ZeroWater Filter - not as illustrated - no validated claims

Yesterday, I was curious to see what was inside my ZeroWater filter cartridge. ZeroWater claims to have a 5 step filtration system. There has been some debate online, so I decided to investigate for myself.
Here is the illustration on the ZeroWater website:

 The table below illustrates what I found inside. 

Zero Water Claim	What's inside
001 Activated carbon infused micro cloth	At the very top of the filter there is a fine plastic cloth(Right - broken pieces of the grill are in bottom of the picture). It can stop large sediments, but if it is carbon infused, it will become saturated from the first use. An adhesive is used to glue the mesh grill to the cartridge wall. What kind of glue is it? Is it safe?
002 Multi-layer system using carbon and oxidation reduction alloy	There are no metals in the filter thus there is no alloy to be found. What is "Oxidation reduction" ? There is a piece of black foam often found in air or water filtration systems to remove large particles. While there is no information from the manufacturer, it appears that the foam is to prevent the charcoal and silica gel (described below) from coming to the surface of the filter. This type of material is found in a shop vac when using it for picking up water. It may be used in the water filter for assembly  purposes.
003 Distributor that maximizes contact time	A round plastic disc with 4 large holes (centre). It cannot do that much to distribute the flow of water down the filter.
004 Comprehensive ION EXCHANGE array	Under the black foam, the distributor tops the mass of small particles. I dumped the contents of the filter in a bag. They seemed oddly familiar. Upon drying on my wood stove, it was clear that the clear beads are silica gel. This is the only section of the filter that may actually do something to filter the water. There is a layer of activated charcoal and then a large amount of silica gel. As seen in the photos, the reddish or orange colour may be from the iron in the water, or a dye added to the silica gel to indicate it has adsorbed water and must be replaced. In any case, "ION EXCHANGE" is not scientific and  marketing language.
005 Activated membrane to remove fine particles	Below the silica gel, here is a fine mesh with a grill. A plastic filter. At the very bottom of the filter there is a synthetic non-woven fabric, like those found in packaging or the liner of running shoes. It would make as much sense putting this fine particle filter at the top of the cartridge as well. The logic of having the filter at bottom to prevent the silica gel or charcoal from plugging the outlet at the very bottom.

"NSF Independently Certified to Reduce Lead and Chromium". I searched the NSF database and found the listing about ZeroWater. Reduction can also occur from pouring water through a coffee filter or an unglazed ceramic pot.

Is it worth your money? If you feel that your water tastes better, maybe. Will it make your water safer? No. There are no studies that demonstrate the claims of the manufacturer. A regular filter which costs less than a dollar a piece will most likely have the same effect to remove the taste of chlorine or sulfur. Crushing a block of charcoal and putting it in a non woven pouch in the filter would be just as effective. One thing must be considered when going for a water filtration system: thousands of cups of super filtered water won't make much difference to your health when you may be breathing the exhaust of a gasoline powered lawn mower, the dyes for clothing or hair or sitting in your vehicle in heavy traffic.

(Note : Why did I put this on my blog? I was inspired by Stephen Lower on his article about alkaline water. It frustrates me that people are spending their hard earned money on pseudo-scientific claims. Regulations must be in place and enforced to prevent the wasteful practices of a wide array of designers and marketing firms.)