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I’ve been using the Brita Hub countertop water filter since March 2023 and it still works great nearing 3 years later. I got the 12-cup version, but there is also a 9-cup (they both use the same replacement filter). Below you will find my two YouTube videos about this filter and also my written review. Please note this is a layperson’s perspective and use of this filter system; I am not a scientist or water quality expert. I hope this will be helpful for you to see how it works and its everyday use. *As an Amazon Associate, I may earn a small commission on affiliate link purchases on this page. I apologize if my voice is too quiet: I was still learning about sound and microphones when making videos. I’ll have to do another update video when I have time with a better microphone. After washing the reservoir and wiping the unit off, it only takes a few minutes to set this up. It includes a filter. To install it, just pop the side panel open and you’ll see where the filter goes in. Place your hand on top of the unit to steady it and firmly press the filter up in place until you hear it click. Then snap the panel back in place.
Then you can plug it in. The cord is long. It was difficult to measure with the kinks, but it’s about 60 inches long. Whenever installing a new filter, you have to flush it twice: fill the reservoir and then filter all the water out of the reservoir. Repeat once more. Then you’re all set. You can press and hold the middle button to dispense water or click the 12 oz or 20 oz buttons to dispense that specific amount of water (click the middle button if you want to stop the 12 or 20 oz. auto fill). When dispensing water, the motor is a bit noisy. It’s not super loud, but if someone was sleeping, it might disturb them. Water is not chilled in this unit. The Filter light will turn red when 120 gallons of water have been filtered. The light turns orange/yellow prior to that to let you know it’s time to order a new filter. If the light doesn’t automatically reset after changing the filter, press and hold the 12 oz. and 20 oz. buttons together at the same time when the unit is plugged in. In the included manual, it shows how to move the reservoir section to the back, but I like it on the side as it is. Brita states on their website the filter, housing, etc. are all BPA free. It is certified to reduce 70+ contaminants including chlorine, lead, and PFOA/PFOS. For more details, visit brita.com/performance-data to review the Performance Data Sheet. Here is a summary: Filter performance may vary based on local water conditions, but these are the test results according to NSF/ANSI 42, 401 and 53. Percentage shown after each substance is the amount each substance was reduced. chloramine1: 96.7% chlorine: 98.7% particulate reduction (class I): 99.9% atenolol: 96.4% bisphenol A: 94.6% carbamazepine: 97.5% DEET (diethyltoluamide): 96.4% estrone: 96.4% ibuprofen: 95.5% linuron: 94.8% meprobamate: 96.2% metolachlor: 96.5% naproxen: 95.9% nonylphenol: 91.9% phenytoin: 96.5% TCEP (tris(2-chloroethyl)phosphate): 96.3% TCPP (tris(1-chloro-2-propyl)phosphate): 92.2% trimethoprim: 97.1% microplastics, particles 0.5 to <1 μm: 99.9% lead: 99.8% mercury: 96.4% PFOA: 99.5% PFOS: 98.3% VOCs: 95-99% haloacetonitriles: 98% haloketones: 96-99% trihalomethanes: 95-99% I was using a pitcher filter before getting this unit, and this is a lot easier and quicker. Also, since it holds 12 cups of water; that means less refilling. It is all plastic, but so was my pitcher. Someday I’d like to get away from plastic, but at least Brita uses the safest plastics. Quick tips: sometimes when the filter system is bumped against on the countertop, the lights will flash on the front. I found out that the filter must have been jostled a little loose, as all I had to do was unplug the system and push the filter back up. Also, be sure the water reservoir is level. If it’s not, that can cause leakage. To reset the filter sensor after installing a new filter, press and hold the 12 Oz. And 20 Oz. buttons together at the samw time while the system is plugged in.
