What’s in Your Tap Water?

You might be surprised to find out what's in your tap water. The Environmental Working Group has a great resource to get a basic understanding of your local water quality – and it's free! Just enter your zip code here.

Recent studies have revealed a concerning fact: almost half of the tap water in the U.S. is contaminated with per- and polyfluorinated substances (PFAS). These chemicals have been linked to serious health issues such as cancer, obesity, thyroid disease, high cholesterol, decreased fertility, liver damage, and hormone suppression. This is not meant to scare you but to underscore the importance of being informed and taking steps to protect yourself.

If you'd like a more comprehensive (and up-to-date) test, check out Tap Score. You can purchase a kit to test your tap water, and then they'll give you personalized filter recommendations. It may be useful to do an at-home test since the EWG results are from 2021, and their testing is done at the treatment facilities. Many contaminants can get in your water while traveling from the treatment facilities to your home.

If you own your home, an under-the-sink reverse osmosis water filter is the best choice. The only thing to note is that reverse osmosis filters also filter out beneficial minerals in water, so it may be useful to add trace minerals back into your water. This is a nice option.

If you rent your home and cannot install an under-the-sink system, then these are great options:

• 3-stage carbon pitcher filter from ClearlyFiltered

• 4-stage reverse osmosis countertop filter from AquaTru (they have an alkaline filter option that adds minerals back into the water)