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As you search for a new countertop water filter, one thing will become clear in a hurry.
That’s that you have a large variety of countertop water filters to choose from.
They come in all different types, qualities, and price ranges.
That’s where my expertise in water filtration can help you. I spent over 26 years as a swimming pool filtration systems professional and this knowledge translates very well when it comes to home water filters.
I have spent countless hours researching and reviewing several of the best countertop water filters.
In this article, you will see detailed review information on the best countertop water filters as well as useful information regarding how countertop filters work.
This information should help you make a countertop water filter purchase that you will be happy with for many years to come.
Here is what I feel that you should consider the most when looking to buy the best countertop water filter:
There are 3 types of countertop water filters. Which type that you will like the best will come down to personal preference.
You will get to choose between gravity-fed, line-fed, and reverse osmosis countertop water filters.
As was mentioned, there is a wide variety of countertop water filters to choose from and that includes the types of tap water impurities that each model filters out.
I recommend that you get your household water tested with a water test kit and then purchase a countertop filter that targets the contaminants that you are most concerned about.
Gravity-fed countertop water filters take a little bit of time to produce filtered water as opposed to line-fed and RO countertop filters which give you almost instant enhanced water.
This is something to consider, especially if there is a high demand for filtered water in your household.
Just as there are many different countertop filtration systems to choose from, so are there ones with different filter useful lives and different prices for their replacement filter cartridges.
That means even though a particular best countertop water filter model may be less expensive than others, if its filters have a short useful life and are expensive, that initial money savings can even out in a hurry.
When you are talking about a water filtration device that will be placed on your countertop, you certainly will want to be aware of how big it is and how much counter space that it takes up.
Since your new water filter will also be displayed in plain sight, you don’t want it to be an eyesore either.
After conducting extensive research and using the criteria above, we created this review of the top 8 whole house water filtration systems for well water.
This was a pretty easy choice for my best countertop water filter. It’s made by a company with an excellent reputation in the industry.
The fact that it filters out over 200 household drinking water contaminants is impressive on its own but there are many other nice features that you get with it too.
Among these are its generous 2.25-gallon storage capacity and its extremely long filter life. It will look good on your countertop too with its nice stainless-steel exterior which also adds to its durability.
It’s very easy to set up and maintain too. The Big Berkey Gravity Filter is also fairly portable so you can make use of it at more than one location.
All of these features help to somewhat offset its higher initial cost ($317) and pricey replacement filters.
Nipping on the heels of the Big Berkey Gravity Filter for the top spot on my review list is this model countertop filter from Aquatru. That’s because it will remove or reduce 83 contaminants from your incoming water. A claim that’s backed up by this model’s five NSF/ANSI 3rd-party certifications.
It is a 100% self-contained reverse osmosis system that produces almost instantaneous purified tap water. No setup or plumbing is required either. This unit also features a very long filter life.
At $447, this is an expensive countertop water filter but the fact that it’s certified to reduce 83 contaminants and comes with a 30-day satisfaction guarantee that can be used as a trial period takes much of the risk out of this purchase.
Here is a gravity-fed water filter that testing has revealed will filter out over 200 tap water contaminants. That’s just one of the reasons that its placed so high up on my list of the best countertop water filters.
It’s a gravity-fed water filter that has a slow 2 GPH filter rate but it can store up to 1.5 gallons of purified water in its bottom tank.
The unit itself has a very reasonable $69 price but be wary of its high-cost replacement filters and their below average useful life.
Here is a very high-quality line-fed countertop water filter. It will remove chlorine and over 70 commonly found household water impurities. Several 3rd-party certifications back this claim up.
It features a very simple hook-up with everything that’s needed right in its included kit. The Aquasana Countertop Filter has a slower 0.5 GPM flow rate and it’s backed up by a satisfaction guarantee and a 1-year warranty.
I don’t personally feel this is a good-looking water filter but it does not take up much counter space when put in place.
The APEX filter is a countertop water filter that’s made by a manufacturer that’s been making water filtration products for over 24 years.
That experience clearly shows in the design of this multi-stage countertop filter that removes chlorine and several other impurities from your incoming water supply.
It does all of this even though it has a compact design that looks good when it’s placed on any style of countertop. This filter also produces water that is higher in alkalinity which is thought to have some health benefits.
It also comes with NSF/ANSI 42 certification for anti-chlorine aesthetic effects and NSF/ANSI 61 certification that indicates it’s made using safe materials. This water purification unit is also available in cleared and colored versions and comes with a 1-year warranty.