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5/16/2023 Helpful Accessories to Use with iPhone: Wireless Keyboard, Mouse, Adapters for USB Flash Drive, Digital Camera, Headphones, and MP3 Player. Using an iPhone Like a Laptop! Wireless Printing Too!Read Now Here is some of the tech I’ll be sharing about to use with an iPhone. I also use a wireless printer that I will talk about towards the end of this blog post, and some headphones. As an Amazon Associate, I may earn a small commission on qualifying purchases through links on my blog. Thank you for your support! Amazon and each company name I mention are trademarks of each respective company. I have found several useful accessories to use my iPhone (and iPad) like a laptop: two different wireless keyboards and mice and an adapter that enables me to access my USB flash drives, digital cameras, and MP3 players on my iPhone. I also print from my iPhone using a wireless printer. Below you will find photos I’ve taken of the products while using them and also links to the products on Amazon, which is where I bought them. It is mid-2023 (updated 2025: still using iPhone 8 and these accessories, but the iPhone doesn’t get updates anymore). All these products are supposed to work on other models as well. All these items work great with my iPhone and iPad (and some are universal to work with Android and laptops as well), but I can make no guarantees that they will work with yours since there are so many variables with different phone models. That is why I like buying on Amazon: they have a quick and simple return policy if something doesn’t work. So, I’m only sharing from my experience: try these items if you want! I don’t make the products, I just use them.  Shown here is the power bank plugged into my phone charging it while I use it. So handy to have a small portable power bank.  This pocket sized power bank is perfect for charging my iPhone on the go. I get 2-3 charges from it. Additionally, I can still use the phone while it’s charging. I like that I can fit this power bank/charger right in my purse. I use this power bank often to charge my phone. It’s holding up great. The little plastic cap that covers the tip is connected to the power bank with a strip of plastic. The strip disconnects sometimes from the power bank when I pop the cap off, but it’s easy to poke the plastic piece back in place. It’s only there to keep the cap from getting lost; it doesn’t affect the power bank itself.  This power bank/charger comes with a USB charging cord. Have to charge up your power bank so you can charge your phone!  This keyboard is thin, has almost flat keys, and isn’t full size. It connects easily with Bluetooth to the iPhone…it’s a universal keyboard so it should also connect to Android via Bluetooth.  The keyboard comes with a USB cord to charge its battery with. The battery lasts a long time on each charge.  Notice the compact size of this slimline keyboard compared to my laptop. If you want a full-size keyboard, see the next one I talk about further down in this blog post.  This keyboard has backlighting that you can turn on and off.  By tapping a button, you can change the colors of the backlighting. It makes typing more fun!  I also use this keyboard with my iPad. Simple to connect with Bluetooth to a variety of devices.  This keyboard and mouse connect wirelessly with the included USB receiver. With an adapter (see below), I can also use them with my iPhone. This keyboard and mouse each use two AAA batteries. The keyboard has full size keys that are raised; just like an old desktop computer! It reminds me of typing on my old Gateway 2000, which was the first computer I ever had and the computer on which I learned typing with the Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing program. Good times! For people today who are used to flat, slimline keys, they may not enjoy these “old-fashioned” keys. I feel rather nostalgic about it and prefer typing on this style of keyboard. It’s much easier to type without looking at the keyboard, because the keys are defined and separate from each other, which makes it easier for the fingers to not slip over on the wrong keys.  Here is my setup for using my iPhone like a computer: a full size keyboard and mouse, mousepad, and the adapter to connect the wireless USB receiver to the phone. All products linked below. This is the laptop desk I’ve been using since August 2022. At the time of this writing, it is currently not in stock on Amazon. However, I’ve linked it anyway, as Amazon shows similar ones.  This trackball mouse connects via Bluetooth and is also supposed to be universal. I am using it with my iPhone. This is the printer that I use to print wirelessly from my iPhone. It works great for printing shipping labels and documents. It also copies and scans. *HP Deskjet Wireless Printer* TIP: When setting up the printer, HP really pushes joining their Instant Ink program. I wouldn’t recommend it, unless you leave your printer connected to WIFI all the time. They require your printer being connected to the internet literally 24/7 to stay in the program. I don’t leave my printer on all the time, so I had to leave the program. No big deal though; I just buy my ink on Amazon.  