“The Max was the answer of ‘the ultimate,’” said Tara Lundy, LifeStraw’s chief brand officer. The LifeStraw Max, introduced in early 2022, was designed as an easily deployed water-filtration system for disaster relief and humanitarian crises in developing nations. I also went hands-on with a LifeStraw Max to see how it works and how it might fit into a typical American household’s routines. For this guide I spoke with Jean-Luc Madier, director of engineering at LifeStraw, and Tara Lundy, LifeStraw’s chief brand officer. I’ve spoken at length with filter-certification organizations to understand how they conduct their testing, and I’ve spoken with representatives of multiple water-filter manufacturers. I’ve been testing water filters for Wirecutter since 2016. Jackson may be the most visible recent example of the vulnerability of US drinking-water supplies, but it’s not alone-and it’s not the last of its kind. Just months later, in December 2022, a cold snap caused multiple mains to burst, and the entire city was again placed on a boil-water notice. Many residents had no water service at all because critical pump equipment and pipes had failed, while those who did have service drew from reservoirs that had possibly become contaminated with disease-causing bacteria. Flooding and neglected infrastructure resulted in the near-total failure of the city’s municipal water supply. Our research was inspired in part by Jackson, Mississippi’s summer 2022 drinking-water crisis, which subjected more than 150,000 people to an onerous boil-water notice. If a group of neighbors shares the purchase cost, it’s even more practical, and it can provide clean water to multiple households for weeks. If you experience frequent boil-water orders in your area, the LifeStraw Max is a viable long-term option, and it’s far more efficient than boiling-it can purify up to 40 gallons per hour, and its ultrafilters can cleanse 26,500 gallons before you need to replace them. The device uses no electrical power but does need to be hooked to a standard garden hose in order to work thankfully, it’s rare for municipal water utilities to shut down even in a natural disaster that causes a boil-water situation. No bigger than a beach-size cooler (20 by 16 by 13 inches), the LifeStraw Max is easy to store when not in use, and it weighs only 16 pounds, so it’s also easy to bring out when needed. Its abilities surpass those of the water filters many people may have at home already. The LifeStraw Max removes virtually all viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens from contaminated water, in addition to reducing sediment and many industrial and agricultural chemicals and dissolved metals.
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