Why You Need a Home Water Filter System & What to Look For

In many cities, healthy adults can drink tap water without cause for concern. However, pregnant women, young children, the elderly and people with compromised immune systems such as cancer patients are particularly vulnerable to some contaminants in tap water.

If you’re shopping for a water filter, first find out what pollutants might be in your water. I recommend that you test your tap water for lead contamination, particularly if you have young kids, are pregnant, or have cancer, since lead is especially dangerous and levels can vary enormously from house to house. A lead test costs about $25.  Once you know what’s in your water, you can find a filter that’s geared toward getting rid of the specific pollutants, if any, that may be present.

Filter your tap water for both drinking AND bathing. If you can only afford to do one, filtering your bathing water may be more important, as your skin absorbs contaminants. To remove the endocrine-disrupting herbicide Atrazine, make sure your filter is certified to remove it. According to the EWG, perchlorate can be filtered out using a reverse osmosis filter.

Select the Right Water Filter

Household water filters generally fall into one of two categories: point-of-entry units, which treat water before it gets distributed throughout the house; and point-of-use units, which include countertop filters (e.g. filter pitchers), faucet filters, and under-the-sink units. Some filters use more than one kind of filtration technology.

As a general rule, look for filters labeled as meeting NSF/ANSI standard 53 and that are certified to remove the contaminant(s) of concern in your water. While the NSF certification program is not flawless, it does provide some assurance that at least some claims made by the manufacturer have been verified. NSF-certified filters have been independently tested to show that they can reduce levels of certain pollutants under specified conditions. Those that meet standard 53 are geared toward treating water for health, not just for aesthetic qualities.

For many people, an activated carbon filter bearing NSF Standard 53 certification will filter out most pollutants of concern. But if you’ve got perchlorate, a rocket fuel ingredient, in your water, for example, a simple countertop filter won’t do the job. Once you’ve got a general idea, visit NSF International’s drinking water treatment units online product database or here is a brief description of the most popular ones.

  • Activated Carbon Filter

How it works: Positively charged and highly absorbent carbon in the filter attracts and traps many impurities.

Used in: Countertop, faucet filters and under-the-sink units.

Gets rid of: Bad tastes and odors, including chlorine. Standard 53-certified filters also can substantially reduce many hazardous contaminants, including heavy metals such as copper, lead and mercury; disinfection byproducts; parasites such as Giardia and Cryptosporidium ; pesticides; radon; and volatile organic chemicals such as methyl-tert-butyl ether (MTBE), dichlorobenzene and trichloroethylene (TCE).

  • Cation Exchange Softener

How it works: “Softens” hard water by trading minerals with a strong positive charge for one with less of a charge.

Used in: Whole-house, point-of-entry units.

Gets rid of:  Calcium and magnesium, which form mineral deposits in plumbing and fixtures, as well as barium and some other ions that can create health hazards.

  • Distiller

How it works: Boils water and recondenses the purified steam.

Used in: Countertop or whole house point-of-entry units; can be combined with a carbon filter.

Gets rid of:  Heavy metals such as cadmium, chromium, copper, lead and mercury, as well as arsenic, barium, fluoride, selenium and sodium.

  • Reverse Osmosis

How it works: A semipermeable membrane separates impurities from water. (Note: This filtration technique wastes a substantial amount of water during the treatment process.)

Used in: Under-the-sink units; often in combination with a carbon filter or UV disinfection unit.

Gets rid of:  Most contaminants, including certain parasites such as Cryptosporidium and Giardia; heavy metals such as cadmium, copper, lead and mercury; and other pollutants, including arsenic, barium, nitrate/nitrite, perchlorate and selenium.

  • Ultraviolet Disinfection

How it works: Ultraviolet light kills bacteria and other microorganisms.

Used in: Under-the-sink units, often in combination with a carbon filter and sediment screen.

Gets rid of: Bacteria and parasites; class A systems protect against harmful bacteria and viruses, including Cryptosporidium and Giardia , while class B systems are designed to make non-disease-causing bacteria inactive.

My family used Culligan brand to install an activated carbon system in our whole house and a reverse osmosis filter for our kitchen drinking water.   Remember, filters not only take out the pollutants in your water, they also remove all minerals making the water acidic.   Acidity is not good for anyone fighting cancer, so it is important that you re-mineralize either your water or your body, preferably both.  

To re-alkaline our drinking water we use a portable alkaline water filter.   I even tested it with PH paper and it works!   It’s also great for travel or to take to work so you can drink healthy water anywhere.    Also remember that taking minerals at night will help to make your body more alkaline as well as eating dark, green leafy vegetables.

Maintain Your Filter Properly

No filter will give you good performance over the long term unless it receives regular maintenance. As contaminants build up, a filter can not only become less effective, but actually can make your water worse, by starting to release harmful bacteria or chemicals back into your filtered water.

To keep your filter working properly, follow the manufacturer’s maintenance directions. Some filters only require a cartridge change, while others are better maintained by a certified professional. Many filter distributors offer maintenance and service contracts for their products. Before buying any water treatment system, compare not only filter prices, but also operating and maintenance costs for the different units. To find a dealer in your area, see the Water Quality Association’s online listings.

Here are some water filters you can find on Amazon:

Do you have a water filter in your home or are you in the market for one? Let me know in the comments below!


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    Leann Forst, MBA, CHC — Family Health & Cancer Coach

    Leann is a Board Certified Holistic Health Practitioner, holding a Master’s degree from Drake University and a Bachelor of Science from Upper Iowa University. Leann is accredited by the American Association of Drugless Practitioners. And she is an award winning author of 2 books “How to Get Your Kids to Beg for Veggies” and “100 Ways to Lose Weight.”

    Born and raised as an Iowa farm girl, she moved to Texas in 1998 where she lives with her husband and 2 kids.

    As a wife of a brain cancer survivor, Leann has a special interest in anti-cancer nutrition and detoxification. She works with individuals and groups, and speaks regularly at hospitals, schools and organizations to teach people how to attain optimal health by getting to the root cause of chronic and inflammatory conditions, while using healing modalities such as essential oils. Click here to get my free report, “37 Cancer Facts You Should Know…But Probably Don’t”

    Disclosure: this post contains affiliate links.

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