Best Faucet Water Filters for Purified H₂0 Straight From the Tap
Detailing Our Favorite Faucet Water Filters of 2022
Waterdrop – Best Overall
Key Features
- Leak-proof technology
- Adapters and instructions included in the purchase
- NSF Certified for the reduction of chlorine, taste, and odor
- NSF Certified for lead-free material
Waterdrops 320-gallon long-life filter provides cleaner water for your family for three months of typical water usage. Replacement filters can be purchased and easily installed after the three months have passed. The filters fit standard faucets to reduce lead, and chlorine and improve the water taste. Its fast ACF filtration mechanism allows you to fill four water bottles in just a minute. Waterdrop’s filter design allows you to switch between filtered water for drinking and regular tap water for cleaning. This allows your filter to last longer. Note that the device does not fit sensor, pull-out, or hand-held faucets.
Brita – Tool Free Installation
Key Features
- Removes particles and reduces 99% of lead, chlorine taste, asbestos, and benzene
- Filter replacement indicator so you know when to replace it
- One-click filter replacement
- No installation tools required
Brita’s space-efficient water filter design attaches directly to the kitchen faucet and allows you to use three different functions. Use filtered water, unfiltered spray, or unfiltered water depending on whether you are using the water for cleaning or drinking. The white filter features a filter indicator that will let you know when replacements are due. The filter should be replaced every 100 gallons or 4 months, depending on how much water you use. Note that the filter is suitable for standard faucets only, and won’t fit pull-out or spray-style faucets.
Pur Plus – Certified to Remove Lead
Key Features
- Stainless steel design
- Mineral Core technology
- Vertical-type mount
- Certified for contaminant reduction
This Mineral Core technology system filters water over natural minerals for improved taste. The system is certified to reduce lead and mercury, amongst 70 other contaminants. It is ten times more effective than a pitcher filter, offering pure, great-tasting water. The stainless steel filter is easy to attach without any tools and compatible with most faucets, excluding hand-held or pull-out types. The filter should be replaced every three months for the best water quality.
Culligan – Uses Carbon Filtration
Key Features
- White filter with carbon block filtration mechanism
- 200 Gallons or 2-month filter life
- Works between temperature ranges of 40-100°F
- No-tool, easy installation
Culligan’s 200-gallon faucet water filter uses a carbon block filtration method to reduce chlorine, lindane, azine, lead, and other impurities while improving taste and odor. The device includes adapters for standard faucets but is not compatible with drop-down designs. The exterior housing of the device can be easily cleaned and remains sturdy on your tap. Depending on your usage as well as the quality of your water, it is recommended to replace the filter every 2 months.
Engdenton – Long Lasting Filter
Key Features
- Food grade stainless steel casing
- Activated Carbon Fiber (ACF) filtration
- 320 gallons or 6-month filter life
- Limited one-year quality assurance
This food-grade stainless steel filter from Engdenton is designed to last. The design is crack and leakproof and is highly durable. The activated carbon fiber filtration technology removes impurities from tap water and reduces chlorine. The device is compatible with standard faucets and has a 6-month or 320 gallons filter lifespan, depending on your water usage. This allows you to save money on replacing filters continuously without affecting the quality of the water you drink.
Faucet Water Filter: A Buying Guide
City water systems, water sources, and plumbing all play a part in the degree of contamination of the water that flows from your home tap. The best faucet water filters to use at home are easy to install, easy to use, and most importantly, effective in purifying the water you drink. Not all filters will be equally effective, so knowing what to look for when buying a faucet filter is important to ensure that you are actually getting better quality water. Here’s everything you need to know about water filtration for your home.
Reasons to Filter Drinking Water at Home
Although your tap water may be deemed safe for drinking, chemicals, bacteria, pollutants, and other contaminants can seep into water sources in small quantities quite easily. Drinking contaminated water can have a damaging effect on your health long-term since small doses of contaminants can accumulate over time in your body.
