PUR PFM350V Faucet Filter: Three Standards and a Hundred Gallon Cartridge
The PUR PFM350V Faucet Filter is the best documented faucet mount in the index, and it still falls short of a number a reader can key in. PUR publishes a performance data sheet that names this exact model, the three standards on it (NSF/ANSI 42 and 53, and 401), a 100 gallon capacity, and a rated service flow of 0.52 gallons per minute. Then it asks you to change the cartridge every 3 months, which is about 4 cartridges a year and about 14 cents a gallon at the band we hold. Rank 6 in Faucet Mount Filters on the day we last checked.
PUR PFM350V Faucet Filter Specs: What 100 Gallons Actually Holds
The PUR PFM350V is a horizontal faucet mount in metallic gray that replaces your aerator and hangs off the spout. Model PFM350V, sold as part of the PUR Plus line, with a three position lever on top for filtered, unfiltered and spray. Nothing sits on the counter and nothing gets plumbed.
For where it sits against the rest of the aisle, our faucet mount water filter rankings hold the running list, and the rest of the PUR lineup runs the same 100 gallon cartridge across every mount PUR sells. Here is what the documents say. The standards are unpacked term by term in our NSF certification guide.
- Certification under test: PUR's performance data sheet says the faucet mount models have been tested according to NSF/ANSI 42, 53 and 401, and it prints the reduction table for all three. Standard 53 is the health list, including lead, mercury and the volatile organic chemicals. Standard 401 covers trace compounds such as pharmaceuticals and flame retardants. Three standards on a faucet mount is the widest set on file, where the Brita, Culligan and WINGSOL mounts carry two.
- Rated capacity: 100 gallons, stated in the data sheet as the filter capacity for every faucet mount model that takes this cartridge.
- Rated service flow: 0.52 gallons per minute, published in the same data sheet. That's about 67 ounces a minute, so an eight ounce glass takes about seven seconds of pulling the lever.
- Service interval: 3 months. The storefront says to change it every three months and the data sheet pairs the same 100 gallon capacity with it, which makes the clock the binding limit for most households. The lever tells you when: a light on the housing counts down.
- Pressure and temperature windows: the data sheet gives 20 to 100 psig working pressure and a usable water temperature of 34 to 82 Fahrenheit. Warm water is outside the certification, so the filter only runs on the cold side.
- Contaminant claim: 70 chemical and physical substances, per the storefront and the listing. The data sheet is the document behind the number, and it prints the reduction percentage for each substance it lists.
- What it does not do: the data sheet's own footnote reads PUR doesn't filter microbes, so this isn't a microbiological barrier and the page treats it as chemistry only.
- Fit: the mount screws on where the aerator was, and PUR ships adapters for the common thread sizes. Faucets with a visible external aerator are the target. A pull down spray head, a non removable aerator or a very low spout that the housing would hit are all reasons to measure before ordering.
- Price band: $30 to $36 at our last check, in stock, sold and shipped by Amazon.com, buy box winner. Treat that as a band and check the listing for the live figure.
- Category position: rank 6 in Faucet Mount Filters at our last check, with its replacement cartridge two pack at rank 1 in Replacement Faucet Water Filters. The consumable outsells every mount it fits.
- Not published: a listing number, a micron rating, and the physical dimensions of the mount itself. Those three omissions cost this system the transparency point, and the page says so below.
What that adds up to at your tap: a filtered lever on the tap you already own, three standards behind the numbers, no counter space spent, a hundred gallons or ninety days whichever runs out first, and a filter light that counts for you.
100 gallons is 1,600 eight ounce glasses. At one gallon daily the tank would last 100 days, and the 3 month clock ends it at about 91. So the cartridge you're told to retire is about 9 percent full, which isn't a defect and not a secret: it's a filter sitting wet above a sink.
Think of it this way
Three standards in one cartridge is a pocket knife where every blade is certified. Standard 42 sharpens the taste, standard 53 takes on the health list, and 401 handles the compounds that show up in traces. Most mounts in this aisle carry two blades, and the third one is the reason this cartridge is worth reading the sheet for.
PUR PFM350V Faucet Filter Score: 4 of 7
Every product in this index is rated 1 to 7 across seven verifiable criteria, one point each, with no partial credit. I am an enthusiast with a long memory and a spreadsheet, not a lab, and the scorecard below is the entire method in one table.
