The 6 Best Water Filters for Cleaner, Crisper H2O | Well+Good

Oct 24, 2024

Water quality has come up a lot in the past few years, and with good reason. A slew of contaminants have been detected in municipal and well water across the country, pushing some people to search for the best water filters for their homes.

There has been a series of eyebrow-raising research on water quality lately, including an August 2023 government study in Environmental International that detected "forever chemicals" in nearly half of the country's drinking water, and another December 2020 study in Environmental Health Perspectives that found arsenic in hot spots in tap water.

In part due to this, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced this year that it will identify and replace lead pipes in water systems within the next 10 years. (Though, of course, it's fair to want cleaner water now.)

Whether you're concerned about contaminants like lead or fluoride in your water or just prefer a fresher taste than what your tap is providing, investing in a water filter can help. We talked to four water quality experts for insight on what to look for in these helpful products, plus how to select a high-quality water filter.

With their advice in mind, we've selected these water filters to help you pour a better glass of H2O at home.

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Certification: ANSI/NSF

Capacity: 100 gallons

Contaminants removed: Lead, mercury, some pesticides

The Pur Plus Faucet Mount Filtration System is an affordable, all-in-one system that weeds out most major contaminants. This ANSI/NSF-certified filter attaches to your faucet with one click and can be flipped on and off as needed. There are also three adapters to help fit snugly onto your faucet.

The filter removes 70 contaminants, including lead, mercury, and select pesticides. It also can filter up to 100 gallons of water before needing a replacement, which means you have about three months of use per filter. (A hand indicator light on the side lets you know when it’s time.)

Keep in mind that this has an upper temperature rating of 100 degrees, so you don’t want to use it to filter really hot water. Otherwise, it’s good for most water filtration needs.

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Certifications: ANSI

Capacity: 40 gallons

Contaminants removed: Lead, mercury, PFAS, chlorine, pesticides, and more

There are a few big names that dominate the pitcher water filter space, but they often come in plastic containers that could, in theory, leech into your water. The LifeStraw Home Water Filter Pitcher is made from glass, with a silicone base to lower the risk of breakage and cracking. It also uses the same technology LifeStraw is known for—the company’s signature water straws allow you to drink straight from pond scum, after all.

This water filter removes bacteria, parasites, microplastics, lead, mercury, PFAS, chlorine, and pesticides, along with grittier contaminants like dirt and sand. The pitcher holds seven cups at a time, while the filter can handle 40 gallons (or two months’ worth) of water before needing to be swapped out.

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Certifications: NSF

Capacity: 24,000 gallons

Contaminants removed: PFAS, glyphosate, DEET, chlorine, lead, and more

A countertop water filter allows you to have filtered H2O at the ready without taking over your faucet or a spot in your fridge. The Boroux Legacy has an impressive 24,000-gallon capacity that can house 3 gallons of water at once, allowing you to fill it in the morning and enjoy fresh water all day long without stressing about refills.

This sleek filtration system uses four filters to get your water clean and is NSF-certified to remove a slew of contaminants, including PFAS, glyphosate, DEET, pharmaceuticals, chlorine, lead, and more (fluoride filters are sold separately). Choose from stainless steel and white exteriors to match your existing decor. A silicone base ring keeps the whole thing from sliding around.

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Certifications: NSF/ANSI

Capacity: 800 gallons

Contaminants removed: Lead, chlorine, PFAS, pesticides, and more

Under-sink water filters are a great way to set and forget your filtration (until the filter needs to be replaced, of course). The Aquasana AQ-5300 is a popular choice thanks to its ability to remove plenty of contaminants with a price tag that’s relatively affordable for this type of system. The Aquasana’s AQ-5300 uses a three-stage filtration system to remove 98 percent of 78 common contaminants that may show up in your water, including lead, chlorine, PFAS, and certain pesticides.

It has a large capacity of 800 gallons, spacing out time between filter replacements to about six months. There’s even a prefilter that helps remove things like dirt, silt, and rust, making it a good option for those with well water.

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Certifications: Unspecified

Capacity: 20,000 gallons

Contaminants removed: Chlorine, hydrogen sulfide, scale, lead, and more

A quality shower filter has slightly different requirements than what you’d look for in a filter for water you’d drink. The Berkey Shower Filter is designed to remove contaminants that could mess with your hair and skin, including chlorine, hydrogen sulfide, and scale, but it can also tackle microorganisms, lead, mold, fungi, bacteria, and algae, technically making the water that comes out of your shower head safe to drink.

This filter, which can connect to your favorite shower head, uses KDF-55 filtration. It’s designed to last for 20,000 gallons or an entire year before needing to be replaced. (Worth noting: If you’re not in love with your existing shower head, Berkey also sells a filter with a massaging shower head.)

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Certifications: NSF

Capacity: 100,000 gallons

Contaminants removed: Chlorine, sediment, chloramine, and more

A water filter home system attaches to your pipes, filtering contaminants out of your water before they even reach your faucet. The Aqua-Pure 3M Water Filter System AP904 is a popular choice with a massive capacity of up to 100,000 gallons. That allows you to enjoy fresh water for up to 12 months before needing a replacement.

This filter has a high-flow rate, so it won’t slow down your water pressure. It also helps to inhibit scale formation and remove sediment, making it a good choice for homes with well water. The filter uses three stages to reduce sediment, taste and odor, and scale, all in one package, making for easier replacements. Keep in mind that this won’t filter out bacteria and heavy metals, although it can tackle nearly everything else.

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There's a lot of variation with water filters but, "on a basic level, they filter out contaminants in water," says John Rumpler, senior clean water director for Environment America.

But not all contaminants in water pose a health risk, says Brian Campbell, clean water expert at WaterFilterGuru.com. "There are aesthetic contaminants vs. health risk contaminants," he says. An aesthetic contaminant is something like a chlorinated taste to your water, while a health risk contaminant may be something like lead, Campbell explains.

Experts say everyone should at least consider using a water filter—but it's important to figure out what you're trying to remove from your water first. You can find more information about tap water in your area by looking at your city or county's website, or by checking the Environmental Working Group's tap water database.

Because not all water filters remove the same contaminants, understand what you want to filter out, says Brian T. Buckley, PhD, executive director of the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute at Rutgers University.

"One common place to start would be to get a water filter that is certified to remove lead," Rumpler says. "Lead in plumbing and fixtures is ubiquitous across the country. It's pretty likely that most people's homes have some component of lead in their plumbing that is sufficient to contaminate water."

Water filters are generally broken down into two categories, Buckley says: Point-of-use and whole-house or system filters.

"Point of use is like a water filter pitcher or a filter that is now on every refrigerator on the planet," he says. "They create a physical barrier designed to retain the contaminants and allow the water to pass through." But while point-of-use filters weed out contaminants where you use them, like your faucet or water pitcher, whole-house filters remove contaminants before they even reach your faucet.

From there, filters can be broken down even further:

Third-party certifications are important with water filters, Buckley says. He suggests looking for certifications from organizations NSF and Water Quality Association (WQA), or for filters that meets NSF/ANSI standards. Those designations "are really the most important thing," Rumpler says.

Beyond that, Rumpler says it's important to make sure a water filter will remove the contaminants you need out of your water and still manage to fit with your budget and lifestyle.