If you don’t like waiting around for purified water to drink, then this iSpringCKC line-fed compact water filter that produces near instantaneous enhanced water is worth taking a closer look at.
This unit features activated carbon block filtration that will filter chlorine and other tap water contaminants down to 5-microns in size.
Its compact and portable design also makes it ideal for RV, boat, and camper use. At around $39 it’s also one of the least expensive countertop water filters on my list of the best ones.
You get good peace of mind when purchasing this countertop water filtration system thanks to its 30-day money-back guarantee and 1-year limited warranty.
The Home Master is a compact countertop water filtration system that will remove or reduce many tap water contaminants despite its small size. It does this by making the most out of its advanced filter stages.
It’s a compact line-fed countertop filter with a high arching spout to make filling glasses and containers easier and the unit does that with an acceptable but not overwhelming 1 GPM flow rate.
At 300 gallons or 3-months, it has the shortest filter useful life of any product on my review list. Fortunately, compatible and affordable off-brand filter cartridge replacements are available for it.
The Zen Water System is a countertop water filter that works utilizing gravity and it has a total of 7 filtration stages in all. These stages target chlorine and many other tap water impurities.
The slow 1 GPH flow rate allows for excellent filtration but also means that you have to plan ahead if you need large amounts of purified water. The 2.5-gallon water storage tank helps offset that somewhat.
It’s a little tall to fit under some cabinets but it looks good and has among the lowest price replacement filter cartridges of any product that I reviewed here.
If your main concern with your tap water is to get rid of chlorine taste and odor, that’s exactly what this Clean water 4 less model countertop water filter is designed to do.
It’s also compact, features 5- filtration stages in all, and has a line that attaches to your faucet so no manual filling is involved.
If its non-replaceable filter media truly will last 7-years (which I am somewhat skeptical of), then this unit that’s reasonably priced is not a bad deal at all.
Are you someone that likes better quality drinking water but does not want to go through much trouble to get it? Then you will like the convenience that countertop water filter systems offer.
They are devices that require very low maintenance and the filtered water they produce is available right on your counter where you can quickly and easily accessible. You will also like the fact that countertop filters produce some good quality water at a budget-friendly price when their initial cost is averaged out over time.
These water filters are also available in two different types. Some are what is known as a gravity-fed style water filter that you fill yourself and others are line-fed so they are self-filling.
Part of the appeal of these types of water filtration devices is that they also require very little in the way of maintenance except for filter changes and occasional cleaning. Setup is very straightforward in most cases too and very few times is professional installation help required.
Each countertop water filter system contains filtration media inside of it usually in the form of cartridges. Some will even contain more than one filter cartridge or have several filtration stages.
Once water is either added or pushed into a countertop water filter, it will then have to pass through the filter media inside of it.
This filter media, which varies in makeup (usually some form of activated carbon filtration) and pore size will then begin to remove contaminants as the water flows through the media.
The smaller the pore size of the filtration media, the more contaminants that a countertop water filter will remove.
Three basic types of filters are placed on countertops. They are:
This is by far the most convenient type of countertop water filter. That’s because they have a feed line that is attached to a kitchen faucet so there is no need to fill them manually. They also produce filtered water almost instantaneously.
The drawbacks with this type of countertop filter are that they have to be placed close to a sink and they are much more difficult to install than a gravity-fed filter.
Many people like the simplicity that surrounds gravity-fed countertop water filters. That includes being easy to set up and maintain. They are two-piece water filtration devices that have a top portion with a filter cartridge that gets filled with water.
As their name implies, the water placed in them then uses gravity to allow the water to flow through the filter cartridges. The filtered water is then stored in the bottom section of the filter. This can be a storage tank or in some cases, it may be a pitcher or portable water container that can then be placed in the refrigerator.
The biggest problem with this style of countertop water filter is that they produce enhanced drinking water at a very slow rate. They also have to be filled manually which can be a bit tedious to do every day.
These types of countertop water filters are one of the most efficient when it comes to filtering out drinking water impurities.
They tend to be priced a little higher because they need an internal pump inside of them to provide the extreme pressure that it takes to produce high-quality RO filtered water almost instantaneously.
They will require an electric outlet nearby (some attach to the faucet too) to operate but other than that they are mostly self-contained. These usually do not make a great portable filter option but it’s not impossible with them.