This awesome adapter made it possible to connect my USB flash drives to the phone to access the videos, photos, and documents on them to transfer to my phone—or to transfer files from my phone to the flash drive. Simply plug the USB flash drive into the “Camera” port on the adapter. Plug the adapter into the phone and open the “Files” app on the phone. Tap the “Browse” from the app and then you’ll see the USB drive in the list. Tap on it and you can view and transfer files. This adapter is probably the most versatile and handy tool I’ve found for iPhone: I can put memory cards in it from my digital cameras, put the USB receiver in it like I mentioned earlier for the keyboard and mouse, access my USB flash drives with it, and transfer MP3 music to and from my MP3 player with it. The “Camera” port on it is what I use for all USB stuff. The memory card slot is what I use for my memory cards, of course. It has two ports for them: a regular size and micro size. It also has a lightning port, so if you need to charge your phone while using the adapter you can just plug in there.  I’ve transferred music to and from several models of MP3 player to my iPhone. Some will connect with the USB cord through the “Camera” slot on the adapter. Others only connect with the memory card.  Go to “Files” app after connecting the MP3 player to the iPhone with the adapter—whether you use the USB cord or the memory card, the transfer steps are the same.  Then go to “Browse” and, in this case, the MP3 player is listed as NO NAME. Tap on that.  You can just tap the item you want if you only want to transfer one at a time, but to transfer multiple at once: tap the three dots in the corner and then tap Select. You can then select multiple items.  You can then Select, Copy, and Paste songs to a folder.  Tap the Share button (box with arrow pointing up) and then you can Save the items you selected or Copy them to Paste: depending on what devices you are using.  With some digital cameras, you can just open the Photos app after connecting the camera and tap on Import, instead of the Files app method. Here is the MP3 player on Amazon that is featured in the above photos. It is the MP3 player I’ve been using for awhile now. It has a built-in speaker or you can use ear buds/headphones. This set of two headphone adapters is handy for connecting 3.5mm jack headphones to iPhones with lightning port. I use these a lot as I have various headphones and earbuds around the house that have the 3.5mm jack. I like this set of two so that I can have an adapter in a couple difference places for quick access. Headphones work for listening to music, watching videos, and filming videos (and doing voiceovers), but I have still not found any non-Bluetooth headphones or earbuds that work with phone calls or FaceTime on iPhones! I don’t like using Bluetooth for headphones or ear pieces, as oddly enough it makes me dizzy. But, as far as I know there aren’t any non-Bluetooth wired headphones/earbuds that work on phone calls with iPhone. UPDATED: I did finally find some in 2024, but they are now currently unavailable. Here’s the link to them on Amazon anyway: Wired Ear Buds I use these headphones for listening to music and for recording sound on videos. I am pleased with them. I just plug them into the previously mentioned headphone adapters and then plug the adapter into the iPhone. That’s it, extremely easy!  Here I’ve got the headphone adapter connected to my headphones, ready to plug into my iPhone. Just plug in and it’s ready to use for listening to music/videos and recording. Not for phone calls or FaceTime though. Why is it like that with iPhones!?  This is the charging cord I’ve been using lately for my iPhone. It comes in a set of two, which is handy to have an extra. It reminds me of the old spiral phone cords, except it doesn’t tangle like those did! This is another adapter for iPhone (and iPad) that connects them to a TV via HDMI cord. It also has a lightning port, so that you can charge your device at the same time. I’ve connected both my iPhone and iPad to my TV with this and an HDMI cord to watch YouTube. Sometimes it takes a few moments to connect and other times right away, but for the price, it’s been a great deal.  An adapter to connect iPhone and iPad to TV via an HDMI cord, and has a port for charging the phone as well. That way you can still charge the phone while the adapter is plugged in. The HDMI cord I’ve been using was a great price and it’s lasting well. I use it to connect my laptop to the TV sometimes too.
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