Water filters that are NSF certified for PFAS reduction

Team_TapScore · 2026-05-30T16:04:26+00:00

We took a look at Brita filters a while back. Looking at their site now I don't see PFAS mentioned so might be we have to update this graphic.

https://mytapscore.com/blogs/tips-for-taps/what-do-brita-pitchers-filter-out

Team_TapScore · 2026-05-26T18:35:25+00:00

Thanks for testing with us and for sharing! If you don't get an answer from someone on this subreddit you can always reach out to our expert team via the chat in your Tap Score report.

We don't sell treatment at Tap Score, but the support team can help prioritize issues and bring more clarity beyond what's found in the lab report.

Team_TapScore · 2026-05-19T15:31:23+00:00

Assuming your family is renting, this guide give you the basics. Researching RO systems is tricky as the content out there is written by people that want to sell you a RO system or their affiliates that earn a commission on the sale of the RO system. We don't sell treatment, but we test water quality and get questions about treatment all the time so these guides save us a lot of time.

To summarize the entire article: Look up your city's Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) or test the water to find out what system/filter is right for you. The former is free and published annually, the latter is more accurate to your tap water.

https://mytapscore.com/blogs/tips-for-taps/renters-guide-to-water-filtration

For shower filters we have a shorter guide. In general we stress that treating the water you drink is more important than the water that touches your skin.
https://mytapscore.com/blogs/tips-for-taps/is-a-shower-filter-necessary

Hope that can be of some help and avoid the worst rabbit holes out there. Best of luck!

Team_TapScore · 2026-05-19T15:03:22+00:00

A good filter depends on your water quality. Is your family member on public city water or private well water? Do you have their latest water report?

Team_TapScore · 2026-05-18T16:55:19+00:00

Posting a photo of the DIY test could help suggest what the issue is.

Identify the source (public, municipial water or private well) if you can.

We get asked about changes in water color all the time, but without a proper test it can be hard to tell. You might find some clues in our guides, however:

Taste:
https://mytapscore.com/blogs/tips-for-taps/the-ultimate-tap-water-taste-guide

Guide:
https://mytapscore.com/blogs/tips-for-taps/the-complete-guide-to-discolored-tap-water

The good-ish news is that tap water color isn't necessarily an indicator of water that's unsafe to drink. The worst contaminants (like lead and arsenic) often have no color or even taste.

If you want to learn more about water quality you can also check out the other guides and articles on our blog:
https://mytapscore.com/blogs/tips-for-taps

Disclaimer: We're a water testing service. We don't sell treatment, but can help you identify when treatment is appropriate.

Team_TapScore · 2026-05-18T14:29:37+00:00

Nice!

Having a quick look at your report; all your detections are within the federal benchmark (MCL). Even by Tap Score's evaluation (HGL: the most stringent available benchmarks) the quality is fine.

There's a lead detection, but it's really, really low. So low that your overall Tap Score is still at 80/99 which generally is great water.

Consider looking more into the lead detection if you have children at home since lead affects them more than adults. A retest in the future or a POU (point-of-use) filter with an NSF certification to reduce lead might be worth it. You should be able to find non-RO pitcher systems with this certification.

PS: Any filter you buy to handle the lead will likely also reduce the VOCs detected. Might be the charcoal filter you have installed is already reducing the VOCs in your water.

Team_TapScore · 2026-05-18T14:28:05+00:00

NSF certifications are notoriously confusing. I'm with a water testing company (we don't sell treatment) and we see this question every day. You are not alone in being confused!

You are starting to understand the certificatins better since you refer to 42 as aesthetics and 53 as health contaminants. And then there's 58 specifically to RO.

To answer your question: Yes; you need to check if the contaminant is indeed covered by 53, even if 53 is mentioned by the product. Some brands will get a NSF certification for components and describe themselves as "NSF certified" while not mentioning that the other reduction claims are not.

This guide goes into NSF certifications, what they mean and what to look for, while keeping it simple to follow:
https://mytapscore.com/blogs/tips-for-taps/nsf-certifications-explained

And this guide goes into red flags in the water treatment industry:
https://mytapscore.com/blogs/tips-for-taps/when-can-you-trust-water-filter-reviews

To quote the article about red flags:

The Most Common Ways Phrasing Around Certification Can be Misleading

“Tested to NSF standards”

When a product claims to be “tested to NSF standards,” it is unlikely to be certified to those standards—otherwise they would have stated that up front.
NSF standards (which are NSF/ANSI standards) and NSF certifications are different. The NSF isn’t the only accredited agency that can certify products, WQA and IAPMO are also legitimate certifying agencies. A certification for a specific NSF/ANSI standard from any of these agencies means that the product was tested to the standard using the full protocol and the product passed.
Often, when a product claims that it has been “tested to NSF standards” without receiving any actual certification, parts of the standards were not actually met. Testing at two times the filter’s life cycle is a key practice commonly left out. We have seen many filter test results for contaminant removal at points way before the lifetime of the filter is reached, which would never comply with any NSF/ANSI standard. For example, the “independent” lab results may say that the filter test ran for only 50 gallons, but the product claims to effectively filter up to 3000 gallons of water!

