Waterfilters:greenbuyingguide2/12(ThisarticleisadaptedfromtheFebruary2012ConsumerReportsmagazine.)

Afloodofnewfilterseverythingfromsimplecarafestopermanentlymountedsystemscanmakeremovingimpuritiesfromyourdrinkingwateralmostaseasyasturningonthetap.Somemodelsthatconnecttotheplumbingarenoweasiertoinstall.Andmorefiltersnowfeatureelectronicindicatorsthatsignalwhenit'stimeforreplacement.

Morethanjustwaterthattastesgoodmightbeatstake.Dangerouscontaminantssuchaslead,chloroform,arsenic,nitrate,nitrite,radon,andE.colibacteriaarecommonintapwater.

Bottledwater,oftenadvertisedasa"pure"and"natural"alternativetotapwater,isgenerallysafe.Butit'sactuallylessregulatedbytheEnvironmentalProtectionAgency(EPA)thanmunicipalwatersupplies.Bottledwatermakersaren'trequiredtodisclosewheretheirwatercomesfrom,howitwastreated,orwhatcontaminantsitmightcontain.Disclosureispurelyvoluntary(exceptinCalifornia).Andthebottledstuffissubjecttoalessstringentsafetystandardthantapwater.

Infact,purifiedtapwateristhesourceof49percentofbottledwaterproducedintheU.S.,accordingtoindustrydata.Manyconsumerscouldcutoutthemiddleman(andproducefarlessplasticwaste)byinvestinginawaterfilterandreusablewaterbottletototewhenthey'reonthego.Fortunately,ConsumerReportstestsondozensofthelatestwaterfiltersfoundquiteafewmodelssuitableforremovingmanysuchcontaminants.Watchvideo:GettingtheRightWaterFilter.

Firstfindoutwhat'sinyourwater

OnewaytofindoutwhattypeoffilteryouneedistocheckyourConsumerConfidenceReport,orCCR.TheEPArequiresutilitiestoprovideaCCRtotheircustomerseveryyear.YoumayalsofindtheCCRprintedinyournewspaperorpostedonyourlocalgovernmentwebsite.

ConsumerReportsreviewedCCRsfromthe13largestU.S.citiesandfoundthatfewclaimedtohavenofederalwaterqualityviolations.Thoughnoneoftheotherwatersystemswereconsistentlyunhealthful,allhadsomesamplescontainingsignificantquantitiesofcontaminants.InNewYorkCity,forexample,somesampleshadleadlevelsseveraltimesthefederallimit.

NotethataCCRmightindicatesafelevelsofacontaminantwhenyourwateractuallyhasexperiencedpotentiallyharmfulspikes.Also,aCCRtellsyouaboutthewaterinyourmunicipality,butnotnecessarilyaboutwhat'scomingoutofyourparticulartap.Onlytestingyourhomesupplycandothat.

Evenifthewatercomingoutofthetreatmentplantisclean,contaminantscouldgetintowaterafteritleavesthefacility.Thatsbecausemillionsofmilesofdistributionpipearenearingtheirendoflife.Andhouseholdplumbingremainsamaincauseofleadcontaminationinhomesbuiltbefore1986.

Homeownerswithawellontheirpropertyfaceevengreateruncertainty,becausesuchwaterisn't

(printerfriendlyversion)

surveyedorreportedoninCCRs.

Tofindthenamesofstatecertifiedtestinglabs,calltheEPA'sSafeDrinkingWaterHotline(8004264791),orgototheEPAhotlinethatisonline.Oryoucancontactyourlocalhealthauthority,whichmightofferlowcostorfreetestkits,orcheckoutwww.epa.gov/safewater/labs.Ultimately,youmightfindthatyoudon'tneedawaterfilter.

It'simportanttoknowwhatcontaminantsareinyourwaterthatsoyoucanmatchthefiltertotheproblem.Claimsaboutcontaminantremovalvaryfromproducttoproduct,soreadthefineprint.

Also,considerhowmuchwateryouconsumevs.howmucheffortanddisruptiontoyourdailyroutineyou'rewillingtotolerate.Generally,themorecontaminantsyouneedtoremove,themorecomplicatedthefilter,thoughtherearetradeoffs.

Greenrecommendations

IfyougetoneofthetopratedwaterfiltersrecommendedbyConsumerReports,youcangetodorfree,clearer,bettertastingwater,withfewerdangerouscontaminants.Fortunately,therearealotofgoodchoices.

