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I have been smelling something fishy for a few months. The smell started out smelling like a fish bowl, then rotted fish.

By the time I finally realized that it was coming from my Zero Water filter, I had Giardiasis!! The more my stomach ached, the more water I drank, making it worse. I pulled the filter out and saw mold growing inside the filter. And I even keep the water in the refrigerator!

I have had Giardiasis for over two weeks now and since I don't have health insurance, I had to pay for the trip to urgent care and the prescription for Flagyl!

I'm still sick with bloating, nausea, and diarrhea. I want compensation for this product from the company!

Monetary Loss: $150.

Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico

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Guest

The OP is an ignoramus. They didn't even read the directions to the product, otherwise, they would have known to change the filter frequently.

How could one let their filter get so dirty that it grew MOLD in it? Particularly letting it go that long before noticing due to the smell or taste. OP is mentally unfit to drink water or own a water filter, apparently. What a ridiculous story and complaint.

Ignore this post and buy the filter.

It is wonderful and saves us tons of money from buying jugs of water. Just be sure to follow the directions and change out the filter every few weeks or so.

Guest

I decided to look up their patents to see if the fishy smell is by design. Sure enough, the filter contains cationic and anionic resins.

Look up anionic resins and you'll find this: "Anion resins have a distinct odor, especially SBA resins in the hydroxide form. High pH increases the degradation of SBA resins and, therefore, increases its odor.

The degradation product responsible for the odor off of a Type I SBA resin is amine and has a strong fishy smell." So, there you go, as part of planned obsolescence to force you to replace the filter they put in resins that gradually smell fishy when exposed to the acidity of water. The more acidic, the faster it happens.

Shaylene Uqf
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-2011404

That's exactly correct. 100% spot on. Zero Water is a scam.

Guest

Yeah, maybe change your filter at the recommended times instead of leaving it in there so long that it grows MOLD?... How moronic!

I guess some people are too "smart" to read the instruction & when the product doesn't work properly as a result of not following the instructions/guidelines properly, they then blame that product instead of their own 'Operator Error', ignorance & stupidity! Sorry to hear you got sick & all, BUT seems it was of your own failure to follow directions

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1840463

You're a little harsh.I, too, have occasionally had this fishy smell. Surprisingly, the water still tested "000".

It may have more to do with the water source than the filter. I clean the plastic parts every time I change my filter.

Once I cleaned the pitcher and replaced the filter (even though it still registered zero), the water was fine. I reported this to the company.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1840463

i agree with this comment

Maricarmen Tcs
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1840463

I have followed all directions meticulously, changed the filters immediately when the supplied meter reads 006, and routinely clean all parts of the ZeroWater dispenser. My tap water has no fishy odor.

But after 3 weeks of use of my current filter my dispenser stinks as if something died. It is getting worse daily. I believe my experience is shared by many users of ZeroWater dispensers and filters according to what they have posted online. Your comments using words like ignorance and stupidity are not appropriate or helpful.

Calling ZeroWater offers no solution. They claim they have never heard of this problem before. I asked them twice about this.

They said they will send me a new dispenser. When I asked how this would help they had no response.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Maricarmen Tcs

I had exactly the same experience, Maricarmen Tcs

Shaylene Uqf
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1840463

That's exactly the type of rude response that makes people like you sound as unintelligent as you truly are. You see, the problem isn't users being "moronic", "ignorant" "stupid" and it also isn't due to " operator error" or "failure to follow instructions " as you said.

The problem is this, Zero water sells their product to first time buyers that read and buy into the zero TDS and filtration information provided. What Zero Water doesn't say until after one buys the system is this. Most city water or well water in the Midwest have a level of iron and TDS in the range of 150 - 280ppm. Which, is perfectly fine to drink.

But, we all want better water if possible. So, the first 2 gallons it's great 0 TDS the next 2 gallons it's up to 10TDS the next 1 gallon it's up to 50 - 90 TDS. And you get the ever common and designed into by Zero Water disgusting fish smell. Even though it's still better than the acceptable well water TDS level.

This is 100% by design. Designed so consumers spend $10 + per cartridge! A cartridge that only lasts for 1 week! At the most.

As another example, at my Florida home a Zero Water last 3 days! That's $80 a month in filters!

Zero Water is a miserable designed filter that works fantastic for 1,2 maybe 3 gallons. Zero Water is a Scam.

Veleta Nyf

I have the same problem, I witch I would research before but we thought it was a cross contamination.We can't believe they have a problem like that and survive in the market.We were very excited about the product.Big desulution.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Veleta Nyf

My filter has only been in for a WEEK and smells like fish. The water registers at 312 TDS.

The ZERO Water is a sham product. Absolutely useless.

Guest

JUST GOT NEW FILTERS AND "SAME" REALLY BAD "DEAD---FISH---SMELL--AND TASTE---BLAH.... CALL COMPANY AND TELL YOUR STATE GOVERNMENT..

Guest

I have just destroyed a perfectly good kettle after a fish smell. I was told it was an electrical fault.

re filling the new kettle the same smell started after two days. did not link it with the zero filter purchased a month before.

Guest

I found this after a google search for smelly Zero water. My Zero water smelled like cat *** It was the strongest fishy/ammonia/chemical smell.

It was horrid. I cannot imagine what I drank until I realized it was the Zero Water. This filter was only a couple of weeks old.

I feel like I was poisoned and can't imagine how much worse this water was than my tap water. Disgusting!

Guest

I bought Zerowater a couple of months ago and also started getting a fishy smell. At first I thought it was the kettle but now find its from the filtered water.

I live in the U.K. and the filter doesnโ€™t last 3 weeks.

Had high hopes for Zerowater but will dispose of it and go back to a Brita. Now I realise why we were having stomach aches and feeling sick.

Guest

Have you ever cleaned the pitcher? Thatโ€™s usually where the problem is.Water will get funky sitting in pitch after a while.i drain and clean mine every week

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1567181

I drained, cleaned with alcohol solution, and fully dried mine many times and the smell still returned after a day or two each time.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1716212

Yeah, but did you also change the filter at that point? If you clean it out appropriately and put in a new filter, you will have no issues.

If you do, then you are sadly just not intelligent enough to use a pitcher with a water filter. It's super simple. I'm actually blown away by the number of ignorant comments here.

I hope these people don't also have driver's licenses. God help us if they do

Guest

I have noticed the fishy smell before and used the tester to check and it was time to change the filter. This latest filter was changed 2 weeks ago and I started noticing the smell.

Unfiltered water is reading 107, filtered is reading 0, but still stinks. I fill the pitcher, on average, twice a day...

with 100-110 source water readings, the filter should last much longer than 2 weeks. It's disappointing, if the trend continues, I also will be finding a new system.

Guest

Giardiasis is caused by Giardia lamblia, which is from animal and human *** and could not POSSIBLY be related to your ZeroWater filter. https://www.healthline.com/health/giardiasis The fishy smell is trimethylamine, a byproduct of the ion exchange resin, which also is an https://dowac.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/4694/~/dow-ion-exchange-resins---anion-resins---odor The device measuring the water for ZeroWater measures in "ppm" or "Parts Per Million." https://www.zerowater.com/resources/tds-meter-instructions.pdf Our noses can detect trimethylamine between 0.3 and 0.8 parts per billion, which is 0.0008 ppm, so we can smell it LONG before the device detects it. https://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/search/a?dbs+hsdb:@term+@DOCNO+808 That smell just means it's time to change your filter.

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