Here are some of the reasons why countertop water filters have become so popular:
These are some reasons why people choose to buy other types of water purification devices other than countertop water filters:
Be aware of these factors and how they might impact your countertop water filter purchasing decision:
Looking at a countertop water filter model’s portability is another factor that you should consider when looking to buy one. That’s because if you have a cottage, cabin-style boat, or RV and your countertop water filter model is portable, it can be used when visiting these too.
Gravity-fed water filters are easily the most portable type of countertop water filter because they break down for easier packing and they are very simple to get set back up and working.
I also advise people to know what type of warranty they are getting with their new water filter purchase.
Not only for peace of mind, but I also use a warranty to tell me how much confidence a manufacturer has in their product to do what they say it will and hold up over time.
Free shipping is a nice bonus with any countertop water filter that is ordered online too.
Here are how the two main types of countertop water filters get set up and what it takes to maintain them.
This is by far the Easiest of the two types of countertop filters that we have discussed to install. That’s because all that’s involved in setting it up is taking the water storage tank out of the box and placing the water supply tank (with the filter cartridge installed) on top of it.
Then you just need to fill it with tap water and wait for the filtered water to make its way into the storage tank.
As far as maintenance goes, both halves of the gravity-fed water filter should be taken apart and cleaned at least once a month with soap and water. The filter cartridges that these need to work will most likely need replacing every 6 to 12 months too.
These are perhaps the easiest style countertop water filters to set up. This is because they are mostly self-contained units that either have to be manually filled or have a feed line attached to your kitchen faucet. So, you pretty much just plug them in and you are ready to go.
These do contain very long-lasting filters that need to be changed every 1 to 2-years. Other than that and some other support filter cartridge changes, there is not much maintenance that needs to be done to them.
While these countertop filter styles are much more involved when it comes to setting them up, most do not require professional help to do this even if you have just a small amount of mechanical ability.
The most difficult part of their setup is attaching them to the sink faucet. This involves unscrewing the aerator at the end of your faucet spout and then attaching a diverter valve assembly in its place.
The diverter valve allows you to switch back and forth between filtered and unfiltered water so you do not use up the filter cartridge unnecessarily in your faucet-style water filter.
As with a gravity-fed water filter, usually, the only maintenance required on them is replacing the cartridge filter every 6 to 12 months.
These are some of the most commonly asked questions regarding countertop water filtration systems.
Which is better: a countertop or under-sink water filter?. As a general rule, those water filters that go under the sink will usually be bigger and have more fine filtration stages, so they will filter out more contaminants than countertop water filters. There are some exceptions though.
This question is somewhat of a toss-up. This is because while whole house filters will most likely have more stages and filter out more contaminants than countertop water filters, they probably will not enhance your drinking water as much as a quality countertop water filter.
You would be hard-pressed to find a countertop water filter that was not effective at removing chlorine.
Beyond that, some units won’t filter out much more and others, such as the Big Berkey Water Filter reviewed above, will filter out an impressive amount of drinking water contaminants. So, it varies widely.
Reverse osmosis filtration produces higher quality drinking water than carbon-based countertop water filters.
You have a right to wonder if countertop water filters work on all kitchen faucets. Remember, not every countertop water filter can be attached to a kitchen faucet.
Those that do will usually only fit standard type kitchen faucets and cannot be attached to faucets that have pull-down or flared nozzles.
This is a difficult question to answer because although most brands of bottled water are filtered and ozone-treated, you still don’t know the true quality of the water inside of them.
So, I would much rather drink water that is filtered by a good countertop filtration system, that way I know exactly in what way my water has been enhanced.
Are you going to have to occasionally buy replacement filters for your countertop filter? With very few exceptions, yes. Most countertop water filters use carbon-based filter cartridges, so you can expect to replace your countertop system’s filters every 6 to 12 months.
If the only concern that you have with your incoming drinking water is that you would like to make it healthier to drink, then a simple countertop water filter is an inexpensive way to do that. They also make a nice complimentary piece to a whole-home water filtration system.
They are not practical for anything except to use to enhance the water that you drink or cook with. The fact that they are easy to set up and maintain is also appealing to most that own them.
You also have a wide variety of choices in them as far as their ability to purify your drinking water and the price ranges that they can be purchased in.
If you don’t have a reverse osmosis or advanced carbon-based filter installed on your water line that feeds your kitchen faucet, then I see no reason why you would not purchase a good countertop or under-sink water filtration device.
This will ensure that you and your family always have healthier tap water to drink.
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Scottsdale, AZ 85260
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