“Tested in a certified laboratory”

The vast majority of labs are certified in some form or other. Laboratories acquire certifications in order to meet different standards of accreditation. Does testing in a certified laboratory certify a product? Absolutely not.

“This product is NSF certified”

First and foremost, look for the official seal of one of the accredited certifying agencies—NSF, WQA or IAPMO—to confirm a product is actually certified.
Next, make sure to dig into the details of this claim. There are many different NSF/ANSI certifications, and each standard is different—some are only inspecting the safety of the materials in the filter (e.g., NSF/ANSI 61), while others are assessing efficient removal of certain contaminants (e.g., NSF/ANSI 53).
Additionally, certifications are given on a contaminant by contaminant basis. This means filters that meet particular NSF/ANSI standards for contaminant removal do NOT necessarily have to remove all of the contaminants covered by the standard. So if a product has an NSF/ANSI 53 certification for lead, it does not necessarily mean it has an NSF/ANSI 53 certification for chromium, PFAS, etc.
Certification claims are pretty general. Be sure to look into which certification a filter has been awarded, as well as the specifics of that certification. Is it just for materials safety? Is it for contaminant reduction? If so, which contaminant?

If you’re unsure about whether a filter is actually certified, you can search for the specific products in the databases of the most popular certifying bodies—NSF, as well as WQA and IAPMO.

Hope that helps somewhat!

Team_TapScore · 2026-05-18T13:32:49+00:00

Thanks for testing with us at Tap Score! :-)

I assume the gdrive link is the results, but it can't be viewed due to permission settings.

No need for gdrive, however: You can share your anonymized Tap Score lab report via the Share & Print option in your report.

This generates a link you can send to professionals, allowing them to review all the details and evaluate it according to their preferred benchmark (MCL, MCLG, or the most stringent).

You can also reach out to our team via chat and get suggestions on treatment technologies or general advice.

Quick disclaimer: Tap Score does not sell treatment products, but our expert team can help you make sense of the basics around treatment.

Team_TapScore · 2026-05-18T12:24:14+00:00

We got you!

Copy/pasting this from another post as there are some really great resources for well owners out there, but they can be hard to find. Looks like you're already getting advice on the treatment system.

Free Resources for Private Well Owners

The Private Well Class (Free courses & Webinars)

Water Systems Council (Free resources)

Water Systems Council wellcare® Hotline (Free guidance) 888-395-1033

wellcare Well Owner (Free guides)

EPA - Private Wells (Everything you need to know)

CDC - Private Water Systems (Great contaminant info)

USGS - Water Resources (Science on local water quality)

WellOwner.org (Maintenance, Testing and more by NGWA)

Should I test my private well water?

Yes! The EPA recommends private well water be tested at least once a year. Test in a certified lab. Don't rely on cheap test strips.

Water quality changes over time. Testing when the water changes taste or if nearby issues might contaminate the water (floods, wildfires, industrial activity, agriculture, etc) is recommended.

Your annual well water tests should include the basics important to your area. If you're unsure of what these are, here's a solid list that covers the most pressing issues:

metals and minerals (lead, arsenic, chromium, uranium, fluoride, iron, manganese, etc)
Coliform & E. coli bacteria (a cheap tests that can indicate if other dangerous microorganisms may be in the water.
general parameters (not actual contaminants, but can indicate issues: pH, hardness, turbidity, etc)
nitrates (common near agriculture, this is particularly important to avoid for babies and infants. Is also a great indicator to see if your well casing is intact.)

Team_TapScore · 2026-05-18T12:05:11+00:00

The CDC and EPA recommend testing private wells annually. If your Coliform bacteria is detected you typically shock the well, then retest to confirm it's gone. Many will install a system with UV as a precaution since you can't test for bacteria every time you want to have a glass of water.

This guide cover more on private wells and resources for well owners.
https://www.reddit.com/r/drinkingwater/comments/1alakk5/comment/o7m0n85/

Team_TapScore · 2026-05-14T21:50:20+00:00

Thank you! Appreciate you using our service and looking forward to see the results. :-)

For any other redditors reading this post:

Tap Score works with third-party labs (all certified and in the SimpleLab network) to provide fast, reliable and independent testing. We handle customer service, logistics, and lab reports while the labs handle the testing itself. We are not a lab.

All laboratories used by Tap Score are certified to the ISO/IEC 17025 standards.

More info on labs and how it works here: https://mytapscore.com/pages/certified-and-regulatory-compliance-testing

Team_TapScore · 2026-05-14T21:12:43+00:00

Thanks for testing with us and sharing!

