Best water filter?
January 5, 2010 7:36 PM Subscribe
Can anyone recommend a counter top faucet-attached Water Filter?
I know water filters have been discussed. I read some old discussions. But there's a lot of info on the countless types and brands of water filters out there. I'm a little overwhelmed by the options after researching. I'm looking for a unit that attaches to the faucet and will remove potential lead, chlorine, maybe flouride? ...whatever. It doesn't need to necessarily attach to the faucet btw, I just mean not a pitcher. I live in a New York City brownstone apt bldg so Im getting water from pipes of unknown makeup, not well water.
If anyone has or knows one they like I'd love to hear about it. Thanks.
I know water filters have been discussed. I read some old discussions. But there's a lot of info on the countless types and brands of water filters out there. I'm a little overwhelmed by the options after researching. I'm looking for a unit that attaches to the faucet and will remove potential lead, chlorine, maybe flouride? ...whatever. It doesn't need to necessarily attach to the faucet btw, I just mean not a pitcher. I live in a New York City brownstone apt bldg so Im getting water from pipes of unknown makeup, not well water.
If anyone has or knows one they like I'd love to hear about it. Thanks.
I have a PUR stage 3 faucet mount, which I like pretty well. The housing is cheap and leaks a bit, but I'm willing to make that trade-off for something that was so affordable to begin with. I did all the research before I bought it, and this one removes the most bad things.
(I'm on well water, in a rural/farmland area, with just about every contaminant possible. I haven't gotten giardia or cancer yet, so it must be working, right?!)
posted by ErikaB at 7:46 PM on January 5, 2010
(I'm on well water, in a rural/farmland area, with just about every contaminant possible. I haven't gotten giardia or cancer yet, so it must be working, right?!)
posted by ErikaB at 7:46 PM on January 5, 2010
We went through two Pur filters in a few years. Both fell apart after only a few filter changes. The cheap plastic leaked constantly and was more trouble than it was worth. After months of research, I've come to the conclusion that none of the in-faucet offerings are worth the cost, and most of the companies selling them are just fear-mongering.
Assume you will have to replace the whole thing (not just the filter insert) every 2-3 years, depending on the kinds of minerals in your supply.
Either get a semi-permanent under-the-sink unit, or just use a Brita to freshen the water.
After traveling in West Africa for a few months my orientation to tap water has changed. Except for some rare exceptions, tap water in the developed world is clean and safe. Those exception cases are usually places where wells are contaminated; there is no in-line filter that will protect everyone in that case.
(BTW, New York has some of the best tap water of any city. If you are concerned about metals in your building pipes, just let the water run for a bit before drinking. Metals can leach into the standing water in the pipes, but the PPMs drop sharply once you clear the pipes.)
posted by clvrmnky at 8:06 PM on January 5, 2010
Assume you will have to replace the whole thing (not just the filter insert) every 2-3 years, depending on the kinds of minerals in your supply.
Either get a semi-permanent under-the-sink unit, or just use a Brita to freshen the water.
After traveling in West Africa for a few months my orientation to tap water has changed. Except for some rare exceptions, tap water in the developed world is clean and safe. Those exception cases are usually places where wells are contaminated; there is no in-line filter that will protect everyone in that case.
(BTW, New York has some of the best tap water of any city. If you are concerned about metals in your building pipes, just let the water run for a bit before drinking. Metals can leach into the standing water in the pipes, but the PPMs drop sharply once you clear the pipes.)
posted by clvrmnky at 8:06 PM on January 5, 2010
I looked into a faucet-mount filter to reduce my lead intake from the municipal water supply. I abandoned the idea when I found out that the typical Brita or Pur faucet filter only gets rid of about half the lead in my water.
Most of the serious, scientifically oriented reviews that I saw basically said faucet-mounted filters were really only good for improving the taste of water; if your water has dangerous levels of contaminants, they won't make it safe. You'll need a professionally installed under-counter or whole-house filtration system if you're looking to get medically significant contaminant reduction.
As a side note, I was actually amazed at how hard it was to find hard numbers on filter performance -- it took me hours to find anything credible. Which, all by itself, speaks volumes about the performance (or lack thereof) of the cheap consumer-oriented purifiers; if they actually worked, you'd think the vendors would put the hard numbers out there, not just B.S. puffery like "up to 99%".
posted by Wufpak at 8:22 PM on January 5, 2010
Most of the serious, scientifically oriented reviews that I saw basically said faucet-mounted filters were really only good for improving the taste of water; if your water has dangerous levels of contaminants, they won't make it safe. You'll need a professionally installed under-counter or whole-house filtration system if you're looking to get medically significant contaminant reduction.
As a side note, I was actually amazed at how hard it was to find hard numbers on filter performance -- it took me hours to find anything credible. Which, all by itself, speaks volumes about the performance (or lack thereof) of the cheap consumer-oriented purifiers; if they actually worked, you'd think the vendors would put the hard numbers out there, not just B.S. puffery like "up to 99%".
posted by Wufpak at 8:22 PM on January 5, 2010
BTW, New York City has the best tap water of any major urban area. It's so clean that the EPA ruled about 5 years ago that it doesn't require filtration. People bottle and sell it, it tastes so good! So if you've ever drunk tap water in previous cities you've lived in, you're probably getting better water out of the tap in NYC than anyplace else you've lived.
posted by decathecting at 8:26 PM on January 5, 2010
posted by decathecting at 8:26 PM on January 5, 2010
I have an Everpure H-300 system (its not faucet mounted). Works great, water tastes great but it's not cheap.
posted by wongcorgi at 10:07 PM on January 5, 2010
posted by wongcorgi at 10:07 PM on January 5, 2010
I used a filter and housing from Pure Water Products for years. Very happy with it. Completely repiped our house and have awesome city water now, so no longer use it. But saved it for future use, come the apocalypse :-)
posted by cairnish at 12:13 PM on January 6, 2010
posted by cairnish at 12:13 PM on January 6, 2010
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posted by jadepearl at 7:41 PM on January 5, 2010