The knob gets stuck. Citations:
For a while it gave easy, clean tasting water, but it got harder and harder to turn the filter knob, and now, as you’ve read, its completely useless. Even worse since I had boughten their expensive replacement filter packs that will now be wasted.
The knob to switch between Brita water and tap water is also more difficult to turn than I think it should be. It feels awkward and I’m always afraid that just the movement of turning that knob is going to loosen the filtration unit even more.
I have a brita faucet filter. And the selector knob is getting harder to turn. If it gets any worse I will need to use a wrench.
I haven’t had too many problems with this system leaking or popping off, but the twist-knob on the side, which switches from unfiltered water to filtered drinking water, is terrible. It’s difficult to grasp when your hands are dry and strong, and if they are wet, or if you have even mild arthritis as I do, the tapered design is impossible. I have taken to keeping an old- fashioned bottle opener by the sink, fitting that over the knob and turning the handle in a wide arc, but this has now left little gouges in the soft plastic, so the knob is in worse shape than ever. I’m currently shopping for a replacement unit, and probably won’t buy Brita again.
The little turn knob was a little difficult for my girlfriend to switch, but I generally had no trouble.
Before it literally hurt my fingers trying to turn the tiny knob to turn the filter on and off – now it is a simple switch that moves like a breeze.
Seems the more expensive one has this fixed, so they know it’s a problem.
We’re on the second new filter housing since I moved in and every time the knob just gets impossible to turn. Looks gunky too. If they wanted you to use this and buy refills instead of new housings, they’d have installed a lever. It’s like trying to turn on an outside spigot with the handles removed. Just the little nut on a screw. Stupid.