Cloudy water, water that smells, or water that has any sediment sinking to the bottom is a clear sign of contamination. A sediment filter will filter out any of these solid impurities. On the other hand, water contaminants not visible to the eye are chlorine, heavy metals, hydrogen sulfide, lead, bacteria, and viruses. Although this can affect the smell or taste of the water, it may also not be noticeable at all.
A good reason to filter water at home is the cost-saving aspect. Not only will you save money on buying water; but consider that it takes over 50 ounces of unfiltered water just to produce one, 16.9 fluid ounce disposable water bottle. In addition, most major brands that sell bottled water use exactly the same city water sources as what you get from the tap. After filtering processes, marketing and packaging lead to further mark-up costs.
Plastic waste puts a huge strain on the environment. Consider how many bottles of water a family will go through in a month. If most families switch from bottled to faucet filtered water, it will have a huge, positive environmental impact.
How to Choose a Faucet Filter
Filter type
Although all water filters will remove impurities to some degree, certain filter types are more effective than others. The different types of water filters include:
CTO carbon block
CTO carbon block filter mechanisms have a low production cost which makes them a cost-effective filtration option. They are used in filtration equipment to remove chlorine, fine impurities, and chemical pesticides, and to improve water odor. Its service life is shorter than other filters, which may negate the lower cost since it will need to be replaced more frequently. It is also not as effective as other filter types in removing certain chemicals.
Activated carbon fiber (ACF)
ACF is a form of carbon that is manufactured to have small, low-volume pores. Activated carbon exists as a powder or fine granule, whereas activated carbon fiber has a well-defined porous structure and fiber shape. It has an effective absorbing capacity for organic gasses, reducing lead, fluoride, and other pollutants. With uniform micropores, it also has a fast absorption rate. Since it is in uniform contact with absorbed substances, the material can be fully utilized. These filters generally have a longer service life of three to six months.
Ceramic filter
A ceramic filter is not nearly as effective as ACF and CTO carbon block filters but is often used to activate the treatment of drinking water. It is capable of removing chlorine, suspended impurities, and organic chemicals, and improving taste and odor. It is not suitable for filtering out heavy metals and inorganic salts.
Alkaline filters
Besides removing harmful substances from water, some filters add back electrolytes and essential minerals that may have been stripped away during the filtration process. These filters provide you with healthier hydration and better-tasting water. Added trace minerals increase the pH levels of tap water, neutralize acidity, and support immune function.
Ease of installation
When purchasing a faucet water filter, you need to ensure that it is compatible with the type of faucet you have installed at home. Some filters come with adapters if needed. Installation should be fairly simple and allow you to switch between using your tap water for dishes or cleaning and filtered water for drinking.
Service life
Check the filter lifespan when making your purchase, as some mechanisms are designed to last much longer than others. Some filters need replacement every 100 gallons or two to three months. Others may last up to 6 months or 320 gallons. The length of time that your filter lasts will also depend on the quality of your tap water. The more impurities there are to filter, the sooner you will need to replace the mechanism.
Certification
It can be difficult to determine exactly how effective a water filter will be. Besides ensuring that the actual housing of the filter is free of harmful plastics or metals, you also want to ensure that the filter is going to do more than just remove any odd bits of grit or dust.
Two American institutions set minimum requirements for filtration units designed for drinking water. These are the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). Keep in mind that the standards are a minimum requirement and that the device is not required to remove all contaminants to earn certification. If the manufacturer obtains the minimum standard, they will receive certification.
When checking the device's filtration capability, look out for NSF Standard 42-Aesthetic Effects, which covers filtration of chlorine, particles, and regulation of taste and odor as a minimum requirement for your home.
Other NSF standards to look for are:
- NSF Standard 53-Health Effects covers mercury, lead, and other hazardous contaminants such as pesticides and herbicides.
- NSF Standard 401-Emerging Compounds and Incidental Contaminants. There are 15 contaminants found at trace levels in public drinking water that this standard specifically refers to. These may include medications, pesticides, herbicides, plastics, and detergents.
For the most accurate data on how effective the filter is, check the specific model’s performance datasheet. This will indicate the level of contaminant reduction achieved and the number of contaminants removed. Since the certification only addresses minimum requirements, various filters with the same certification may outperform others.
