Best UV Water Purifiers & Sterilizers | Portable & Whole-House Ultraviolet Purification 2022 Useful Buyer’s Guide

What is the best UV water purifier? First, make sure that the device can remove not only bacteria but also viruses. Secondly, consider the power supply. For journeys and outdoor activities, systems operated from rechargeable batteries are the best option. Thirdly, look at the design. Models with a bright interface and an LED display are easier to use for children and elderly people. And finally, buy water purifiers only from trusted brands as low-quality products from unknown manufacturers can be inefficient and, even worse, harmful for your health. We believe that the SteriPEN Ultra UV Water Purifier meets these criteria best.

Why have we chosen it? The SteriPen water purifier is made by Katadyn, a Swiss manufacturer that has become one of the leaders in the market for portable water treatment systems. Katadyn products that range from water filters to tablets are popular not only among regular customers but also with the military and international aid organizations.

Best UV Water Purifier Reviews

Below, you will find a review of the best water purifiers at a price ranging from $20 to $200. You may choose an Ultraviolet (UV) water filter that is designed to be mounted under the sink or a portable bottle with a UV water purifier for traveling. Alternatively, you may opt for a mini water filtration system that can be attached to your drinking pound to filter water down to 0.1 microns. There is also a premium 5-stage ultra safe reverse osmosis drinking water filter system that is 100% lead-free.

1. SteriPen ULT-MP-EF Ultra UV Water Purifier | Best Portable

Guaranteed to destroy over 99.9% of bacteria, viruses, and protozoa, the SteriPen reduces threatening germs' ability to reproduce and make you sick. The pen can achieve up to fifty treatments per a single charge and withstand over three hundred full recharge cycles - this is equivalent to a staggering 15,000 liters of cured water.

Customers appreciate the simple organic LED display that show everything you'd want to know during treatment, including the battery status, lamp strength, and treatment status.

Once the UV purifier is done, the display shows even more information about the treatment's success or failure. Unlike other filtering systems, you'll never have to guess whether or not the water is safe to drink.

The SteriPen doesn't need a consistent volume of water to treat either: it will adapt depending on the presence of microbes found in the bottle.

It's even possible to recharge the SteriPen with a USB connection to your computer, outlet or portable solar panel. Independent estimates state that the pen can last for over seven years of consistent water purification.

SteriPEN: Check the current price

Expert Opinion: Dr. Michelle Moram, Imperial College London

Dr. Michelle Moram, Imperial College London

Dr. Michelle Moram is a staff member at the Department of Materials, Imperial College London. Her areas of interest include identifying new materials and device structures for ultraviolet light emitters for water treatment. Dr. Moram has numerous awards including the Leverhulme Research Leadership Award 2012 and IOM3 Silver Medal 2012. She has scientific publications on emerging nitride materials and other subjects. Dr. Moram is a member of the American Nano Society, UK Nitrides Consortium, European Microscopical Society, and many other organizations.

“We have got approximately 3 million dying each year from a waterborne disease. The problem is not simply limited to the availability of clean water, there is also sanitation and health involved. But clean water is an important part of it. Of course, this has attracted the attention of the World Health Organization and they did a study recently comparing different methods of water treatment. They came to the conclusion that treating water using ultraviolet light is probably the most effective method… This is the short wavelength light that penetrates through the atmosphere, hits the Earth’s surface. This light gives you a suntan and down here basically, nothing gets through because it is absorbed by the ozone layer. That means that microorganisms have not evolved protective responses to UV light”.

2. iSpring UVF11A UV Ultraviolet Filter | Disinfection Water Sterilizer for Under Sink | Best Whole-House UV Water Purifier

The iSpring UVF11A UV Disinfection Water Sterilizer Filter comes with a strong UV water sterilization system that kills harmful microorganisms like viruses and bacteria that traditionally live in water. The iSpring Water Sterilization system uses an eleven watt Philips water-resistant Germicidal UV lamp to kill the microorganisms in the water.

The system is a simple kit you can connect to your home system. The UV system works with the reverse osmosis system that gets your water completely sterilized. A built-in smart sensor automatically turns the UV system on and off as water flows in the pipes.

When you turn on the filtration, the RO pump activates with the switch detector. The pump will not turn on until the water is present to filter to prevent the unnecessary wear on the components. Installation of the complete system is simple and easy enough for anyone to do.

