Wading Through the Flood of Water Filter Hyperbole

I've been in the water filter business since May of 2001. Since then I've seen a great number of dealers on the internet come and go. I'm always keeping an eye on the competition and I've seen a lot of ridiculous, sometimes unscientific and often illegal performance claims. Unfortunately, many of these same dealers spend an inordinate amount of their resources on marketing and are therefore the companies that a shopper is likely to encounter first while beginning research.

Fortunately, there are ways to check the validity of claims made by dealers and manufacturers. The National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) is the preeminent source in the water filter industry for verifying the performance of water filters. In fact, they set the standards for protocols that are used by other labs to test a filter's ability to reduce contaminants in water - for example, the California Department of Health. The NSF has many types of certifications so it is important to check for certification for the reduction of the contaminant of interest.

CONSUMER REPORTS WATER SOFTENERS

In California, it is illegal to sell any water filtration device that make claims for the reduction of anything other than chlorine, taste and odor unless that device has been tested by the state of California to reduce said contaminant. (At some point California has stated that they will accept NSF certified systems but as of this writing that has not been done). This doesn't seem to stop most internet water filter dealers. Even though the state of California actively seeks violators and often fines them, illegal claims for water filter devices sold into California continue unabated. There are some water filters that have opted for expending the capital to obtain California certification in lieu of NSF certification (for example Aquasana). This makes perfect sense for many manufacturers as the state of California uses NSF protocols to test water filters! Some manufacturers have spent the money to have both the NSF and California certifications (for example Multi-pure). Other states have laws similar to California but don't have the reputation for aggressive prosecution that California does.

So as a consumer how do you ensure that you get what you think you are paying for? First, look for certification from NSF or California for the reduction of the contaminant that you are interested in reducing. Second, check with the dealer and ask for certification for the claims that they make. If they hem haw or make excuses for not having any certifications or cannot provide offsite documentation, caveat emptor!

Wading Through the Flood of Water Filter Hyperbole

CONSUMER REPORTS WATER SOFTENERS