Each line asks two questions: is the number on the record, and does it hold up against the rest of the class. The line stays at zero when the document is missing or the figure is the worst in its class. Three of the 7 points are gone here, and only one of them is paperwork.
| Criterion | Points | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Certified removal scope | 1 point | NSF/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 transparency | 0 points | A data sheet that names the model and the standards, but no certified or listing number, and the sheet says tested while the storefront says certified |
| Filter life and rated capacity | 0 points | 100 gallons, the shortest rating in the faucet mount aisle, tied with the Brita cartridge |
| Cost per gallon | 0 points | About 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 drop | 1 point | 0.52 gpm rated service flow and a 20 to 100 psig window, both published in the data sheet |
| Install and footprint | 1 point | Screws on where the aerator was, no plumbing, no tools, no counter or cabinet space at all |
| Maintenance burden | 1 point | A 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 three zeros are the paperwork, the tank size and the running cost. The transparency line is the strangest of the three, because PUR publishes more than anyone else in this aisle and still misses it: a data sheet and a storefront claim are not a number a reader can key in, and a number is what the criterion asks for. One missing serial costs this system 1 of the 7 points, and nothing about the water quality changes because of it.
The other two zeros are one fact measured two ways. 100 gallons is the floor of the faucet mount aisle, and the cents per gallon that follow are the same 100 gallons divided into the same cartridge band. The tank and the bill are the calendar in two hats. The clock itself scores the point: 4 changes a year is what every faucet mount in our records asks for, Brita's included, so it holds up against the class rather than against the calendar.
Who This PUR Faucet Filter Fits
The question is never which filter is best. It's which filter matches your tap, your sink, and the contaminant you actually named before you started shopping. This one answers the renter question and the lead question at the same time, and it answers the throughput question worst: 100 gallons a cartridge and 4 changes a year. If the tap isn't yours to modify, our filter picks for renters start with the mounts that unscrew in one turn.
Pick your side. If you want a filtered lever and nothing else to learn, this is the shortest path in the category.
- The lead worrier in a rental: standard 53 is on the certification list, with lead and mercury in the reduction table, and nothing has to be drilled, cut or approved by a landlord.
- The trace compound reader: standard 401 is rare on a faucet mount. It covers the pharmaceuticals and flame retardants that turn up in trace amounts, and PUR certified the same cartridge to it.
- The small household: a hundred gallons is about a gallon every day for three months, which is where the clock and the capacity land at the same time.
- The apartment kitchen with no counter room: the mount hangs on the spout, so the counter and the cabinet keep every inch they had.
- The person who moves: the whole thing unscrews in one turn, which isn't something a plumbed system can say.
This Is Not Your Filter If
- You drink more than about a gallon and a half a day. Four cartridges a year becomes five or six, and the arithmetic below gets worse from there.
- You want the cheapest gallon. The FC-01 mount does 320 gallons for a similar cartridge price, which is about a quarter of this running cost.
- You're on well water. Certified testing assumes a municipal supply, and a sediment load ahead of this cartridge is outside the sheet.
- You expect a microbiological barrier. PUR's own data sheet says it does not filter microbes, so this is chemistry, not disinfection.
- Your faucet has no removable aerator, or a spray head that drops. There's no adapter for a faucet that doesn't take one.
The way I see it
A faucet mount is the only filter in this index you can unscrew and take with you. The counter belongs to the landlord, the pipes belong to the building, and the aerator belongs to you for as long as you pay the water bill. That is a narrow claim, and it's the whole claim.
PUR Faucet Filter Pros and Cons
What You Get
- Three standards, one cartridge: 42 for taste, 53 for the health list, 401 for trace compounds, with a reduction table printed for each.
- A real performance data sheet: it names this model, the capacity and the flow rate, which is more than most faucet mounts publish.
- Zero counter space: the whole device lives on the spout, so a small kitchen keeps its cutting board real estate.
- No plumbing and no tools: the mount replaces the aerator, and the manufacturer's own steps are remove, identify, attach.
- A filter light on the housing: the countdown is on the device rather than in your head, and a three second press resets it.
- A consumable you can buy anywhere: the RF-9999 family sits at rank 1 in Replacement Faucet Water Filters, so the cartridge is not a scavenger hunt.
What It Costs You
- 100 gallons a cartridge: the floor of the aisle, tied with Brita and half the Culligan at a similar mount price.
- A cartridge every season: the 3 month clock, not the capacity, is what retires the filter in an ordinary household.
