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267 toxins were found in U.S. drinking water systems between 2010-2015, according to an Environmental Working Group 2017 report. And one in four Americans is drinking water that doesn’t meet Safe Drinking Water Act standards.
Plus, only about 100 of the 1,000's of toxins that could be in your tap water are actually monitored. That means chemicals like PFCs and phthalates may be in your water and you'd be clueless.
There’s no doubt that you need a good water filter. But which drinking water filter is the best? To protect your health, the main criteria is, what does the filter actually remove?
I’ve included several different types of popular countertop and faucet filters. You'll find that some filter systems protect you better than others from tap water toxins.
Of the 25 common drinking water toxins, Zero filters remove 5, Brita pitcher filters remove 6 and their faucet filters remove 8. Pur pitchers remove 11 of the 25 common toxins and their faucet filters remove 12. The Berkey removes 24 of the 25 common tap water contaminants.
These filters also remove other types of contaminates besides the most common ones. For example, PUR faucet filters remove a total of 61 different toxic water contaminates.
Other factors to consider are cost and how easy it is to use and maintain. The eSpring and the Aquaversa both remove over 100 different contaminates, but they are expensive.
My favorite is the Berkey. It removes a lot of toxic chemicals. Plus, it’s stainless steel so no plastic chemicals to worry about.
Now the upfront cost is high but the filters last forever so it’s cheap and simple to maintain. And once you taste the filtered water, you won’t need to buy jugs of water ever again.
For more info on drinking water quality and how to research the contaminants in your local tap water check out Water Quality and Your Health and Common Tap Water Toxins and The Filters That Remove Them.