# How to Filter Tap Water at Home # How to Filter Tap Water at Home: 5 Methods Ranked by Install, Removal and Running Cost **strong** The gap runs from a jug on a counter to a plumber under the sink. Each rung up asks for more. *em* [Filter Tap Water at Home, Counted](#specs) [Filter Tap Water at Home, Scored](#score) [Filter Tap Water at Home for Buyers](#who) [Filter Tap Water at Home, Gained and Lost](#proscons) [What Filter Tap Water at Home Costs](#cost) [Filter Tap Water at Home, Method by Method](#compare) [Filter Tap Water at Home, Your Questions](#faq) [Filter Tap Water at Home, Where It Lands](#verdict) **strong** This article contains affiliate links. **strong** at *em*. **strong** retail prices move daily, so we quote ranges and send you to the live figure on the listing. **strong** *em* Every number on this page traces to manufacturer documentation or a certification record, held against the claims on the box. No free products, no paid placements, no manufacturer relationships. Scoring rules are public on our [methodology page](/methodology). [](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DDXJDVX?tag=waterfilternerd-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1) ## How to Filter Tap Water at Home: 5 Methods, Counted **strong** A jug or dispenser, a faucet mount, an under sink cartridge, a reverse osmosis system and a whole house unit are the whole list. *em* **strong** Across the 136 records here, 36 need a counter or a fridge shelf. Only 8 screw onto the spout. Thirty tee into the cold line, 18 of those add a drain, and 11 want the main line opened. **strong** Twenty are bottles you carry and 13 are the cartridges that keep the fitted units alive. *em* - Nothing to install: 36 records, and 25 of those sit on a counter while 11 push onto a fridge line. - Hand tight on the spout: 8 records, no tools, and the water arrives at the tap you already use. - A tee in the cold line: 30 records, and each one wants a shutoff valve and a wrench. - A membrane and a drain: 18 records, and that second line is the price of the deepest removal. - A cut into the main: 11 records, a plumber's afternoon, and often a permit with it. **strong** the fastest install and the deepest contaminant list are never on the same box. Only 2 of the 5 rungs fit inside a rental. *em* Think of it this way **strong** A jug is a space heater you carry room to room, a faucet mount is a radiator under one window, and an under sink part is central heat for a single tap. A membrane is the boiler, and a whole house unit is the furnace in the basement. *em* Where the Records Ask to Be Fitted Bars showing how the 103 records that attach to a home want to be fitted: 36 need no tool at all, 8 screw onto the spout, 30 tee into the supply line, 18 add a drain line and 11 want the main line opened. Where the Records Ask to Be Fitted Records fitted to a home, 103 of 136 - 0 10 20 30 40 nothing to install onto the spout into the cold line with a drain line into the main line 36 8 30 18 11 Read off the category and the fitting named on each record. The bars cover the 103 that hook onto a home; the other 33 are 20 bottles you carry and 13 replacement parts and tools, which is why they sit on no rung. How 103 records want to be fitted, cheapest rung to hardest. Thirty six boxes reach a glass with no tool and no valve, and the rest ask for more. See the Spout Mount ## Filter Tap Water at Home by the Numbers, Scored 4 of 7 Every product in this index is rated 1 to 7 across seven verifiable criteria, 1 point per criterion and no partial credit. The pick is the PUR PFM350V faucet mount, the fixture that keeps the whole faucet mount group honest. It screws on in the aerator's place, with nothing else to fit. It lands in the middle of the ladder, easy to fit and still certified for what matters. Four lines take a point and 3 sit at zero, and the zeros are pace and paper. The points cover the certified scope and the flow figure. Here's what the listing leaves out: 100 gallons is the shortest rating in its group, and the sheet says tested where the storefront says certified. CriterionPointsEvidence Certified removal scope1 pointNSF/ANSI 42, 53 and 401 with a printed reduction table for all three, the widest standard set we have on a faucet mount Certification and test transparency0 pointsA data sheet that names the model and the standards, but no certificate or listing number, and the sheet says tested while the storefront says certified Filter life and rated capacity0 points100 gallons, the shortest rating in the faucet mount aisle, tied with the Brita cartridge Cost per gallon0 pointsAbout 13 to 15 cents, tied with the Brita cartridge at the top of our faucet records against about 4 cents for the Waterdrop FC-01 Flow rate and pressure drop1 point0.52 gpm rated service flow and a 20 to 100 psig window, both published in the data sheet Install and footprint1 pointScrews on where the aerator was, no plumbing, no tools, no counter or cabinet space at all Maintenance burden1 pointA 3 month clock, so about 4 cartridges a year at a gallon a day, which is the rhythm every faucet mount in the aisle runs The card comes off the fixture's own page, row for row, so the 2 pages can't disagree on a figure. 