- About 14 cents a gallon: roughly 3.5 times the FC-01, on a much smaller tank.
- Paperwork gap: a data sheet is not a number a reader can key in, and the same product is described as tested on one surface and certified on another.
- No micron rating published: so the microplastics claim rests on the storefront sentence rather than on a number in the sheet.
- Fit is not universal: a faucet without a removable aerator, or a pull down spray head, won't take this mount at all.
PUR Faucet Filter Cost Per Gallon
The upfront price is the least interesting number on this page, and this is the category where the running cost surprises people most. A faucet mount looks like the cheap option in the aisle and it is, until the calendar starts handing you a new cartridge every season. Four of them a year is about $50 to $60, and the consistent math lives in our replacement cartridge comparisons.
- The system: a $30 to $36 band at our last check, first cartridge included.
- The cartridge: the genuine RF-9999 two pack sits in the $25 to $30 band in the same records, which is $13 to $15 per cartridge. Divide by the rated 100 gallons and you get about 13 to 15 cents per gallon.
- The clock changes the answer: drinking a gallon daily, you use 91 gallons in three months, so the calendar retires the cartridge 9 gallons early and your real figure is the same 13 to 15 cents on slightly less water.
- The annual reality: 4 cartridges at the band above is about $50 to $60 a year, on a mount that cost about $33. That's roughly a dollar a week to filter the drinking water in a house of four.
- The same math on the cheapest mount we carry: the FC-01 at 320 gallons a cartridge, about 4 cents a gallon and about $15 a year at one cartridge every six weeks.
- The same math on a pitcher: a Brita pitcher cartridge is about 12 to 14 cents a gallon at 40 gallons. A faucet mount beats a pitcher on volume, not on cents.
Here is the part the price tag hides: a faucet mount is not a cheaper filter, it is a faster one. You pay about 14 cents a gallon for the flow, the counter space you did not spend, and three standards on the sheet. The FC-01 gives you 320 gallons for the same money and two of the three standards are missing from its documentation. If the tank is the number that decides the purchase, our long life filters shortlist is sorted by exactly that.
Think of it this way
The cartridge is a sponge standing in water above a sink. Three months of sitting wet is the reason the calendar exists, and it is the reason you buy 4 a year whether you drink a quart a week or a gallon every day. A quarter of the cartridge you paid for is the price of not drinking from a sponge that has been damp since spring.
One two pack covers six months at one gallon daily, and the band on it moves with the season.
PUR PFM350V Faucet Filter vs the Field
Every row below is a faucet mount from our own index, with certifications and capacities from our records. Nothing here is a manufacturer comparison chart, and the upfront figures are bands rather than live prices.
| Mount | Certified | Rated life | Upfront band |
|---|---|---|---|
| PUR PFM350V | NSF 42, 53, 401 | 100 gal | $30 to $36 |
| Waterdrop FC-01 | NSF certified | 320 gal | $18 to $22 |
| Culligan CULFMWH | NSF 42, 53 | 200 gal | $28 to $33 |
| WINGSOL WS-FM002 | NSF 42, 53 | 350 gal | $30 to $36 |
| Brita Elite faucet mount | NSF 42, 53 | 100 gal | $31 to $38 |
Two things stand out. First, the certificate set is real and unusual: only this mount in the table is certified to a standard that covers trace compounds, and lead removal filters are a short list where the faucet mounts earn their place through standard 53.
Second, the tank sizes are all over the place. The WINGSOL at 350 gallons and the FC-01 at 320 are more than three times this cartridge, and the Waterdrop does it for a lower cartridge price. You're choosing between the widest certified contaminant list and the longest tank, and no mount we carry wins both.
More than three times the tank on a mount in the same price band, one standard narrower.
PUR Faucet Filter FAQ
- Does the PUR PFM350V remove lead?
- Yes, and it is the standard that carries it rather than a slogan. The performance data sheet names this model and says the faucet mount models have been tested to NSF/ANSI 53, which is the health effects standard, and the sheet prints a reduction figure for lead. The storefront goes further and claims 70 chemical and physical substances, which is a marketing count rather than a certification. Neither surface publishes a listing number, which is why the transparency line sits at zero.
- How long does a PUR faucet filter last?
- 100 gallons or 3 months, whichever arrives first. At a gallon daily the calendar wins at about 91 gallons, so the honest planning number is four cartridges a year rather than the 3.65 the capacity alone suggests. A household drinking half a gallon a day still buys four, because the clock does not care.
