【Oct-2021】Long Term Low Operational Cost Water Purifier for Home Use in Japan (Mitsubishi Chemical Cleansui MONO series)
- Water Purifier: MD101-NC or MD301-WT
- Water Purifier Cartridge: MDC03SW or MDC01SZ-AZ
- Calculation of Actual Operational Cost
- Summary
It has been longer than 10 years since my family and I first used a water purifier cartridge at our home. For a relatively long time, I have been trying and comparing various types of water purifiers for our home's daily use, mainly focusing not only on ease of use but also on the height of cost performance and stability of performance. Among many types of products, our best choice is the faucet-direct-connection type Cleansui MONO series water purifier manufactured by Mitsubishi Chemical Cleansui Co., Ltd.
The Cleansui MONO series has been a staple for many years in Japan and has been sold online for a long time, so it is easy to obtain and the price is relatively stable. As long as you replace the cartridge filter regularly (maker recommendation: every 3 months), you can always get stable clean water supply at your home, which is very convenient.
Water Purifier: MD101-NC or MD301-WT
Although I use some types of water purifier at home, I like most the MD101-NC model (around 3,700 yen in the fall of 2021) that I bought around 8 years ago because it is still operating stabily until today, so I have very high confidence on its quality and suitability for long-term home use.
On the other hand, there is also a similar model in the same series which is named MD301-WT (around 4,500 yen in the fall of 2021). The difference between MD301-WT and MD101-NC is that the MD301-WT has a display screen that measures the water usage, which makes it easier to grasp the exact timing of cartridge replacement in case water usage is different much from day to day. However, because there is a battery (CR2032) inside the MD301-WT, it is important not to forget to replace the battery in case it worn out so the water usage measurement and display can operate properly.
Water Purifier Cartridge: MDC03SW or MDC01SZ-AZ
There are several types of cartridge (filter unit) in the MONO series product line up. Based on manufacturer official recommendation, these cartridges should be replaced every 3 months, which equals to 900L of water use (This is based on calculation of 10 Liter of water consumption per day, which is stated in the product specification provided by the manufacturer).
Considering its cost performance, one of the type we have been steadily using is the "Cleansui MONO Series Water Purifier Cartridge MDC03SW (Number of substances to filter: 7 + 2), Pack of 2”.
Although it has a standard-level of filtering capability, MDC03SW is very economically priced (about 2,800 yen in the fall of 2021). It is actually a set of 2 pcs of MDC03S, so together these 2 pcs of cartridges will last 6 months (equivalent to 2 x 900 liters) according to the product specification provided by the manufacturer. In this case, it costs less than 500 yen per month and so it fits for long-term low-cost use.
On the other hand, for those who need higher quality of purifying performance, there is also another type of cartridge named "Cleansui MONO Series Water Purifier Cartridge MDC01SZ-AZ (Number of substances to filter: 13 + 2), Pack of 3".
The MDC01SZ is a set of 3 pcs of MDC01S cartridges. When they are compared, the price of a single MDC03S cartridge is about doubled price of the MDCS03. However, the filtering performance of MDC01S is higher than MDC03S due to as it can also filter the Soluble lead, CAT (pesticide), 2-MIB / mold odor, Tetrachloroethylene, Trichloroethylene, and 1,1,1-trichloroethane, but MDC03S cannot.
The price of MDC01SZ-AZ is about 8,000 yen in the fall of 2021), and because it consists of 3 pcs of cartridges, it will last 9 months (equivalent to 3 x 900 liters) based on the product specification provided by the manufacturer. In this case, it costs less than 1,000 yen per month and so it still somehow fits long-term use although it is not as low cost as MDC03.
| No. | Target Substances to Filter |
MDC01S (13+2) |
MDC03S (7+2) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Free Residual Chlorine | YES | YES |
| 2 | Turbidity (bacteria, solid lead, etc.) | YES | YES |
| 3 | General trihalomethane | YES | YES |
| 4 | Chloroform | YES | YES |
| 5 | Bromodichloromethane | YES | YES |
| 6 | Dibromochloromethane | YES | YES |
| 7 | Bromoform | YES | YES |
| 8 | Soluble lead | YES | NO |
| 9 | CAT (pesticide) | YES | NO |
| 10 | 2-MIB (mold odor) | YES | NO |
| 11 | Tetrachloroethylene | YES | NO |
| 12 | Trichloroethylene | YES | NO |
| 13 | 1,1,1-trichloroethane | YES | NO |
| 1 | Iron (particulates) | YES | YES |
| 2 | Aluminum (neutral) | YES | YES |
Calculation of Actual Operational Cost
In this section I will explain in more details the reason why I think that MONO series water purifier has lower operational cost compared to many of its competitors.
In case of MONO series water purifier, according to the product specification by the manufacturer, the cartridge's replacement time is 3 months. This is based on calculation of 900L of water consumption, while daily water consumption is being assumed as 10L (10 litres of water is assumend goes through the cartridge every day).
However, based on my personal experience, because I usually use the purified water only for "cooking and drinking", I feel that the manufacturer recommendation of cartridge's replacement-time based on "daily use of 10 L of water", does not seems accurate.
In the table below I show you that the amount of water consumption for drinking and cooking differs widely based on the number of persons in every home. Note that in this table I have omitted other water consumption such as "washing hands" and "washing dirty plates", because it is generally unnecessary to purify water in this purpose in Japan.
However, because all of information described in this section is assumptions based on my personal calculation and not based on official recommendation by the product manufacturer, please use it at your own risk.
Cartridge's Replacement Time Based on Actual Daily Water Consumption (Limited for Drinking & Cooking)
| Case No. |
Number of persons |
Average water consumption in a single day |
Cartridge Replacement-Time (until 900L of water consumption) |
Monthly Operational Cost (MDC01S) |
Monthly Operational Cost (MDC03S) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | single adult | 2.5 L |
360 days (around 1 year) |
around 230 yen | around 120 yen |
| 2 | 2 adults | 5 L |
180 days (around 6 months) |
around 450 yen | around 230 yen |
| 3 | 2 adults and 1 kid | 7 L |
128 days (around 4 months) |
around 630 yen | around 330 yen |
| 4 | 2 adults and 2 kids | 9 L |
100 days (around 3 months) |
around 800 yen | around 420 yen |
Summary
Cleansui MONO series has been on the market for more of 10 years in Japan and it has been keeping its share well and steady until today so it has already proven itself as an outstanding water purifier. Furthermore, because the MONO series has the following three features, so it can be strongly said that it is an excellent water purifier suitable for long-term use.
- Since the shapes of the cartridges in the same series are compatible, it is possible to reconsider your selection of cartriges and select a particular type of cartridge to be used according to your needs or based on your judgement at that particular time. You can choose between MDCS01S (high grade) or MDCS03S (standard grade).
This features is almost never seen in any other series of competitor products, so I think it must be the biggest merit of adopting the MONO series water purifier.
- Flexibility when choosing the type of a the water purifier at the time of installment. You can choose the MD101-NC (simple type) or MD301-WT (the type with a monitoring screen of cartridge's replacement-time).
- Ability to manage the frequency of its catridge's replacement-time based on actual daily consumption to surpress the cost more.
To anyone those who are starting to live independently from their parents, starting a family, starting to raise their kids, or considering to use a water purifier into their homes, I hope that information in this article is useful enough to help you to choose a good water purifier that fits for your long-term use with low operational cost at your home.