Notsurprisingly,morewaterfiltermanufacturersaretoutingtheirproducts'powertoremoveimpurities,notjustimprovetasteandappearance.Inrecenttests,ConsumerReportsspikedwaterwithleadandchloroform(asurrogatefororganiccompoundslikeatrazineandbenzene,andforbadtaste)totestfivedifferenttypesoffilters:carafe,faucetmounted,countertop,undersink,andreverseosmosismodels.

Manyfiltersdidthejob,butsomeremovedlessofeachcontaminantthanpromised,andeventhebestcanbeoverwhelmedbysuddensurgesincontaminants.Undersinkandreverseosmosismodelsoutperformedfaucetmountsandcarafes,butrequiredprofessionalinstallationandcanbequiteexpensive.

Besuretoconsiderthetotalcostwhenchoosingafilter.Somehaveveryexpensivecartridgerefills.

Alsonote:Manyrefrigeratorsnowhavewaterdispenserswithbuiltinfiltration.Thoughthey'refineatimprovingtaste,inpasttestssomesystemsweresosoatremovingimpurities.Plusreplacementcartridgesarecostly.Byinstallingarecommendedundersinkfiltertotherefrigerator'swatersupplyline,youcanbypasstheappliance'sfilterandyoumaygetcleaner,moreeconomicalresults.

Carafes

Amongthecarafestested,thetopratedLotusTersanoLWT100at$229andtheBestBuyClear20CWS100Aat$15bothremovedleadandchloroformeffectivelywithoutsacrificingcartridgelifeorflowrate.

TwoZeroWatermodelswerealsorecommendedalthoughtheyscoredlowerandtheirchloroformremovalscoreswerenotavailable.Theyare:ZeroWaterZD013(8cup)at$35andtheZP010(10cup)at$38.

Rememberthatyoumustreplacethefiltersoncarafemodels,whichisanaddedcost.Ifyourethinkingofacarafetypefilter,youshouldknowthatmanufacturersofcarafesdonthavetodisclosewhethertheirproductscontainBisphenolA,whichsomestudieshavelinkedtoreproductiveabnormalitiesandaheightenedriskofbreastandprostatecancers,diabetes,andheartdisease.

AllthecarafesinourtestsareBPAfree,accordingtotheirmanufacturers.Butmanufacturersshouldberequiredtolistthetypeofplasticusedintheircarafesandshouldnotusepolycarbonate,whichleachesBPA.

Faucetmountedfilters

TheCulliganFM15Aat$15andtheBritaBaseOnTapOPFF100at$19bothwerejudgedBestBuys,buttheirflowrateswereonlyfair,meaningittooklongerforthewatertoflowthroughthefilter.

TheCulliganFM25at$20andthePurFM3700Bat$30alsodidagoodjobandwererecommended.

Countertopfilters

TheShakleeBestWaterMTS2000#82300at$260wasaBestBuyamongcountertopmodels,andtheAmwayeSpring100188alsowashighrated,butitispricedatabout$600.Ittreatsthewaterwithultravioletlighttechnology.

Undersinkfilters

Fourmodelswererecommendedamongthistype.Theyare:MultiPureMP750SBat$400ratedhighestinthegrouptheAquaPurebyCunoAPDWS1000at$565theEcowaterEPS1000at$390andtheAmericanPlumberWLCS1000at$251,whichwasjudgedonlyfaironflowrate.

Reverseosmosis

ThreemodelswerejudgedBestBuysamongthistype.Theyare:theWhirlpoolWHER25(Lowes)at$146theKenmoreElite38556at$255andthesimilarKenmore38156at$153.TheKenmoresbothwerejudgedonlyfaironflowrate,however.

Otherrecommendedmodelsinthisgroupweremoreexpensive.Theyare:theKineticoK5DrinkingWaterStationat$1800,which,unlikemostotherfilters,removesfluoridetheCowayP07QLat$640theEcowaterERO375at$675andtheCulliganAquaCleerat$1,000.

Relatedlinks

Acompletewaterfilterbuyingguidewithratingsanddetailedbrandandmodelrecommendations,isavailabletosubscribers.

Bottleddoesntmeanbetter.9/11

Waterontap:whatyouneedtoknow.

EPADrinkingwatercontaminants.

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