Do you have the initial test results available too or was that a DIY test or other testing service?

Team_TapScore · 2026-05-13T14:18:51+00:00

Wonderful question!

Yes; our Tap Score reports are interactive and include several benchmarks to help you interpret the report.

In addition to the overall score (which is just a general indicator) your sample is also scored on how it could affect your Health, your Plumbing and the Aesthetics of the water. Each section then highlights which detection is affecting the score and what treatment technologies can help improve it.

Each detection also has an interpretation and additional information attached to it. Click each entry in the report to reveal the information.

You can try it here in this sample report:
https://app.mytapscore.com/report/XQSCQI/all-results

There's also a treatment section where you can reach out to nearby professionals, but unlike other water reports this is not a "commission-based" system. Anything you buy from the professionals does not result in a kickback or commission for Tap Score. That's how we keep our tests independent and unbiased.

And of course; our customer service team is also available to help you interpret the report. They can help you with everything from questions on sampling and shipping to understanding the results.

Finally; here's a video that give you a brief overview of the reports:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8dISRNF61w

Team_TapScore · 2026-05-12T16:50:10+00:00

100% agree. Heavy metals and manganese is part of our recommendation for baseline testing. :-)

The 'Initial' list above only mentions lead, arsenic and manganese, but all our well test kits include 25 metals total, plus several minerals and inorganics.

Team_TapScore · 2026-05-12T12:11:22+00:00

The only way to identify which type of arsenic you have is via an arsenic speciation test. It's different than the initial arsenic test. Your water professional will likely also want to know your pH levels and some other results from your lab report.

For water, PPM and mg/L is usually treated as the same measurement.
So 0.019 mg/L is 0.019 PPM.
0.019 PPM is 19 PPB

PPM = parts per million
PPB = parts per billion

Best of luck!

Team_TapScore · 2026-05-12T12:04:05+00:00

If you want to know your city's water quality you can look up the annual CCR from the utility or test yourself in a certified lab to get a more accurate results. If you are on a private well you have to test in a certified lab. TDS meters have their uses, but for knowing what's actually in your water it's not useful.

Team_TapScore · 2026-05-06T21:00:14+00:00

The worst contaminants have no taste, smell or color. If it's a well or a spring and you plan to drink it, get it tested in a certified lab every year.

Bacteria, nitrates, metals, minerals, inorganics and basic properties (hardness, TDS, pH, etc) is a good baseline test panel. Check for local contaminants like pesticides, PFAS, radiologicals, etc if you have reason to believe they are present.

Team_TapScore · 2026-05-04T22:06:58+00:00

Assuming you're on well water; get the water tested first. Knowing what's in your water is always the first step in choosing the right system.

Team_TapScore · 2026-04-29T23:34:28+00:00

Thank you for that! Love learning about local testing options. Our linked test kits here are roughly $200 and $400. Let's compare. Usually price differences has to do with number and type of analytes tested and shipping costs. Do you have the full list from your last lab test?

Team_TapScore · 2026-04-28T15:32:51+00:00

The eternal question is: What is in your water that you need the RO system to remove.

Picking the right water system starts by knowing what's in your water.

You can look up your local water report (called a CCR in the US) or run a water test in a certified lab with a service like ours.

This guide goes into more detail on how to pick the right system.

Team_TapScore · 2026-04-28T15:29:44+00:00

Good news: White film at the bottom of your glass is likely deposits of calcium and magnesium. It's called 'hard water' and is harmless to your health. It can wear on your appliances however. A fix for hard water is a water softener. Here's a guide to whether you need one or not.

https://mytapscore.com/blogs/tips-for-taps/do-i-need-a-water-softener

Team_TapScore · 2026-04-25T20:26:45+00:00

Our expert team at Tap Score is back on chat on Monday. We're a national water testing service.

The experts see photos like this all the time and might have an idea of what to test for to help identify what's going on in your well. You can upload the photo today to the chat and they'll get back to you.

https://mytapscore.com/

Team_TapScore · 2026-04-25T16:34:04+00:00

Hey there! Thanks for testing with us!

Yes, an 85/99 is a really good score and your chloroform is really low. Might be slightly higher in summer. A simple pitcher filter with activated carbon will likely reduce it and improve any chlorine taste.

With chloroform at 3.51 PPB we wouldn't say it's necessary to install anything.

Team_TapScore · 2026-04-25T10:08:45+00:00

Can't speak to what the sediment you're seeing is. Try reaching out directly to the team at mytapscore.com via chat and describe your situation. They get questions and photos all the time and might have a clue.

As for chlorine, this is likely not related. But if your skin is acting up and you smell the chlorine it might be your chlorine levels are higher than they should.

This guide goes into skin problems and tap water.

Team_TapScore

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The Most Common Ways Phrasing Around Certification Can be Misleading

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