For years, I've been relying on my Keurig to brew a cup of coffee whenever I feel too indolent or don't have enough guests to justify making a full pot with my drip coffee maker. I recently discovered a fantastic feature of the Keurig – a filter that you can place in the water reservoir to purify the water used to prepare beverages.
But do you need a water filter for a Keurig? Does it improve the coffee or can I just continue to use unfiltered tap water in my Keurig?
Water filters can remove minerals and chemicals from tap water such as chlorine and sulfur to improve the taste of drinks made in a Keurig. But they are not necessary, especially if you are satisfied with the taste of your tap water.
In this article, I’ll talk about why you may want to, but don’t have to, use a water filter in your Keurig, tell you which Keurig models are compatible with water filters, and give you some alternative water filtering options. Let’s get started!
What Does a Water Filter Do?
Before tap water gets to your sink, it’s often filtered in a water purification facility where dirt, bad chemicals, and any other contaminants are removed. However, sometimes the age and length of the feed lines that move the water from the purification facility to your house can deposit bad things like microorganisms, viruses, lead, and chemicals such as chlorine and sulfur.
Water filters are small devices that can be placed in a jug or bottle of water, or in our case in the water reservoir of the Keurig, to filter out chemicals, pesticides, chlorine, bacteria, and other impurities to make the water better tasting, smelling, and safer for your health.
The type of water filters used in a Keurig are known as charcoal water filters and they're made to sit in the water reservoir of the Keurig to filter the water used to make Keurig drinks.
Why Use a Water Filter For Coffee
Coffee is 98% water, so it would make sense that the taste and quality of the water you use to brew it would affect the flavor. It turns out that simply using filtered water over tap water for your morning cup of joe can impact the taste of the finished drink dramatically.
This is because the water in different areas of the world has different chemicals in it that make it taste different. For example in the western part of the United States tap water has a more salty taste, while in the south it sometimes smells like rotten eggs due to higher levels of sulfur.
Most people don’t want their morning coffee tasting salty or like eggs, so using a water filter to remove sulfur and other chemicals before making Keurig coffee makes sense. But even if your water doesn’t taste bad, using a water filter for your coffee can still clear out impurities and minerals that can collect in the coffee pot or Keurig and will need to be cleaned out later.
Do You Need a Water Filter For a Keurig?
So do you need a water filter for your Keurig? The short answer is no.
I’ve personally owned a Keurig model without a water filter option for years, just using regular tap water to brew my coffee and it has worked fine.
I think a big reason I haven’t needed to purify the water for my Keurig is that our tap water doesn't have any bad tastes. However, if you live in an area with high amounts of chlorine or sulfur in your water, chemicals especially common in well water, filtering it could significantly improve the taste of your Keurig coffee.
So if you are someone who has poor tasting tap water or just wants their coffee to taste as clean and pure as possible, using a water filter for a Keurig could be a good idea.
However if you think your tap water and Keurig coffee made with it tastes fine, I wouldn’t worry about purchasing a Keurig model with a water filter.
Which Water Filter Works with My Keurig?
If you do decide to get a water filter for your Keurig, it’s important to know which one to get since they have more than one type available. To find out which water filter will work with your model of Keurig, you need to first find the model's serial number.
The location of the serial number on your Keurig will depend on the model you have. If you can’t find it yourself, you can check out this guide from Keurig that will help you find it.
If the serial number on your Keurig begins with 44, 45 or 48, you will need the K-Classic Water Filter. You can check the price of that filter on Amazon here.
If your serial number begins with 55 or your Keurig has a side water reservoir, like the K-Cafe, K-Elite, K-Select, K425 and K525, you will need the Side Reservoir Water Filter. You can find the Side Reservoir Water Filter on Amazon here.
If your Keurig brewer has a rear water reservoir, like the K250, K-Compact and K-Latte, you will need the Rear Reservoir Water Filter. You can get the Rear Reservoir Water Filter on Amazon here.
The K-Mini, K-Mini Plus, K15, Rivo® system and small office brewers are not compatible with Keurig’s Water Filters.
If you need some help figuring out which Keurig model you have, check out my article, “What Keurig Model You Have. With Pictures!“
And if you do use a Keurig water filter, remember that its padding needs to be replaced every 2 months or 60 brews. The good news is that they’re super cheap, costing you only a penny for every cup you brew. You can get a replacement pack of 12 filters for only $10 on Amazon here.
Alternative Water Filter Options for Keurigs
If you don’t want to purchase a Keurig water filter or don’t have a Keurig model compatible with one, you can still filter the water for your coffee in other ways.
The companies Britta and Zero Water make great water filter pitchers that can filter out the minerals and chemicals in your tap water just like the Keurig filter. You can get the #1 BPA free Britta Water Pitcher for cheap on Amazon here.
Another option to filter your water is a faucet filter. These attach directly to your sink faucet and will filter the tap water as it comes out. Culligan and Britta make the best and most affordable faucet filters available which you can check the price of on Amazon here.
Using a pitcher or faucet water filter is a just as effective way to clean up and purify the taste of your Keurig coffee as the filters that Keurig makes themselves. So if you already have one of them at home, just use that instead of a Keurig filter. Or, if you want, use both and have double filtered water for your coffee!
Final Thoughts
While Keurig water filters can improve the taste of your coffee and tea drinks, your choice of whether or not to use them depends on the quality and taste of your tap water.
If you do decide to use filtered water for your Keurig, remember that you don’t have to use the filters made specifically by Keurig, there are other options such as water filter jugs and faucets.
If you want to learn more about Keurigs, coffee, and pretty much anything espresso, be sure to check out the rest of my website!
