Best water filters for clean drinking water

Can we all just agree that we are over bottled water? It’s expensive, creates waste (not only the bottle itself, but the environmental cost of transportation), and sometimes isn’t even that different (if at all) from your tap water. But it’s still the most popular beverage by volume in the U.S. — and sometimes tap water isn’t reliable.

Certain people are more vulnerable to the effects of contaminants in water, including young children, pregnant women, and immunocompromised people. The allure of bottled water remains strong, even though American landfills currently contain two billion tons of plastic water bottles alone, according to The Water Project.

However, if you’re all about eliminating single-use plastic from your life but you’d rather not rely on tap water all the time, this task gets a bit difficult. But relax: We can fix that.

Water filters and purifiers remove contaminants and impurities from water to make it more suitable for drinking and cooking. This allows you to utilize a reusable water bottle and fill it with clean water that you actually feel good about drinking.

Filters can take the place of hundreds of plastic water bottles used by just one person, which helps you be more eco-friendly and reduce the amount of plastic in landfills. Filtration systems can also be lifesavers in areas where tap water is unsafe to drink, as long as they remove the proper contaminants like lead. Some even take away the sulfuric taste and smell from well water, which is amazing.

Should you filter your tap water?

It depends. If you experience the odor or taste of chlorine, you might want to run your water through a filter. If you live in an area with threatened or compromised water supplies, absolutely yes, you should filter your tap water — you do not want to be drinking lead or mercury or bacteria. As mentioned, if you have well water and have been living off bottled water or drums of water, you can actually get a filtration system to make your tap water drinkable.

Unsure or nervous about your water quality? Test it! This can help you determine if you should invest in a filter; more on that below.

What type of water filter is best?

There are a few different types of water filters, and they’re each best-suited for different purposes.

Water filter pitchers and dispensers: This is the easiest water filtration option because all that’s required of you is filling up the reservoir and letting the water filter down into the container. These types of filters are easily stored in the fridge or on the counter. Pitchers and dispensers are often best for people who don’t need a ton of filtered water at once. They usually don’t purify water, so they’re also best for city water that doesn’t have viruses or bacteria in it.

Faucet mounts: A faucet water filter allows you to dispense filtered water directly from your sink to your glass. They attach to your faucet and typically last longer and filter out more impurities than pitchers do. They tend to look a bit bulky, but on the other hand, they don’t take up any space in the fridge.

Under-sink filtration systems: Under-the-sink water filtration systems are a bit more heavy duty and are typically for water that needs quite a bit of help. For instance, if you have well water, one of these systems can make it drinkable and get rid of its rotten egg smell and slightly brown color. Complete filtration systems will do a much better job cleaning and purifying water compared to just running water through a single filter into a container.

Do water filters really work?

In a word, yes. You can actually test your water a couple different ways and see what difference a filter is making. Testing for pH levels is one route — you’ll want to make sure your water is about a seven to 10.

Another test is for measuring total dissolved solids (TDS) like salt, metal, or minerals in the water. These are your leads and chlorines and other similar contaminants. TDS are measured in milligrams per unit volume, also referred to as parts per million (ppm). Ideal drinking water is 0 to 50 ppm, acceptable levels range from 50 to 140 ppm, and average tap water falls between 140 and 400 ppm. Essentially, the higher the number, the more metals and minerals you have in your water.

The best way tell if a filter is making a difference is to measure the levels in your unfiltered tap water versus the levels in water from your filter. Sometimes if a filter is old or not installed properly, your numbers will actually be higher in the filtered sample. That is a problem and you should either swap out the filter or consult the product manual to see what could be the issue.

What should I look for in a water filter?

Before you look for a water filter, look at your water. What sort of contaminants are in it? If it’s pretty standard stuff like chlorine, mercury, and pesticides (yes, those are standard contaminants — tons of systems violate the Safe Drinking Water Act), you can get away with a pretty basic filter like a Brita pitcher.

If you’ve got more extreme stuff in your water like lead and bacteria, a reverse osmosis water filter or faucet attachment might suit your needs better. If you have lead in your water, make sure that you get a filter that is certified by the National Sanitation Foundation to ensure that it will actually, safely remove lead.

While some of the filters rounded up here list out a scary number of contaminants and impurities they can handle, not all of these things will be in your water. You might only have chlorine in your water and don’t need to be concerned about lead. See if you can get your hands on an official water report to accurately know what’s contaminating your water so you can find the best filter for your situation.

After doing hours of research and reading tons of reviews, we’ve come up with 10 picks for the best water filters. But before we dive into it, here are a couple of pro tips: First, be sure to run the water through the filter a couple of times before you start drinking so that any activated carbon (the main ingredient in many of these filters) can work its way through. Second, you’ll want to keep extra replacement filters on hand so that when the indicator says its time to change, you’re ready to go.