Water Filter Review

Types of home water filters

Home water filters can significantly improve the taste and odor of drinking water as well as remove potentially harmful contaminants. How and where the filter is installed will determine whether it is classified as point-of-use or point-of-entry. It's important to understand the distinctions between the two as they pertain to this report.

Kitchen water filters fall into the point-of-use category, meaning they filter water in a specific location only, for instance, the kitchen sink. They include containers (pitchers or larger dispensers) that store water in a refrigerator and faucet-mounted and under-sink models that are installed more permanently. Most point-of-use water filters use carbon filters to absorb impurities (especially odors). A reverse osmosis system is a more expensive type of under-sink water filter that also possesses a semipermeable membrane. In homes with a private well, a reverse osmosis system may be a necessary expense to remove sediment, nitrates, arsenic and other potentially harmful contaminants.

Point-of-entry systems, on the other hand, work to filter an entire household's water supply. These products are usually installed in basements or outside. For stopping visual contaminants like dirt, sediment and rust with a fast flow rate and little clogging, experts say whole-house filters are king. However, to remove cysts (parasites) and certain other contaminants, point-of-use filters are still needed. In this report, we focus solely on point-of-use kitchen water filters.

Comparing water filter reviews

We found the most comprehensive kitchen water filter reviews at ConsumerReports.org. Editors compare 27 models for filtering effectiveness, taste of the resulting water and ease of use. The best water filters remove bad taste (editors create a solution made from cabbage to test this trait) and filter out lead and chloroform bacteria. Separate ratings are given for the filter's flow rate (how fast it filters) and clogging.

Water Technology magazine publishes a 2008 study conducted by Water Science & Marketing for the Minnesota Department of Health, which tests water filters for one of the most difficult contaminants to filter out --perfluorochemicals (PFCs). These are the chemicals used to make Teflon and Gore-Tex. Eleven water filters pass the lab test and move onto a field test, where they all prove adequate.

Experts recommend relying on lab tests by a company like NSF International, which certifies specific water filters and tells exactly which contaminants they reduce and by how much. All of the water filters recommended in this report are certified. An excellent review on TheGreenGuide.com also summarizes the NSF ratings for seven water filters, although some of those models are now discontinued and the report is no longer available online.

Consumer publications like Good Housekeeping, New Zealand's Consumer magazine and Australia's Choice magazine have limited information on specific brands of water filters. Reviews at both Consumer and Choice magazines, however, offer solid insights into different types of water filters. Rather dated water filter reviews at ConsumerGuide.com rate water filters on value, performance, ease of use and features. We also found one comparison test at TheKitchn.com, a home design blog, but only two products are tested and the taste test was rather informal.

Lastly, we read quite a few owner-written water filter reviews at retail websites like Amazon.com, Drugstore.com, Lowes.com, Sears.com, Target.com and Walmart.com. We found relevant information about replacement filters and water filter systems in these user reviews, and  we consulted the staff-written assessments at AllergyBuyersClub.com, which sells water filters and other allergy products.