Related topics: •  Distillation Units •  Fitness & Nutrition •  Is Your Water Safe? •  Pour-Through Carafes •  Reverse Osmosis Filters •  Water Safety

Faucet filters are miniature versions of the big carbon filters a lot of cities are now using to scrub municipal water clean. They come in various sizes and contain different types of replaceable filters geared to strain out specific impurities in your tap water. One baseball-size version screws onto the end of your kitchen faucet. Another, about the size of a small loaf of bread, taps into your cold-water line under the sink. A third option, a countertop version about the size of a coffee thermos, uses a hose attachment to channel water from your faucet to the filter (a diverter device fits onto the opening of the faucet, allowing you to bypass the filter when you want plain tap water for dishwashing).

Faucet filters are a good choice if you drink a lot of water, prize convenience, want to target specific contaminants, and feel comfortable performing minor do-it-yourself plumbing chores.

Different brands vary substantially in the kind and amount of substances they filter out. To avoid the unnecessary expense of buying a product that does far more than you need, make sure the filter you choose is certified by the National Sanitation Foundation International as capable of removing the specific contaminants found in your water. (It should say so right on the package.) Those can be anything from rust and chlorine to such serious health threats as Cryptosporidium, trihalomethanes, and lead.

The main advantages are convenience and cost. Because these simple devices attach directly to your plumbing, you get hundreds of gallons of clean water before you have to replace a filter. (An under-the-sink model supplies pure water to your refrigerator's icemaker as well.) And because carbon filters vary widely in cost and effectiveness, you can choose to go low-budget if you need to remove only one or two substances. Typically, the filters that get rid of the widest array of contaminants will be the most expensive.

The big disadvantage: If you have trouble remembering to change the oil in your car or the air filter in your furnace, you'd probably be wise to try another type of water filter. That's because an old faucet filter will dump stored contaminants back into the water supply if you forget to replace it when the manufacturer says to. Sometimes harmless bacteria can also build up on a filter and give your water an off taste. (To remedy this, run the water briefly or change the filter.) And these devices can't treat water contaminated with bacteria or viruses.

If you can screw in a lightbulb, you can install a faucet-attachment model. Putting in an under-the-sink unit will take you about two hours even if you've never changed a washer before, and the most complicated tool you're likely to need is a crescent wrench.

The price varies from less than $30 for a faucet-mounted model to more than $100 for its under-the-sink counterpart. The cost per gallon can range from 1 to 8 cents, depending on the brand and it capabilities.

Further Resources

The Water Quality Association

Consumer Affairs Department

P.O. Box 606

Lisle, IL 60532

Phone: 630/505-0160

http://www.wqa.org

References

First published March 3, 1999
Last updated November 15, 2007
Copyright © 1999 Consumer Health Interactive

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