Brita 42632 Riviera Water Pitcher, Chrome

I have two Brita pitchers this one and older model that does not have filter indicator, is square shaped and has one piece lid as opposed to two. Both fit into the fridge nicely and filter tap water adequately to my taste. The only reason I like the old pitcher better is that the flap never gets stuck when you try to pour water out. With this pitcher it occasionally gets stuck and water spills all over the place. At first I though it was a matter of not cleaning the spout properly but it happens even after the pitcher has just been washed. The filter change indicator is nice little feature that reminds me to change the filters on both pitchers.

In case you are considering one of those in-fridge models I'd advice against it. I once had the unfortunate pleasure of cleaning one that had formed mold or bacteria or something inside and the corners and particularly the tap on the thing was very difficult to wash. Also as you are not supposed to pour hot water into it, I was rather skeptical if it was sanitary enough to use again. These pitchers I've washed successfully in the dishwasher even though I'm not sure if you are supposed to. I've put the reservoir and lids to the upper shelf and washed the pitchers themselves on the bottom with normal wash settings.

Wrote to the a couple of emails and never got an answer. Had no idea the product was on its way when suddenly I received a package.

The Brita Riviera Water Pitcher (chrome) looks nice, fits into the fridge nicely and holds enough water to fill 4+ very large glasses. The only critique is that there is no seal between the section that holds unfiltered water and the section that holds filtered water, so that when you pour while waiting for water to filter, the unfiltered water spills over into your filtered water.

another poster remarked about this as well, check the bottom of your pitcher, it maybe turning green with algae. We finally returned it in digust.

Other reviewers have said the same but I will reiterate:

--Filter timer is a joke. It only counts time, not gallons filtered. I don't need this because we already own several calendars.

--Sectional lid must have been designed by the marketing department. They fit together awkwardly and fall off easily. If you try to pour a class of water with even a little still left in the upper chamber, the whole assembly falls apart as you are pouring.

--Lower compartment easily contaminated by unfiltered water.

--My unit grows ALGAE in it after about 10 days. You would think that I must leave it on a sunny window sill, but I don't. It lives on the kitchen counter and I live in the Pacific Northwest where it is cloudy 9 months out of the year. So, anyway, the unit has to go in the dishwasher once a week (hand washing doesn't cut it....algae grows right back). Previous Brita (we've had many) and PUR pitchers did not have this problem.

As a consumer I want to ask: What is so friggin hard about designing a decent water pitcher for cripes sake?!!!

Generally this pitcher demonstrates what is wrong with so many companies that make consumer products. They pay damn little attention to engineering a good product and put all their effort into giving it "purchase appeal" and marketing it.

Try something else.