Comparing the cost of filters for drinking water can be very confusing. The assumption that paying more for a drinking water filter means removing more impurities is a dangerous one. We looked at 10 of the top rated drinking water filters and found they ranged from $34.95 to $420.00 - a wide range of costs indeed! So, what are the differences that make one drinking water filter cost so much more than another?



One issue is mark-up. It's a common enough practice: an enterprising business person buys a product direct from the manufacturer, then profits by reselling it at a higher price. Resellers are companies that do not manufacture anything. They just travel the globe searching for merchandise they can purchase cheaply and make a profit on.

In this respect, water filters are no different from any other merchandise.

So, if you can buy a drinking water filter (or any other product for that matter) directly from the factory, you will save money. With the money you save, you can sometimes buy two or three for a comparable cost. It all depends on how much the reseller marks up the product. You can see that all the manufacturers of drinking water filter are almost charging same price for their units or will be in the same range. While prices vary, the average falls near $140.00 for a counter top system.

But what about those really low priced models? Brita and Pur are the most highly advertised and also the most frequently heard. Let's examine them and see if they are truly worth it.

For $34, you can purchase a Brita drinking water filter that attaches to your faucet. Although it removes chlorine, it does not remove other by-products like THMs. To me it seems quite illogical to block one, but not the other. Chlorine and THMs have both been linked to cancer. In women with breast cancer, the level of THMs in their fat cells is much higher than what is found in the fat cells of women without breast cancer. Experts consider that the cause for many new cases of cancer occurring every day is due to chlorine.

There are some other impurities that a Brita drinking water filter cannot block.

These include VOCs (chemicals found paint thinners, dry cleaning solvents and gasoline) and MTBE, a gasoline additive. Here's a worrisome fact: all the previously mentioned contaminants have shown up in public water supplies, and conventional water treatment processes won't remove them. The concentration limits established by federal regulation as "safe" are regarded by some in the scientific community as far too high, given that even low exposure, when continued over years, can increase the incidence of heart disease and cancer.

PUR drinking water filters remove even less impurities than Brita. Often, consumers seek out PUR drinking water filters because the flavor and hue of their home water supply doesn't meet their standards. Unfortunately, a large percentage of them are completely unaware about the dangerous chemical contaminants that are not filtered by the PUR filters they buy. What they fail to understand is that while chlorine can be removed easily, THMs are much more stubborn. These filters also do not block pesticides and herbicides that are commonly used throughout the United States. Anything that is used in the environment eventually ends up in the reservoir and finally makes it in to your home. As hazardous and difficult to remove as these chemicals are, a good drinking water filter should safely extract them.

The finest drinking water filters are sensibly priced and block almost anything. Spend some time looking for one and do all the research. You can check out my website below if you need more information. Surprising enough, the ones that are promoted the most are not always the best.