The iSpring UV system incorporates the use of 304 stainless steel pipes and components to reduce the amount of wear the system experiences over time. The UV bulbs last up to eight thousand hours with the full working UV system designed to work for over eleven months before you need to replace filters and other components.

iSpring: Check the current price

3. CrazyCap 2.0 UV Water Bottle Purifier | Self Cleaning Bottle | Best for Travelers

The CrazyCap 2.0 Bottle helps you keep your drinking water pure wherever you choose to fill up. The cap helps sterilize your drinking water and eliminate up to 99.999 percent of germs and bacteria within seconds of use. The CrazyCap Bottle uses UV filtration to penetrate the DNA of the germs and destroy them from the inside.

The CrazyCap eliminates the need to purchase a disposable water bottle and is safe enough to use when you travel, hike or backpack to clean questionable water sources from streams, lakes, or questionable water from gas stations. The cap is BPA-Free stainless steel that is vacuum insulated to keep your water cold for twenty-four hours or hot for twelve.

The CrazyCap Bottle uses a lithium-ion battery to run the cap's filter. The bottle and cap come with a charging cable that you can plug into any USB port you have available on your laptop, through your car, or a regular wall outlet. You do not need to change batteries while using the cap until the battery life ends years after purchase.

The bottle is Mercury-free and self-cleaning. The cap will turn on for twenty seconds every four hours to shine a deep UV light inside the bottle to ensure the purity of the liquid inside. It helps prevent the development of any viruses, mold, or bacteria that might be present in the bottle.

CrazyCap Bottle: Check the current price

UV Water Treatment Systems Comparison: Ultraviolet Water Purifier Vs. UV Light Water Filter Vs. Whole-House Water Filtration System

UV Water Purifier Sterilizer uses germicidal treatment for water. The UV light uses special lamps to generate up to two hundred fifty-four NM of UV light. The wavelengths use photo-oxidation to sanitize the water and remove organic compounds. The UV purification system does not remove particles, ions, or colloids.

Ultraviolet light filtration inactivates harmful bacteria and viruses that can sicken you. The UV system in travel filtration systems use temperature and pressure to deactivate the bacteria and break them down for safe absorption and excretion. It allows for a batch of water of a flow of it for safe consumption. This study on the use of ultraviolet light as a disinfection technology originally appeared on the website of the Army Public Health Center — phc.amedd.army.mil. We publish this paper to provide you with scientific findings in this field so that you could have a better understanding of the disinfection capabilities of UV light to inactivate disease-causing microorganisms.

The water filtration and reverse osmosis is a very economical way to remove up to ninety-nine percent of all things that contaminate water through a porous membrane. The membrane catches bacteria as well as organics. In water filtration systems that use reverse osmosis, water gets hydraulic pressure applied to drive the final purified product through the filters.

4. APEC Top Tier 5-Stage Ultra Safe Reverse Osmosis Drinking Water Filter System | Best Premium Water Filter

The APEC Top Tier 5-Stage Drinking Water Filter System is a premium water filter for your home tap water. The technology removes up to ninety-nine percent of contaminants commonly found in water, such as chlorine, lead, heavy metals, bacteria, and viruses.

The water goes through a premium, long-lasting filter that comes with the FDA seal of approval to provide safe, pure drinking water. The filtration system is one hundred percent lead-free to produce unlimited clean water. The system can filter up to fifty gallons of water a day at sixty PSI.

The APEC water filtration system uses reverse osmosis to filter the water through a microcell membrane that presses out impurities and contaminants. These contaminate, include arsenic, lead, copper, and radium, as well as multiple other waters contaminates. The water filtration system uses an Apec carbon filter to maximize the number of particles filtered.

The APEC filters come with high-quality fittings that include stainless steel teeth that trip tubing and watertight O-Rings that provide a tight seal for your water system. The water produced is pure and fresh without the taste of the filter or the manufactured components.

APEC Water Systems: Check the current price

The membranes do not filter the water quickly, so you need storage hold tanks to produce a large amount of purified water. They are not easy to travel with you, but they do filter out almost everything that can contaminate water.

When it comes to protecting against extremely harmful bacteria, both types of water purifiers will help protect you because they work to filter out harmful bacterias.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in order to protect wastewater from novel coronavirus, no extra measures are required because coronaviruses are susceptible to the same water disinfection methods as other viruses. These proven methods include treating water with chlorine bleach, peracetic acid, and UV irradiation.

As for ultraviolet light, CDC says that it kills viruses in water but the effect largely depends on the exposure time and the dose of UV light. The agency notes that portable battery-powered units work only for small quantities of water, whereas larger devices have a larger output but require a power source. That said, UV purifiers are not effective enough in water contaminated with suspended solids because these particles can shield viruses from UV light.

