(printerfriendlyversion )

Waterfilters:greenbuyingguide2/12
(ThisarticleisadaptedfromtheFebruary2012 ConsumerReportsmagazine.) Afloodofnewfilterseverythingfromsimplecarafesto permanentlymountedsystemscanmakeremoving impuritiesfromyourdrinkingwateralmostaseasyas turningonthetap.Somemodelsthatconnecttothe plumbingarenoweasiertoinstall.Andmorefiltersnow featureelectronicindicatorsthatsignalwhenit'stimefor replacement. Morethanjustwaterthattastesgoodmightbeatstake. Dangerouscontaminantssuchaslead,chloroform, arsenic,nitrate,nitrite,radon,andE.colibacteriaare commonintapwater. Bottledwater,oftenadvertisedasa"pure"and"natural"alternativetotapwater,isgenerally safe.Butit'sactuallylessregulatedbytheEnvironmentalProtectionAgency(EPA)thanmunicipal watersupplies.Bottledwatermakersaren'trequiredtodisclosewheretheirwatercomesfrom, howitwastreated,orwhatcontaminantsitmightcontain.Disclosureispurelyvoluntary(except inCalifornia).Andthebottledstuffissubjecttoalessstringentsafetystandardthantapwater. Infact,purifiedtapwateristhesourceof49percentofbottledwaterproducedintheU.S., accordingtoindustrydata.Manyconsumerscouldcutoutthemiddleman(andproducefarless plasticwaste)byinvestinginawaterfilterandreusablewaterbottletototewhenthey'reonthe go.Fortunately,ConsumerReportstestsondozensofthelatestwaterfiltersfoundquiteafew modelssuitableforremovingmanysuchcontaminants.Watchvideo:GettingtheRightWater Filter. Firstfindoutwhat'sinyourwater OnewaytofindoutwhattypeoffilteryouneedistocheckyourConsumerConfidenceReport,or CCR.TheEPArequiresutilitiestoprovideaCCRtotheircustomerseveryyear.Youmayalsofind theCCRprintedinyournewspaperorpostedonyourlocalgovernmentwebsite. ConsumerReportsreviewedCCRsfromthe13largestU.S.citiesandfoundthatfewclaimedto havenofederalwaterqualityviolations.Thoughnoneoftheotherwatersystemswere consistentlyunhealthful,allhadsomesamplescontainingsignificantquantitiesofcontaminants. InNewYorkCity,forexample,somesampleshadleadlevelsseveraltimesthefederallimit. NotethataCCRmightindicatesafelevelsofacontaminantwhenyourwateractuallyhas experiencedpotentiallyharmfulspikes.Also,aCCRtellsyouaboutthewaterinyourmunicipality, butnotnecessarilyaboutwhat'scomingoutofyourparticulartap.Onlytestingyourhomesupply candothat. Evenifthewatercomingoutofthetreatmentplantisclean,contaminantscouldgetintowater afteritleavesthefacility.Thatsbecausemillionsofmilesofdistributionpipearenearingtheirend oflife.Andhouseholdplumbingremainsamaincauseofleadcontaminationinhomesbuiltbefore 1986. Homeownerswithawellontheirpropertyfaceevengreateruncertainty,becausesuchwaterisn't

