Water filters are a growing economy based on fear. But people have good reasons to be concerned about their drinking water—chlorine, microplastics, PFAS everywhere, heavy metals in groundwater, whatever else worries me tomorrow.
But while many water filters seem to make a lot of promises, only some back them up with third-party lab testing—something I’ve been sad to discover while testing and researching countertop, under-sink, and shower water filters. I am very relieved when I see the characters NSF or IAPMO, the two main independent labs and certification organizations based in the United States.
Those are the bodies that tested and certified filters from California-based Clearly Filtered, whose pitchers and under-sink systems I tested this month alongside a number of other brands. This is related, because Obviously it offers discounts on all its filters right now. This includes a 10 percent blanket deal on all filters purchased through its website, and a 19 percent discount when you enter your phone number to receive a promo code.
How Clear Filters Work
The Clear Filter is a little different than one of its biggest competitors, ZeroWater, whose filters I also reviewed. ZeroWater removes almost all dissolved solids, including minerals like calcium and magnesium, from the water that passes through its filter. This is a straightforward method, but I’ve also noticed that it often doesn’t taste as good as demineralized water.
A Clely Filtered water pitcher uses a carbon filter and other media to remove many things, including free chlorine, PFAS and PFOA, and other heavy metals. But it does not remove the mineral content or reduce the total amount of dissolved solids in your water at all. Partly due to the activated carbon filter, my tests showed that the filter is actually a little increased total dissolved solids. (Track the amount of activated carbon is not a problem: if there is, some think it is good for you.)
It clearly certifies its water pitcher to filter out chlorine and PFAS to international NSF specifications. The company also released lab results from the IAPMO lab in New Jersey showing the reduction or near elimination of hundreds of other pollutants that do not meet international standards. (See all IAPMO lab results here.)
The water that comes out still tastes like almost soft water from my faucet, minus almost all the chloramine (the chlorine compound used to disinfect my water in Portland, Oregon). A pitcher filter takes about 13 minutes to filter half a gallon of water from the reservoir to the basement. But be aware that the initiation process is not ideal, which involves squeezing the water through a flimsy plastic bag to force it through the filter. This bag is then meant to be saved for future filters, or bought again for $15 if you lose or puncture it.
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Photo: Matthew Korfhage
Clear Filtered
Filtered Water Bottle
The 32-ounce stainless steel water bottle uses the same filtration technology as the pitcher but requires you to siphon water through a filter attached to a washable drinking spout—a solution that lets you filter sewage, wherever you can find it. You’ll have to suck the grass a lot to get the water through the filter, but it’s a great solution for quickly filtering water—similar in concept to other filters but more socially acceptable.
Landscaping Undersink Solution
But the filtration system I find most useful at home is the Clearly Filtered three-stage under-sink system. In part, it solves the problem for me. A good percentage of under-sink water filtration systems require some level of installation, space for a separate faucet, or even integration with the faucet. As an employer, this makes it difficult for me to consider.
But the under-sink filter is obviously compatible with the water line and works with your existing faucet. It took me less than five minutes to install, without drilling a single hole or calling the landlord. All I had to do was shut off my cold water line, release the water line from the valve, and attach the water lines to the proper connections on the Clear Filter system.
Photo: Matthew Korfhage
Clear Filtered
3 Submersible Filter System
It’s a more expensive system than others from Clearly Filtered, but it doesn’t require filling and refilling a jar that takes up space in my fridge or on my counter. It also reduces the flow rate a bit, but not enough to worry me. The filtration rates reported by the PFAS lab are also as good as I would expect, at or near 99 percent in most cases. My chemical tests showed that the three-stage filter removed chloramine from my water system to undetectable levels. (The pitcher filter almost, but not quite, got this.)
Note that adjusting the three stage filters takes at least 15 minutes to run out of the tap, although I would say I need to run the water for half an hour before the total dissolved solids return to normal levels. This mirrors my experience with the pitcher, which also required a few filter cycles to fully function.
However, there aren’t any Clear Refined systems on the market, price-wise. Discounts are therefore highly valued, especially in a three-tier system, where percentage discounts pay off the most.