Alternatives: Water Purifiers with a Hollow Fiber Membrane

National Institute of Virology, an Indian government-funded body, has conducted a study to find out which water purifiers can provide effective protection against diseases and viruses. The researchers have evaluated 8 types of domestic water purifiers and came to the conclusion that 6 of them do not completely remove water-borne viruses like Hepatitis E. The only ones that can completely eliminate viruses are the systems with a hollow fiber membrane and those with a gravity-fed filter. Now, let’s take a closer look at these two types of filters.

5. Sawyer Products One-Gallon Gravity Water Filtration System

The Sawyer's Gravity Water Filtration System is equipped with a 0.1-micron water filter, preventing even the smallest particles from getting through it. This product was extensively tested for efficiency by three independent laboratories, meaning that all the manufacturer’s claims have been scientifically confirmed.

This device is cost-efficient as it filters large quantities of water and therefore, is recommended for such outdoor activities as camping. In addition to being portable and lightweight, this water filtration system is easy-to-use and clean. You can use it multiple times without the need to replace cartridges. The Sawyer's Gravity Water Filtration System effectively removes almost 100% of all kinds of bacteria including salmonella, E.coli, and cholera. However, it is not so effective against viruses.

Sawyer Products Gravity Filtration System: Check the current price

If you want a water purifying system from Sawyer's that can completely eliminate viruses, choose the Sawyer Products Select Series Water Filter that removes not only bacteria and protozoa but also viruses, heavy metals, pesticides, chemicals, and microplastic. This device that comes with a foam membrane and a 0.1-micron squeeze filter is said to be able to filters 99.99% of known viruses.

Sawyer Products Select Series Water Filter: Check the current price

6. Water Bottle with Filter LifeStraw Go 22oz with Straw Hollow Fiber Membrane

This option is great for outdoor activities like hunting, fishing, and hiking. The bottle comes with a replaceable two-stage filter that eliminates bacteria, chemicals, chlorine, and microplastic. At the first stage, an advanced hollow fiber membrane technology is used to eliminate tiniest microplastics that can be as small as 0.1 micron. The second stage removes odor and chlorine.

One filter is sufficient for making up to four hundred 17-ounce bottles. Not only do you save your money, but you also save the Earth from hundreds of empty plastic bottles that eventually end up in a landfill. With a weight of just 8 ounces, this bottle is a great accessory for a trip or hiking as it allows you to safely drink water from fountains and ponds. That said, it is also a good solution for daily use as municipal water is far from being perfect.

LifeStraw Go: Check the current price

7. Sawyer Products MINI Water Filtration System | Best Budget Option

The Sawyer Products MINI Water Filtration System is perfect for traveling internationally or spending time in the great outdoors. You can attach the filter to your drinking pound to filter water down to 0.1 microns. The filter helps remove up to 99.9999 percent of bacteria like E.coli, protozoa, such as giardia, and is one hundred percent effective at filtering out microplastics.

The filter receives extensive testing to ensure quality. Each filter gets individually testing three times to make sure no faulty products reach the retail market. The filter can also act as a straw so you can drink directly from bodies of water without worrying about contaminates.

Each filter has a rating of up to one hundred thousand gallons of water purified before the filter needs replacing. Very lightweight, at only two ounces, the filter is perfect for use during backpacking and hiking trips where you do not want extra weight to hold you back. The filters use a hollow fiber membrane to filter your water through micro-pores that remove microns up to 0.1 in size.

Sawyer Products MINI Filtration System: Check the current price

9 Best-Selling UV Water Purifiers & Sterilizers Comparative Table

Best Portable UV Water Purifier | Best Trusted | Top-rated

How Does an UV Water Purifier Work?

In 1903, scientist Niels Fensen received the Nobel Prize for his use of ultraviolet light to combat tuberculosis. Since then, water disinfection systems using UV light have spread out from France and onwards to the rest of the world.

Unlike other methods, UV water purifiers don't add any chemical traces to the water, yet merely destroy microorganisms' ability to reproduce. Proper systems are able to destroy more than 99.99% of the harmful microbes found in water.

Benefits

Not only are UV water purifiers chemical-free, they don't affect the taste and require very little energy to use. Lightweight, compact UV purifiers are especially popular among backpackers or travelers who frequent areas with unsafe drinking water.

If you're concerned about toxic byproducts that other water disinfectant systems create, you may want to chip in for a high quality UV water purifier for personal or home use.