Pentair Pentek CBC-20BB Big Blue Carbon Water Filter, 20-Inch, Whole House Carbon Block Replacement Cartridge with Bonded Powdered Activated Carbon (PAC) Filter, 20" x 4.5", 0.5 Micron

Why did you pick this product vs others?:This is a direct brand replacement. I believe it is the best value filter you can get. It replaced our last filter we have been using for a year, way beyond it's volume and expiration period and still removes most of that reservoir water smell from the tap.This replacement along with a Brita filter pitcher for a fringe improvement gives us near snow melt well water quality you get in the high mountains in the spring. Our tap water isn't anywhere near the hard water you get from a southern California tap but has a bit of lake water smell, occasional mold fungus that immediately starts growing on the toilet bowl with a lot of new PVC pipe leaching into it, while on it's way here. Following any fungus blasts some kind of fungicide usually follows.Needless to say, a chemical reducing .5 micron biological safe water filter is a must here.This is the one that has led the pack for us.

I got this to replace an old 7-stage cartridge for my under-sink filter. While it would take a miracle to make my municipal river-water tap water taste great, this filter does a fine job of making it drinkable and refreshing.My house still has some galvanized pipes that are rusty and impart noticeable odor and taste in my water. This filter does an effective job at removing this. Also my city makes the water smell like a swimming pool. That smell is 100% gone now.I bought this one over similarly-priced granulated carbon filters at Lowes for that extra level of protection offered by block carbon. It is built very sturdily and has a good weight to it. The micron filter on the outside feels high quality.Carbon block is a very basic but effective filtering method that won't remove everything but does a good job of general improvements to municipal crap water. I would recommend if you're on a budget and want to upgrade from Brita filters or need to swap out an old granulated carbon filter. I feel like the multi-stage filters do a better job and get out more metals and chemicals, but they cost 4x more than carbon and don't last long. I'm comfortable enough with this filter as a safety measure for better water.

This filter works. It filters water. It fits in my water filter.Needs to be changed every month, but that is my experience. We have these on auto-renew, so they send us new ones all the time.Good filter. Clean water.

Made in China. Not certified by NSF, only “independently certified”

Good

Fits well works well. But with all carbon block filters don't forget to put a silver dime down the center before installation. Silver is a natural antibacterial substance. And after the water goes through the filter and the chlorine is removed it's always nice to have the silver there. But that's just my opinion.

We purchased this undersink cartridge at least twice, but the one we installed on 1-20-25 is already totally clogged! Within 2 months! 20,000 gallons? We don't even use this water for drinking, cooking (have a well for that). So there is no way we have ran anywhere close to 20,000 gallons through it. MOF, we haven't used 20K in total , including 2 showers, commodes, hot water, outside water hoses, dishwasher, clothes washer. Naturally, no recourse with the seller.......... UPDATE!! Amazon made it good! That's why Amazon is the best... Thank you.

I love these filters. I have a three stage setup in my RV. I use a 5 micron then a 1 micron and then this carbon block. The water tastes great or actually it doesn't taste like mud or whatever local nasty stuff is in the water. The water doesn't taste like like a high end battled water because they add salts for flavor. This thing removes almost all flavor. Its just plain clean water. I do get a pressure drop after all three filters but this carbon filter preforms better than any others I've tried. My shower isnt getting tons of water deposit anymore. I filled two bowls with water one filtered from my three stage and one unfiltered, covered them with paper towel and let them evaporate. The filtered bowl still had deposits but it was small and minimal, more like a film of dust at the bottom. The unfiltered had yellow/tan crystals that formed in the bottom. It looked like beach sand. If you wanted to try this but fast just boil 1/2 a cup of water in a pan until its all gone. Just make sure to watch it and dont let your pan burn!Some cites have deep wells where they get the water but its not always clean and sometimes doesn't pass regulations. Every once in a while when I change my filters I have chunks of nasty stuck to my first stage filter. sometimes it looks like metal and other times it looks like ectoplasmic residue from ghost busters. I could never drink city/well water. Some day I hope to setup a Reverse Osmosis so I can have clean water from almost any source. I love the water in Colorado but even that has salmon spawn in it :)After about 3-4 months I have to change my filters because they are clogged. My first two stages are heavy as rocks.