Did you know ? Most of us consume tap water.
In a 2021 survey led by MedRxiv, 60% of respondents declared drinking daily tap water. Interestingly enough, another recent study revealed that the rest of the Americans who rather rely on bottled water, may actually be also drinking tap water… 25% of the bottled water volumes are nothing but municipal water that went through some filtration process!
By now, everyone knows that tap water can be contaminated by perfluorinated chemicals, or PFAS/PFOS, as highlighted by the recurring scandals in the news. We now know that bottled water isn’t necessarily a better alternative, with proven pollution from microplastics and confirmed presence of PFAS in certain batches of major brands. So, what can we do?
Fortunately, there are solutions to reduce PFAS levels in your water to negligible amounts. Filter pitchers offer a simple and effective first step to reducing your exposure.
How Do Filter Pitchers Reduce PFAS?
The principle is simple: tap water is poured into the pitcher and passes through the filter cartridge inside it before being collected in the reservoir. It’s the cartridge that does the filtering; the pitcher itself is just a container.
The cartridge often contains a combination of three different technologies: activated carbon, ion exchange resin, and a polypropylene filter. These are sometimes referred to as “filter media,” which are stacked on top of each other in the filter cartridge. Primarily, these media are used for their ability to trap impurities (woven polypropylene filter), remove the taste and smell of chlorine (activated carbon), or reduce limescale deposits (ion exchange resin). Recent studies have shown that these media can also trap PFAS, making pitchers a viable and low-cost solution for reducing your exposure.
However, be cautious: only NSF53 or DWD certified pitchers are approved for treating PFAS. To our knowledge, there are only a few models that meet this requirement.
Why Choose a Pitcher Filter?
Affordable and convenient, the pitcher has its fans ever since BRITA dominated this market with extensive advertising and a marketing budget that many envy. However, the pitcher has its pros and cons:
Advantages of the filtering pitcher:
- Economical short-term solution
- Easy to use
- No installation required
- Helps reduce the taste and smell of chlorine
Disadvantages:
- Limited filtration capacity, requiring frequent filter cartridge changes
- Less effective compared to filters directly attached to plumbing, like under-sink filters
- Much more expensive in the long run than an under-sink filter, which only needs a cartridge change every 6 to 12 months
- Risk of bacterial growth over time
- Very few pitchers on the market are certified against PFAS
In summary, the pitcher remains a back up solution. Ideal for travel and on-the-go use, or to quickly address concerns about PFAS, it is not, in our opinion, a long-term solution against PFAS.
Our Selection of Filter Pitchers
If you want to try this first solution, we have scanned the market for you, looking for models certified against PFAS.
The selection offered is very short because there are still very few pitchers whose PFAS filtration capacity has been formally demonstrated by an independent laboratory. Be wary of manufacturers who claim their pitchers filter PFAS without mentioning any NSF/ANSI 53 certification. These may have been tested by the manufacturer themselves, or not tested at all, with PFAS filtration being an assumption based on the technology used.
In either case, stick to pitchers explicitly certified NSF53, like those in our table below:
 |
 |
|
|
| Model | NA | ZP-010 | PFOA |
| Brand | LARQ | ZEROWATER | CLEARLY FILTERED |
| Capacity | 1,9L | 2,3L | 2,3L |
| Dimensions | 8″L 6″W 10″H |
11.63″L 5.93″W 11″H |
10.2″L 5.1″W 11.2″H |
| Lifespan* | 230L | 660L | 380L |
| Replacement indicator |
No | No | No |
| Certification | NSF/ANSI 42 NSF/ANSI 53 NSF/ANSI 401 |
NSF/ANSI 42 NSF/ANSI 53 |
NSF/ANSI 42 NSF/ANSI 53 NSF/ANSI 401 NSF/ANSI 473 |
| Price range | 79,00$ | 34,99$ | 100-130$ |
| Where to Buy? | Buy on Amazon | Buy on Amazon | Buy on Amazon |
It’s important to note that while the technologies used are often the same (ion exchange resin, activated carbon, etc.), the performance of these pitchers can vary greatly—particularly in terms of the lifespan of the filter cartridges. In any case, we strongly recommend changing your pitcher’s cartridge at least every month. A cartridge kept too long becomes saturated with filtered elements, losing its filtering effectiveness, and may even become a breeding ground for potentially harmful germs.
In conclusion, while NSF53-certified pitchers are a valid option for reducing the presence of PFAS in your water, their long-term cost/performance/risks ratio is low.
For optimal protection against PFAS, under-sink filters remain a much better solution for treating your tap water, as their filtration performance far exceeds that of pitcher filters, and they are much more convenient.
Feel free to share this article with your friends and family to raise awareness about the dangers of PFAS/PFOS and the solutions to protect against them.
Sources:
- Examining Recent Trends in the Racial Disparity Gap in Tap Water Consumption, MedRxiv
- Bottled Water Vs. Tap Water: Rethink What You Drink, Reader’s Digest
- Getting ‘forever chemicals’ out of drinking water: EWG’s guide to PFAS water filters, Environmental Working Group
- Plastic particles in bottled water, National Institute of Health
- Multi-Industry Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Study – 2021 Preliminary Report, EPA
- Microbiological contamination of drinking water in a commercial household water filter system, National Library of Medicine
- Environmental group tests to find the best water filters for removing PFAS, CBS News
