Easy! It takes about 1 minute!

Your bluedot arrives 100% assembled and ready to hook up to your faucet's cold water line. You won’t need any tools, just your trusty hands and 60 seconds of your time. (See the step-by-step install video and PDF guide here.)

If you're super busy or a bit intimidated by your sink, ask a friend or a roommate to pop your bluedot in for you, or hire a handyman or TaskRabbiter for a few minutes of time.

A QUICK NOTE: if your cold water line was overtightened or hasn't been touched since 1927, then you *might* need a super basic, generic pair of pliers to loosen it up. ;) Very rarely, if your home is of historic build that has never been renovated, or if you live outside the USA, you may need an adapter. This happens less than 3% of the time, but if that happens to be you, we are here to help you and get your bluedot installed successfully. We've seen it all! Just drop us a message for fast, friendly assistance.

Yes!

bluedot was designed with renting, apartments, and dorm rooms in mind. We wanted it to work for everyone, since we didn't think it was fair that renting usually meant relying on pitchers or bottled water.

bluedot installs without any damage. There's no separate dispensers, no drilling, no tools. It attaches easily and quickly to any faucet's cold water line.

And when you move, take your bluedot with you!

As long as you have access to your cold water valve, your bluedot will work with your faucet.

The vast majority of people have access to their cold water valve under their sink because it's standard plumbing code, but sometimes in older homes or when something was done "not up to code" then it could be behind your wall and inaccessible. If you're not sure, send us a picture of where you want to install your bluedot and we will help you out!

bluedot also has a standard 3/8" fitting which works with most homes in the USA. If you have a larger pipe or you're outside the USA, you might need an adapter. We have 1/2" adapters available since that is usually the size homes need if 3/8" doesn't work out. If you have an unusual plumbing situation or line size, definitely message us and we will sort you out. :)

(1/2" adapters are available here.)

bluedot removes over 80 different contaminants that hang out in “acceptable” levels in our tap water and bottled water.

bluedot contains 100% pure activated carbon derived from coconut shell and avocado pit, instead of coal. It is triple-lab-tested for purity and has a minimum of 1200 iodine rating (we use a blend of 1200 to 1500+ rating). For reference, the vast majority of filters on the market use carbon that's rated 500-900, which is considered pretty decent for most uses, but "pretty decent" didn't cut it for us. We wanted bluedot to be a powerhouse, and according to our USA manufacturer, we're one of only two brands that are willing to pay the premium for this high-quality carbon.

Your bluedot will remove:

Chlorine, chloramine, lead (both soluble and particulate), THMs, PCBs, pesticides, PFOS, PFAS, BPA, herbicides, gasoline, benzene, dyes, microplastics, sediment, rust, cysts (Giardia and cryptosporidium), pharmaceuticals, fluoride (HFSA, FSA, and reduction in SF), and much more. (See bluedot's performance data sheet here.)

bluedot contains 100% pure activated carbon derived from coconut shell and avocado pit, instead of coal. It is triple-lab-tested for purity and rated at a minimum of 1200 iodine rating (we use a blend of 1200 to 1500+).

In comparison, the vast majority of filters on the market use carbon that's rated 500-900, which is considered pretty decent (or good on the higher end) for most uses, but we wanted bluedot to be a powerhouse...not "decent." According to our USA manufacturer, we're one of only two brands in the USA that are willing to pay the premium for this high-quality carbon.

Iodine rating, or iodine number, is a widely used parameter for activated carbon testing to assess adsorbent quality. The higher the number, the higher the carbon's adsorption ability and quality.

• No fillers

• No binders (tar/petroleum)

• No silver nitrate

• No glues

• No metal resins

Depending on your water and usage, you will replace your bluedot filter only once or twice per year.

Households with more people/pets/plant jungles (more water usage) or tap water with very high levels of contaminants may need to replace their bluedot filter twice per year, instead of once.

We have the ability to send you a new filter automatically so you don't have to remember to change it out once or twice per year. You can pause, reschedule, or cancel anytime within your account, too. Super convenient!

You'll replace bluedot's filter only once or twice per year. Filter replacements are $79, making bluedot less expensive than the most common filters and bottled water. We also have a 10% discount if you sign-up to have us auto-ship your filter once or twice per year.

Send your old filter back to us (for free!) for proper breakdown and recycling.

Shipping is free in the contiguous USA.

Our pricing reflects our USA-made materials and assembly, high-grade carbon, fair wages, filter recycling program, and donating bluedot filters to communities in need.

