Do you know what is in your tap water? You can find can contaminants such as a wide variety of toxins from dangerous pesticides and herbicides to heavy metals and VOCs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

❌ PFAS: The most common PFAS found in drinking water are PFOS and PFOA. Called ‘forever chemicals’ because they take so long to biodegrade, PFAS can cause serious health effects including cancer, hormone disruption, & liver and immune system damage.

❌ FLUORIDE: It causes damage to bones and teeth. Consuming fluoride at unsafe levels can cause skeletal fluorosis, making bones more brittle. It is unsafe also on toothpaste. List here of  Fluoride-free toothpaste

❌ LEAD: Lead contaminates our drinking water when it leaches from pipes and plumbing. there is no safe amount of lead! Any amount of lead exposure is unsafe for children and may cause permanent development and behavioral issues.

❌ CHLORINE: Potent chemical that alters the smell & taste of our water and is harmful.

Look for  chlorine-free bleach alternative  and, chlorine-free toilet paper and kitchen towel 

❌ CHLORAMINE: Toxic combination of chlorine and ammonia.

• Your greatest exposure to chloramine in tap water is through bathing and showering.

• Chloramine can kill fish, amphibians and water-based reptiles, and marine invertebrates.

• Chloramine.has not been properly tested for human consumption and safety.

❌ ARSENIC:  “known human carcinogen” according to the EPA and World Health Organization that increases the risk of bladder, lung and, skin cancer at unsafe levels. Arsenic is found in drinking water across all 50 states.

❌ NITRATE: Agricultural run-off can cause this fertilizer chemical to end up in our drinking water. Levels of nitrate that exceed federal limits can cause an increased risk of cancer and even oxygen deprivation in babies.

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How to pick a good water filter. 

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1. Find out what’s in your tap water.

Order a water test kit. In this way, you can spot the contaminants in your water and then determine the very best filter for you! 

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2. Compare filter types.

Most filter products on the market use one or a combination of three primary technologies: carbon filtration, reverse osmosis, and ion exchange. 

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Carbon and activated carbon: carbon filters come in two forms:

• Carbon block:  usually more expensive but are generally more effective, may need to be replaced more often. 

• Granulated activated carbon: less effective than carbon block filters, activated carbon does not remove common inorganic pollutants such as arsenic, fluoride, hexavalent chromium, nitrate, and perchlorate.

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✅ Reverse osmosis is the only type of filtration certified to remove nitrate and perchlorate. 

The initial activated carbon treatment captures and removes chlorine, trihalomethanes, and VOCs. Next,

reverse osmosis systems effectively remove many contaminants, such as arsenic, fluoride, hexavalent chromium, nitrates, and perchlorate. These systems typically take in five times more water than they produce for use, and the unused “reject” water is flushed down the drain.

Reverse osmosis treatment removes minerals that improve the taste of water and are essential for health, such as iron, calcium, and magnesium. That's why many manufacturers of reverse osmosis systems may offer mineral drops for remineralization. The only proven water filtration method to effectively remove fluoride. Also reduces nitrates, nitrites, lead, radium, and arsenic.

❌ KDF filter media can reduce or remove lead, mercury, iron, hydrogen sulfide, calcium carbonate, magnesium, chromium, chlorine, bacteria, fungi, algae, heavy metals, iron, hydrogen sulfide, and chlorine. KDF media can function effectively under high water temperature, this makes them an excellent choice for hot water filtration like shower filters. It won't remove fluoride. 

❌ Ion exchange and water softeners: Ion exchange reduces nitrate,  fluoride, sulfate, arsenic.

Water softeners typically use an ion-exchange process to soften water by removing calcium and magnesium and replace them with sodium. They won't remove the contaminants. If you have a low-sodium diet check with your doctor. Softened water is not recommended for watering plants and gardens. 

❌ Distillation: This technology heats your water enough to vaporize it and then condenses the steam back into the water. It does not remove chlorine, trihalomethanes, or VOCs from water. Home distillation systems are less common than other types of available water filters available.

 

✅ Whole house filters: all your taps and appliances receive filtered water. This type of system is expensive compared to point-of-use filtration. Since whole-house systems also remove chlorine, they may introduce the additional risk of harmful bacterial growth in plumbing.

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3. Choose a filter

To choose the best filter, check that it has been certified to do so by an independent third-party certification company.

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4. Maintain the filter:

You will need t to replace the filters according to the manufacturer’s recommendations.  Bacteria can grow on carbon filters that are not replaced according to instructions.

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5. Certifications:

NFS National  Sanitation Foundation Certifications and check minimum detectable levels.

❌NSF 42, 53, 401, or p473 filters won't remove fluoride.

✅ The best is NSF 58

WQA Water Quality Associations. 

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FILTERS:

❌ Berkey: There are studies that show Berkey actually added GenX and PFBA. It uses Activated Alumina pH-dependent filters. Can reduce fluoride but it is not NFS certified, it is not approved in California and it has  California proposition 65 warning.

❌ Propur filter: uses Silver infused white ceramic and granular activated carbon. Can reduce fluoride but it is not NFS certified.

❌ Culligan: Only reduces 5 contaminants. Very short filter life only lasts 50 gallons.

❌ Brita:  Brita filters use carbon filters. Brita filters can remove certain pharmaceutical contaminants such as Acetaminophen, Naproxen, and Progesterone. They can reduce heavy metals like copper, mercury from your drinking water, but they cannot remove totally lead, herbicides and pesticides, chlorine, and sediment.

NSF Certified to Standards 42 and 53 & 401. 

❌ PUR:  PUR water filter systems are able to reduce 61 other contaminants, including chlorine, and sediment but not fully eliminate them. NSF Certified to Standards 42, 53, and 401.

❌ Nikken: ANSI/NSF Standard 42,  Standard 53 

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✅ Aquasana: Aquasana Filters are NSF Certified to reduce 77 contaminants including over >97% of chlorine and chloramines. Carbon water filter system (3-Stage Claryum Under-Counter Max Flow or 3-Stage Claryum Under Counter) and a reverse osmosis system (Optim H2O Reverse Osmosis + Claryum).     

Whole House   Website link      Amazon link 

Under the Sink   Website link         Amazon Link

Countertop    Website link         Amazon Link

Shower Filters     Website link      Amazon link  

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✅ AquaTru: this is my number one recommendation. Considered the best countertop reverse osmosis system for removing man-made chemicals such as PFAs. It is NSF certified to remove up to 99.99% of contaminants, including PFAs.

• AquaTru RO system is the only countertop RO system officially certified to NSF Standards 53 and 58 to remove PFAs contaminants.

• AquaTru is also certified to remove chlorine, cysts, fluoride, lead, and other heavy metals, and overall total dissolved solids. It reduces 82 contaminants.

•  fast-filtering system: it produces up to 1 gallon of water in as little as 10 minutes.