improve your nutritional balance. It comes with 5 stages of filtration:
- 3-micron ceramic pre-filter: filters rust, sediment, and microplastics.
- Activated alumina: filters fluoride.
- KDF: reduces water-soluble heavy metals, chlorine, and prevents bacterial growth.
- Granular activated carbon: filters chlorine, organic chemicals, and improves taste and smell of water.
- Remineralization: uses mineral stones and balls to add essential minerals, as well as increase the alkalinity and pH of water, raising pH by up to 2 points.
The mineral stones and balls specifically release calcium, magnesium, potassium, as well as other trace minerals.
The system comes with testing against 3 NSF standards (42, 53, and 401) with more than 80 contaminants tested for effective reduction – more on that below. All in all, you can expect the Santevia to remove many if not most harmful contaminants from your drinking water as well as enrich it with essential minerals that also improve water taste.
What’s more, the system design allows for easy pouring, and the whole model is made of BPA and BPS-free materials. A 2.6-gallon tank stores water for later use.
Filter life is 4 months (317 gallons) to 2 years. We estimate $200 in annual filter replacement cost.
Side note: You can also purchase a version without activated alumina, which means that it won’t reduce fluoride. Instead, it seems like additional GAC is used.
Santevia Water Filter Pros
- Acceptable upfront price.
- Filters water + adds minerals.
- NSF-tested for contaminant reduction.
- Large storage tank.
What Contaminants Are Being Removed?
We have testing for NSF standards 42, 53, and 401, and the company has provided the following contaminant reduction rates:
- More than 60 VOCs: 99.9%
- Disinfection byproducts: 99.9%
- Chlorine: 99.9%
- Chloramine: 99%
- Fluoride: 99.5%
- Lead: 99.9%
- Cadmium: 99.9%
- Mercury: 99.9%
- Arsenic: 99.9%
- Chromium-6: 98.4%
- PFOA/PFOS: 99.9%
- Iron: 99%
- Copper: 99%
- Manganese: 99%
- Perchlorate: 87.4%
The Santevia Countertop Gravity Water System – learn more on Santevia.com
Installation
Before using the filter, you’ll need to assemble it which is child’s play. Here is a quick rundown of the process:
Please consider these instructions as a general guideline. Always make sure to check and follow your user manual before getting started.
- Insert tap stem in hole in lower tank, using a washer on each side.
- Tighten the magnetic nut.
- Insert lower tank into the base.
- Place middle ring onto the lower tank.
- Screw the fluoride filter into the cartridge connector, and place it in the middle ring.
- Remove the nut and one washer from the ceramic pre-filter.
- Run the stem through the hole of the upper tank.
- Place the remaining washer on the stem, followed by the pre-filler nut.
- Tighten the nut.
- Condition the system by running and discarding two upper tanks of water.
- Place mineral stones in the lower tank.
Video
The Package (Parts)
- Lid
- Ceramic Pre-filter
- Silicone Washer
- Silicone Washer
- Upper Tank
- Pre-filter Nut
- Cartridge Connector
- Fluoride Filter
- Middle Ring
- Mineral Stones
- Lower Tank
Maintenance
Other than replacing the filters, the system requires a bit of additional maintenance.
- Whenever you’re replacing filters, you should take the opportunity to clean the system using a solution made of 5 mL unscented chlorine bleach with 1 L of water. The ceramic pre-filter needs to be soaked in cool tap water before use – don’t use any soap or other cleaning solutions!
- Use the included grey sponge to scrub the ceramic filter on a weekly basis, or as often as it gets dirty. Only use water and don’t add any soap.
- Every 4 months, you should replace the fluoride filter.
- Every 6 months, you should drain and clean the full system, and replace the 5-stage filter. At the same time, take out the mineral stones, and boil them in a pot of water for at least 1 minute, then drain them and lay them out on a clean paper towel to cool. Disassemble and clean the tap.
- Every 12 months, you should replace the ceramic pre-filter, while also doing everything from the previous paragraph.
- Every 2 years, you should replace the mineral stones.
All in all, maintenance will cost you around $200 per year, which isn’t cheap compared to other similar models.
Manual
Here is a link to the official manual:
NSF and Other Certifications
There are no NSF official certifications for this product – though it has been tested against NSF standards 42, 53, and 401.
Earlier Product Versions
To our knowledge, there are no earlier product versions.
Santevia Filter Cons
- Very slow operation, due to the long-contact filtration mode. This technique drips water slowly through the system, ensuring that the middle filter has a long period of contact with water. While this does produce great contaminant reduction rates, it also means that water takes 2-4 hours to pass from the upper tank to the lower tank. The manufacturer recommends filling the upper tank at night to ensure that the lower tank will be available in the morning, but that’s not as convenient as some other systems on the market.
- No official NSF certifications.
- Have to be careful when filling the tank – you can’t fill the upper tank if the lower tank is full, as this will cause an overflow.
- Very low reduction rates for nitrite/nitrate at 34.5%/37.6%, as well as sulfate at 7.8% – though it’s still nice that the company has provided these rates.
- Short 90-day warranty (though you get a 30-day return policy).
- Annual maintenance cost of around $200, much more than we would have expected.
- Requires additional maintenance work.
Santevia Countertop Gravity Water System Review: Our Verdict + Best for
All in all, the Santevia Countertop Gravity Water System with Fluoride Filter is not a bad product by itself, but quite expensive, and requires extra maintenance compared to other similar models. All things considered, we give this one 4 out of 5 stars.
Our Rating in Detail:
- Filtration Performance: 4.0/5.0
- Filter Capacity (Life): 4.0/5.0
- Purchase Price: 4.5/5.0
- Annual Cost: 4.0/5.0
- Overall: 4.0/5.0
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This completes our review of the Santevia Countertop Gravity Water System with Fluoride Filter. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to leave a comment below!
About the Author Gene Fitzgerald
Information provided on BOS is for educational purposes only. The products and services we review may not be right for your individual circumstances.
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