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Fresh from Your Faucet

Toss the bottled water and filter your own. Tap water is more carefully regulated than bottled water but isn't free of contaminants. So what does that plastic water pitcher filter out?

Most countertop and faucet water filters are activated carbon filters, which will get rid of bad tastes and odors as well as many impurities, including chlorine.

Filters that are certified as meeting NSF/ANSI standard 53 treat water for health reasons, not just taste and appearance. The NSF certification program provides some assurance that at least some claims made by the manufacturer have been verified. Standard 53-certified filters can substantially reduce many hazardous contaminants, including heavy metals such as copper, lead and mercury; disinfection byproducts; parasites such as Giardia and Cryptosporidium ; pesticides; radon; and volatile organic chemicals such as methyl-tert-butyl ether (MTBE), dichlorobenzene and trichloroethylene (TCE).

An inexpensive countertop filter pitcher reduces or removes most metals, chlorine and other common contaminants. Most people don't need fancy reverse osmosis filters which are expensive, waste water and are only necessary if you have unusual contaminants in your water, such as perchlorate, that can't be removed by a carbon filter.

Check your local water quality report to see which contaminants have been found in your water supply and buy a filter that's certified to remove them. If you have kids, are pregnant or are thinking about becoming pregnant, you should test your tap water for lead contamination. Lead enters drinking water from corroding pipes so levels can vary greatly from home to home. Testing your water is the only way to know whether your water is safe for young children and pregnant women.

Before buying any water treatment system, compare not only filter prices, but also operating and maintenance costs for different units.


Read NRDC's guide to water filters.	Request a copy of your local water quality report and then learn about the contaminants found in your water. Start by reading NRDC's factsheet on common contaminants.	You can help protect your tap water by always disposing of common household contaminants safely. Paint, motor oil, solvents and other household toxins, including some cleaning supplies, should never be dumped down the drain. Call your local sanitation agency or environmental health department and ask about hazardous waste collection.