- Will it fit my faucet?
- The mount replaces the aerator, so the requirement is a faucet with a removable one, which is most kitchen faucets. PUR's own instructions are to unscrew the original aerator and washer, identify whether your threading is external or internal, and attach the device with the adapter that matches. A pull down spray head or a sealed aerator is a hard stop, and no adapter solves it.
- Does it filter bacteria or viruses?
- No, and PUR says so on its own sheet. The data sheet's footnote reads that PUR does not filter microbes, and this mount is not certified to a microbiological standard. Carbon and ion exchange chemistry is what you are buying: chlorine, taste, the health list under 53 and the trace compounds under 401. A filter that removes cysts or bacteria is a different product with a different certification.
- How much does a year of PUR cartridges cost?
- At a gallon a day, about $50 to $60 a year on the two pack band we hold, against a mount that sells for about $33. That is roughly a dollar a week. The listing's own claim of up to $30 a week in savings is a bottled water comparison rather than a filter comparison, and the filter half of that arithmetic is the dollar a week, not the thirty.
PUR PFM350V Faucet Filter: Where It Lands, Three Standards on a Small Tank
The PUR PFM350V earns 4/7, and the zeros divide neatly into paperwork, tank size and cost per gallon. It is tested to NSF/ANSI 42, 53 and 401 with a reduction table printed for all three, its data sheet names the exact model, the capacity and the flow rate, and it installs on the spout without touching a pipe, a counter or a cabinet.
It also runs about 13 to 15 cents a gallon on a 100 gallon cartridge that a 3 month clock retires first, publishes no listing number, and carries the shortest tank in the faucet mount aisle.
If you want certified trace compound coverage on the tap you already own, this is the most documented mount in our records. If you want the cheapest gallon, the same cartridge money buys more than three times the water one aisle over, and the budget filter list is where that trade is laid out.
Three standards, one hundred gallons, a cartridge every season, and no listing number to look up.
Where It Lands: A Filtered Lever With a Real Data Sheet
Three standards, a printed reduction table, no counter space spent and no pipe touched. A hundred gallons a cartridge and a three month clock are the price of the compact package.
PUR Faucet Filter Lexicon: Every Standard in This Review
- NSF/ANSI 42
- The aesthetic effects standard, covering chlorine, taste and odor. A filter certified to 42 alone improves how water tastes and claims nothing else.
- NSF/ANSI 53
- The health effects standard, covering contaminants with documented health impacts. Lead, mercury, VOCs and cysts live here, certified per listing. It is the standard that makes a lead claim a fact.
- NSF/ANSI 401
- The emerging compounds standard, covering things found at trace levels: pharmaceuticals, flame retardants, some pesticides. It is the third blade on this cartridge and a rare sight on a faucet mount.
- WQA
- The Water Quality Association, a certification body. PUR's own contaminant page says its faucet filters are certified by NSF and WQA, with WQA certifications dated 5/27/21 for the RF-3375 and RF-9999 cartridge models. A certifier named is not a listing number published.
- Performance data sheet
- The document that prints the tested reduction figures per contaminant. PUR's names the faucet mount models, the three standards, the 100 gallon capacity and the rated flow. It is the strongest single document in this review, and it still carries no serial number.
- Rated service flow
- The flow rate the filter is certified at, in gallons per minute. This one is 0.52 gpm, about 67 ounces a minute, which is why the filtered lever runs slower than the tap it hangs on.
- Rated capacity
- The volume a cartridge is certified to filter before performance is no longer covered, in gallons. Here it is 100, the floor of the category, and the number every cost figure on this page divides into.
- Microbes
- Bacteria, viruses and cysts. PUR does not filter them, and the data sheet says so in its own footnote. Standard 53 covers cyst reduction as a separate claim, not as a blanket microbiological certificate.
- Aerator
- The screened fitting on a faucet spout that mixes air into the stream. This mount replaces it, which is why a faucet without a removable aerator cannot take a faucet mount at all.
Keep Reading: More PUR Faucet Filter Reviews
- Best Faucet Mount Water Filters: the parent roundup, every mount in the index ranked by Nerd Stamp and running cost.
- PUR Water Filters Review: the whole PUR lineup, pitchers, dispensers and faucet systems, spec by spec.
- Best Under Sink Water Filters: what you graduate to when the gallon count starts to matter more than the counter space.
- The Nerd Stamp Methodology: how the 1 to 7 rating is calculated.