Consumer Reports tested the efficacy of several water filters to remove contaminants, including less expensive carafes, faucet-mounted units, as well as more expensive countertop and under-the-sink filters. The study found that your best bet might be cheaper than you think.
"Today's filters promise to do more than remove just bad tastes and odors. These days many claim to remove contaminants like lead and chloroform, which is a surrogate for pesticides and other harmful organics," said Dan DiClerico from Consumer Reports.
Consumer Reports testers set up an elaborate rig and ran water spiked with lead and chloroform through it to evaluate the filters.
"Ideally, you want a filter that will catch the most contaminants and maintain a good flow rate without clogging," DiClerico explained.
Not all filters performed well. A Crystal Quest faucet filter did a poor job at removing lead and chloroform.
"We had several filters clog, including an under-the-sink model that cost over $400," said DiClerico of the Everpure H-1200.
If you don't need to filter large amounts of water at one time, your best bet is an inexpensive carafe or faucet-mounted filter. The Clear20 carafe filter for $30 is a Consumer Reports best buy, because it did an excellent job at removing lead and chloroform.
If you need to filter larger amounts of water, Consumer Reports says a countertop filter might do the trick, and no plumbing modifications are needed. The publication recommends the $100 Aquasana AQ-4000.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Chris Olsen.
