Whether you live in the city or out in the country, the water coming out of your tap, if untreated, is probably not good for you. According to the EPA, there are more than 300 chemicals and pollutants in most tap water, including volatile organic compounds, heavy metals, and other contaminants, such as fluoride. Bottled water can also be problematic, with chemicals that can leech from the plastic container to the water. Furthermore, most bottled water isn’t regulated and may be no better (or even worse) than your tap water.

Your first decision—do you want to filter all water that comes into your home or do you want to selectively filter your water. This blog looks at selective filtering options, which, as a general rule, are less expensive than whole home filtration systems.

• Pitcher water filters — With these types of filters, you clean a pitcher at a time. They are somewhat effective, but don’t have solid carbon filters, so they can’t remove all the toxins in your water, including fluoride and heavy metals. Because they only filter small quantities of water, they’re not very effective for cooking. In addition, you’ll have to periodically purchase new cartridges to filter the water.
• Reverse osmosis — This process combines a granulated activated charcoal filter with a membrane, typically mounted under your sink. The membrane filters some contaminants, but can also filter out many naturally occurring and desirable minerals, such as calcium and magnesium. Unfortunately, it requires several gallons of water to produce a single gallon of filtered water.
• Solid block carbon filters — A solid block carbon filter is the most effective way to filter water…some will even remove food coloring from water. Most are gravity based and will work without electricity or running water, so you can still filter water if your power is out. These filters are customarily mounted on a counter and can take up a fair amount of space.

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