Yes! If you do not have local recycling or waste management that processes #5, we pay return shipping within the USA on your used bluedot filters so we can responsibly recycle them for you.

(We are working on offering our recycling program to our international bluedot owners.)

It's not our place to say whether you should or shouldn't have fluoride in your water – it's a personal choice. It is, however, our responsibility to share what bluedot's capabilities are.

bluedot removes HFSA/fluorosilicic acid forms of fluoride, which is the most common form of fluoride added to tap water (https://www.cdc.gov/fluoridation/engineering/wfadditives.htm#types). bluedot will also greatly reduce the sodium fluoride form, often to undetectable levels.

If you have growing children or are concerned about fluoride intake, the ADA recommends topical fluoride treatments (toothpaste and in-office visits). You can also use supplements or have a look at this list of foods that naturally contain fluoride: https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article-abstract/12/6/455/4787182?redirectedFrom=fulltext

Nope! Hard water is a term for naturally occurring minerals and salts (electrolytes) in water. They are beneficial to our health and keep water from becoming corrosive. They're also tasty, which is why many bottled water brands add them to the water (so it tastes better).

If you are concerned about actual sediment, silt, dirt, and rust, then don't worry – bluedot removes those.

Yes. bluedot removes *both* soluble and particulate lead. In comparison, most pitchers only remove particulate lead or only reduce soluble lead slightly for a limited amount of time. Lead leaches from pipes and delivery systems and dissolves in tap water, meaning it is soluble and requires higher quality filtration and/or more contact time to remove it for safe drinking.

The US federal lead limit is 15 parts per billion (ppb or ug/L). For comparison, Flint's water was testing at 100 ppb at one point, and now tests at 20 ppb. Newark currently shows levels around 55 ppb. bluedot was challenged at nearly 10 times federal limits, 2.5 times Newark's levels, and 7 times Flint's current levels. bluedot was challenged with 135 ppb of lead at a pH of 8.5 and removed a minimum of 90% and an average of 95.9% of the lead. At a challenge of 149 ppb and pH of 6.5, bluedot removed a minimum of 99% of the lead.

Even though taste is definitely a personal, subjective thing, we can say that every single person who has used bluedot prototypes and tried filtered bluedot water has commented that they love the taste.

We did an informal taste test at bkr's headquarters in San Francisco, and every person chose bluedot water as their favorite (they could choose between bluedot filtered tap, unfiltered tap, and distilled water).

If you like the taste of spring water or mineral water like Voss, Panna, Topo Chico, Mountain Valley, etc. then you'll like the taste of bluedot. If you have hard water, this means you'll have more minerals/salts (electrolytes) to make your water taste good – bluedot will leave those electrolytes in your water for the health/taste benefits, but it will remove the junk that makes your water taste bad.

No. bluedot is meant to handle flow rates up to 2.2 gallons per minute and pressure up to 75 psi. bluedot can also handle a pressure spike of up to 125 psi.

For reference, bathroom faucets have a typical flow rate anywhere between 0.5 and 1.5 gallons per minute (gpm). US federal regulations cap kitchen faucets at 2.2 gallons per minute. If your kitchen faucet is older, it may flow higher than 2.2 gpm, so in that case you might see a slight reduction in flow with your bluedot, down to regulation 2.2 gpm.

Typical water pressure is between 40 and 60 psi. bluedot's maximum pressure is 75 psi, well above typical water pressure in the majority of homes.

Absolutely.

From the very beginning, we built in a plan to make a hands-on impact in communities experiencing water crises. Flint, Newark and Pittsburgh are just three examples and where we'll be focusing on first. As of February 2020, we have partnered with Newark Water Coalition to bring bluedot filters to the community's most underserved families.

We will be sharing all our donations and community efforts once we launch and grow – and we can't wait! After all, it will be because of you that we will be able to make these significant changes for our communities and environment.

bluedot is made and assembled in California and Nevada from USA materials. The only exception is bluedot's outer colorful cover, which was designed in California and is made from 100% recycled post-consumer plastic bottles in Shenzhen, China. This outer cover protects bluedot's valve and connections, but doesn't come into any contact with your water. bluedot's filter, valve, connections, and tubes are all made in the USA.

Nope! bluedot's job is to remove all the junk you don't want and keep the healthy, tasty minerals. After that, you can use your bluedot water to make whatever you want! Tea, coffee, add some flavor drops...anything you'd like.