4 points on a spout fixture is the honest score: a certified scope and a clean install, bought with the shortest cartridge and the dearest gallon in its group. Compare the Faucet Mount on Amazon ## Filter Tap Water at Home for the Buyer You Are The 5 methods serve 5 different buyers, and the wrong match is the most common mistake on this page. A renter with a landlord's pipes takes a jug or a spout fixture, because neither one touches the plumbing. A homeowner with a cabinet to spare takes an under sink part and a dedicated tap. The method is a constraint first. The buyer chasing 1 named contaminant cares about the rung more than the buyer chasing taste. Lead turns up in the listing title of 17 records and in the standard of 31 here. The methods that name it run from a jug to a membrane. When you know what you're removing, the shortlist writes itself. The whole house buyer is treating more than a glass. A point of entry unit covers the shower, the dishwasher and the water heater off 1 decision. The laundry benefits with the drinking water. It's also the thinnest paperwork on the ladder: 8 of its 11 records name no standard a buyer can check. #### This Is Not Your Page If You want 1 winner with no trade: the rungs pull in opposite directions, and the cheapest entry point carries the least documentation of the 5. - You can't touch the plumbing and want the deepest removal: only a membrane reaches that standard, and a membrane needs a drain line. - You're buying for taste alone: any carbon method fixes that, and the rung stops deciding anything at that point. The way I see it **strong** A jug is the pair of slippers by the bed, and a faucet mount is the sneaker by the door. A main line unit is a pair of waders for a flood you rarely get. *em* ## How to Filter Tap Water at Home, Gained and Lost **strong** From a jug you fill by hand to a unit that treats the whole house, the index holds a version of each. And 103 of the 136 records fit onto a home. *em* **strong** The best certification ratio sits on the spout, not the deepest filter, and no other rung matches it. Every faucet mount here names a standard, and 6 of the 8 reach the health line. *em* **strong** A teed-in cartridge wants a shutoff and an afternoon, and the main line wants a plumber and often a permit. *em* #### What You Get - A rung for every constraint, from a hands-free jug to a unit that treats the whole house, and no tool on the first 2. - A spout fixture that names 42, 53 and 401 on every record, the best documented rung on the ladder. - A membrane that reaches the 1 standard no other method holds, when the water calls for it. #### What It Costs You - A trade you can't avoid: the easiest install carries the least certification, and the deepest carries the most pipe. - A whole house rung that fixes taste for the laundry as well, at a plumber's price and a permit. - A cartridge to rebuy on every rung, and the running cost is the half the listing leads with last. The [how to choose guide](/choose-water-filter) walks the same 5 rungs as 4 questions. [See the Faucet Mount](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DDXJDVX?tag=waterfilternerd-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1) ## What Filtering Tap Water at Home Costs to Run **strong** The upfront price and the running cost pull in different directions. Counting both is the only way to compare. *em* **strong** The faucet mount group spans about 4 to 18 cents a gallon. The pitcher shelf runs about 7 to 110. *em* **strong** A membrane unit sends water to the drain to make the water you keep, and the prefilters retire on shorter clocks. *em* - Under $35: the entry jugs and the spout fixtures, and the jug is the cheapest way onto the ladder. - Around $240: the first membrane, where the drain line arrives and the removal deepens. - Over $300: the whole house entry point, before a plumber's bill and a permit are added on. - On every rung: a cartridge you rebuy, which is where the real cost lives over a year. **strong** Each buys a place to hang a cartridge, and the cartridge decides the running cost. *em* Put another way **strong** The sticker is the adoption and the cartridge is the food. A jug eats every month and a teed-in part eats once or twice a year, which is the running cost. *em* [Compare Running Costs on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DDXJDVX?tag=waterfilternerd-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1) ## How to Filter Tap Water at Home, Method Against Method **strong** *em* MethodWhat it removesInstallRecordsVerdict **strong**Taste, odor and chlorine, and lead on someNothing, sits on a counter25The cheapest way in, and the thinnest documentation on the ladder **strong**Health contaminants on 6 of 8, with a printed tableHand tight, no tools8The paperwork sweet spot, right at the tap you already use **strong**Taste, odor and contaminants, health standard on 7 of 30A tee, a shutoff and a wrench30The homeowner's all rounder, and the widest quality spread of the 5 **strong**Dissolved solids, the one rung that reaches itA tee and a drain line18Deepest removal, deepest install, and it pays for the difference **strong**Taste first, for everything downstream of the mainA cut into the main line, and a plumber11Treats the shower and the laundry, and 8 of 11 name nothing checkable **strong** It's the count some buyers never run before they buy. What the Records Are Willing to Prove Figure showing the 136 records by the strongest standard each one names: 76 name nothing a reader can check, 3 name a materials standard, 21 stop at taste and odor, 28 reach