surveyedorreportedoninCCRs. Tofindthenamesofstatecertifiedtestinglabs,calltheEPA'sSafeDrinkingWaterHotline(800 4264791),orgototheEPAhotlinethatisonline.Oryoucancontactyourlocalhealthauthority, whichmightofferlowcostorfreetestkits,orcheckoutwww.epa.gov/safewater/labs.Ultimately, youmightfindthatyoudon'tneedawaterfilter. It'simportanttoknowwhatcontaminantsareinyourwaterthatsoyoucanmatchthefilterto theproblem.Claimsaboutcontaminantremovalvaryfromproducttoproduct,soreadthefine print. Also,considerhowmuchwateryouconsumevs.howmucheffortanddisruptiontoyourdaily routineyou'rewillingtotolerate.Generally,themorecontaminantsyouneedtoremove,the morecomplicatedthefilter,thoughtherearetradeoffs. Greenrecommendations IfyougetoneofthetopratedwaterfiltersrecommendedbyConsumerReports,youcanget odorfree,clearer,bettertastingwater,withfewerdangerouscontaminants.Fortunately,there arealotofgoodchoices. Notsurprisingly,morewaterfiltermanufacturersaretoutingtheirproducts'powertoremove impurities,notjustimprovetasteandappearance.Inrecenttests,ConsumerReportsspiked waterwithleadandchloroform(asurrogatefororganiccompoundslikeatrazineandbenzene,and forbadtaste)totestfivedifferenttypesoffilters:carafe,faucetmounted,countertop,undersink, andreverseosmosismodels. Manyfiltersdidthejob,butsomeremovedlessofeachcontaminantthanpromised,andeventhe bestcanbeoverwhelmedbysuddensurgesincontaminants.Undersinkandreverseosmosis modelsoutperformedfaucetmountsandcarafes,butrequiredprofessionalinstallationandcanbe quiteexpensive. Besuretoconsiderthetotalcostwhenchoosingafilter.Somehaveveryexpensivecartridge refills. Alsonote:Manyrefrigeratorsnowhavewaterdispenserswithbuiltinfiltration.Thoughthey're fineatimprovingtaste,inpasttestssomesystemsweresosoatremovingimpurities.Plus replacementcartridgesarecostly.Byinstallingarecommendedundersinkfiltertothe refrigerator'swatersupplyline,youcanbypasstheappliance'sfilterandyoumaygetcleaner, moreeconomicalresults. Carafes Amongthecarafestested,thetopratedLotusTersanoLWT100 at $229andtheBestBuyClear20CWS100Aat$15bothremoved leadandchloroformeffectivelywithoutsacrificingcartridgelifeorflow rate. TwoZeroWatermodelswerealsorecommendedalthoughtheyscored lowerandtheirchloroformremovalscoreswerenotavailable.Theyare: ZeroWaterZD013 (8cup)at$35andtheZP010 (10cup)at$38. Rememberthatyoumustreplacethefiltersoncarafemodels,whichisanaddedcost.Ifyoure thinkingofacarafetypefilter,youshouldknowthatmanufacturersofcarafesdonthaveto disclosewhethertheirproductscontainBisphenolA,whichsomestudieshavelinkedto reproductiveabnormalitiesandaheightenedriskofbreastandprostatecancers,diabetes,and heartdisease. AllthecarafesinourtestsareBPAfree,accordingtotheirmanufacturers.Butmanufacturers shouldberequiredtolistthetypeofplasticusedintheircarafesandshouldnotuse polycarbonate,whichleachesBPA.

Faucetmountedfilters TheCulliganFM15Aat$15andtheBritaBaseOnTapOPFF100 at$19bothwerejudgedBestBuys,buttheirflowrateswereonlyfair, meaningittooklongerforthewatertoflowthroughthefilter. TheCulliganFM25 at$20andthePurFM3700Bat$30alsodida goodjobandwererecommended.

Countertopfilters TheShakleeBestWaterMTS2000#82300 at$260wasaBestBuy amongcountertopmodels,andtheAmwayeSpring100188 also washighrated,butitispricedatabout$600.Ittreatsthewaterwith ultravioletlighttechnology.

Undersinkfilters Fourmodelswererecommendedamongthistype.Theyare:MultiPureMP750SBat$400 ratedhighestinthegrouptheAquaPurebyCunoAPDWS1000 at$565theEcowater EPS1000 at$390andtheAmericanPlumberWLCS1000 at$251,whichwasjudgedonly faironflowrate. Reverseosmosis ThreemodelswerejudgedBestBuysamongthistype.Theyare:theWhirlpoolWHER25 (Lowes)at$146theKenmoreElite38556 at$255andthesimilarKenmore38156 at $153.TheKenmoresbothwerejudgedonlyfaironflowrate,however. Otherrecommendedmodelsinthisgroupweremoreexpensive.Theyare:theKineticoK5 DrinkingWaterStation at$1800,which,unlikemostotherfilters,removesfluoridethe CowayP07QLat$640theEcowaterERO375 at$675andtheCulliganAquaCleerat $1,000. Relatedlinks Acompletewaterfilterbuyingguidewithratingsanddetailedbrandandmodelrecommendations, isavailabletosubscribers. Bottleddoesntmeanbetter.9/11 Waterontap:whatyouneedtoknow.

EPADrinkingwatercontaminants.

Copyright20032012byConsumersUnionofUnitedStates.,Inc.,101TrumanAvenue,Yonkers,NY10703,a
nonprofitorganization.Nodownloading,transmission,photocopying,orcommercialusepermitted.Visit www.GreenerChoices.org.