the health standard and 8 reach dissolved solids. What the Records Are Willing to Prove Records, of 136 in the index - 0 20 40 60 80 names nothing checkable a materials standard stops at taste and odor reaches the health line reaches dissolved solids 76 3 21 28 8 Read off the certification line on every record, tiered by the strongest standard it names. The 76 with nothing checkable are 63 that name no standard and 13 that print the words NSF certified with no number behind them. What 136 boxes will actually prove about removal. The most common entry on this ladder is silence. The finding that matters is where the strongest certificate sits on the ladder. All 8 records that reach the dissolved solids standard are reverse osmosis. That rung is the only door to it. And the spout wins on ratio: every faucet mount names a standard and 6 of them reach the health line. The certification page explains what standards 42, 53 and 58 actually cover. See the Long Life Spout Mount ## Filter Tap Water at Home: Your Questions How do you filter tap water at home Five methods cover it. A jug or dispenser, a faucet mount, an under sink cartridge, a reverse osmosis system, and a point of entry unit on the main line. The 5 line up by how much plumbing each one asks for, and the spout is the only rung that names a standard on every record while needing no tools. What is the cheapest way to filter tap water at home A pitcher or dispenser, and it is also the least documented rung. Of the 25 records that sit on a counter, 11 name no standard a reader can check and only 6 reach that health line. It's the cheapest entry point in the whole index and the shallowest of the 5. Do faucet mount filters remove lead The ones that name standard 53 do, and 6 of the 8 faucet mounts here reach it. Across the index, 31 of the 136 records name that health standard and 17 print lead in the listing title. Lead removal is a listed claim with a number behind it, not a banner on a box. Do you need a plumber to filter tap water at home Only on the last 2 rungs. A jug and a faucet mount need nothing at all. An under sink cartridge needs a shutoff valve and a wrench. A reverse osmosis install adds a drain line, and a whole house install cuts into the main and usually wants a permit to go with it. Does a pitcher remove the same things as a membrane system No. A carbon pitcher fixes taste and odor and stops there on the dissolved front. A membrane is the only rung that reaches the dissolved solids standard, and all 8 records that carry it are reverse osmosis. That's the whole trade between the 2 ends of the ladder. ## How to Filter Tap Water at Home, and Where It Lands How to filter tap water at home is a question with 5 right answers, and only 1 of them fits any given kitchen. The rung you can reach without a tool is the shallowest. The rung that removes the most wants a drain and an afternoon. The trade is the whole page. The pick is the PUR PFM350V faucet mount, the rung that balances the 2 ends. It screws on at the spout, with no plumbing and no tools. It names 42, 53, 401, each with a printed table behind it. The pitcher group is the cheaper way onto the ladder, and the reverse osmosis shelf is where the removal finally deepens. Only 1 of those 2 needs a wrench. Ninety seven of the 136 records stop short of a health standard. The rung with the best certification ratio is the easiest 1 to fit. The full filter index ranks all of them by what they publish. Same rule as the dissolved solids page: the box decides, not the banner. Pick the rung your plumbing allows, then read the paperwork on it. Find Yours on Amazon ### Match the Rung to the House Nothing to install takes a jug, a rental takes a spout fixture, a cabinet takes an under sink part, and a drain line takes a membrane. One hundred three records hook into a home, and the other 33 you carry or replace. Start on the rung your plumbing allows. See the Pick on Amazon ## Every Term Behind Filtering Tap Water at Home Pitcher and gravity filter: a jug that lets water fall through a cartridge on its own, with no plumbing. - Faucet mount: a fixture that screws onto the spout in place of the aerator, and comes off the same way. - Under sink filter: a cartridge that tees into the cold line and feeds a tap of its own. - Point of entry: a unit fitted where the main line enters the house, so everything downstream is treated. - Reverse osmosis membrane: a fine film that holds dissolved solids back and flushes them away. - Drain line: the second connection a membrane needs, to carry the concentrate out of the house. - Shutoff valve: the fitting under a sink a teed-in install has to close before the line is opened. - Rated service flow: the gallons a minute a fixture passes at its tested pressure. - Standard 42: the certification for taste, odor and chlorine, and the quiet floor most methods meet. - Standard 53: the health standard naming lead, cysts and other contaminants, and the line 31 records here reach. - Standard 58: the membrane standard for dissolved solids, and the one that only a membrane holds. ## Keep Reading on Filter Tap Water at Home - The Pitcher Group: the cheapest rung, and the thinnest paperwork on the ladder. - The Faucet Mount Group: the spout rung, where every record names a standard. - The Under Sink Group: the all rounder that wants a wrench and a shutoff. - The Reverse Osmosis Shelf: the only rung that reaches standard 58.