Water Filters

      It's Time To Stop Drinking Chlorine & Fluoride
                                                    and who knows what else

      Drink Pure Healthy Clean Water      


Friendsofwater.com has made its selection for the best water filters. We are most impressed with the PowerDisk kdf water filters to filter water for showering, bathing and gardening.  We are convinced that these are also the best choice for water filters to filter drinking water when combined with carbon (as it is in these water filters).  If you have fluoride to remove, we add a second canister with more filter media than any other we've seen.

As you may know, friendsofwater.com considers and selects water products to sell that we believe do a great job, fulfill the claims made about them, and are a good value. There are many choices for water filters available, and we could set ourselves up to resell many water filter lines. But of them all, we find these water filters to be the best.  We believe that in the long run we will do best by delivering the best products to our customers.

You can easily find cheaper versions of these kitchen filters that look and sound very similiar.  The difference is in the quantity and quality of the parts, the quality of the filter media, and MOST IMPORTANTLY the quantity of the filter media.


               This page describes our line of water filters and provides in-depth information about water filters.
                                                     Most of your questions will be answered on this page.

                       Click here or below to go straight to water filters in the store, 
                                   or you can click the photos above to go to specific kitchen filters in the store.


                                                 friendsofwater.com can be reached at:

                                                                      
                                                                               866-482-6803
                                                           or
                                                                        sales@friendsofwater.com  


                           Some Reasons You Need a Water Filter

There are more and more widely-distributed news stories pointing out the large number of new contaminants in our drinking water, including chemicals and hormones.  While no water filter company can say for certain that ALL of these contaminants will be COMPLETELY removed, because they haven't all been tested, we do say with considerable confidence and justification that the line of kitchen filters we sell will remove most of most of them.  The top quality and large quantity of granulated coconut carbon will remove organic materials including hormones and ecoli.  The kdf is very effective at removing metallic- and chemical-based contaminants.  The combination of the two is particularly effective; they use different methods for removal of contaminants.

If you tracked the news on water as we do every day, you too would see the endless stream (yeah, we meant that pun) of stories of municipal water being contaminated in one way or another all over the country.  These incidents include arsenic, heavy metals like lead and chemical contamination.  Of course when the emergencies are recognized, the authorities let people know as soon as they can, and work to filter the water as quickly as they can.  But how much bad water did people drink before they learned that the water from their taps wasn't safe?

Perhaps more importantly, the 'normal' water from your tap is not as healthy for you and your family as it should be to use in your drinks and food.  And you probably don't know just how good or bad it is.  We'll just mention a couple of issues here.  Chlorine (called free chlorine) is a poison designed to kill living organisms.  Yes, it kills some nasty stuff that you might otherwise ingest.  Disinfecting water is a good idea.  Does that mean you need to drink the poison?  Filter it out of water before you drink it!

                                                                                                  Click here to visit our page on the risks of chlorine.

Additionally, chlorine reacts with natural organic matter in water and produces what are called disinfection byproducts.  Some of those, known as trihalomethanes, are believed  to be carcinogenic.

Because of the carcinogenic threat, some communities have replaced the use of free chlorine with with monochloramine. While it isn't quite as effective as chlorine at disinfecting, it also doesn't result in the creation of trihalomenthanes. Unfortunately, it has now been realized that monochloromine causes an increase in lead in the water. That's not good to drink either - remember lead poisoning? You really should clean your drinking water of these dangerous cleaners!

Chloramines are made when ammonia is added to water to make the chlorine last longer.  There are some people whose skin and stomachs rebel immediately on exposure to chloramines. Kdf comes in one form that is particularly effective at removing chloramine.  Filters with that kdf variant - with the amount of filter material in these filters - will remove an estimated 85% of chloramines when used as part of our filter combination.  We've just added a new 3-canister kitchen filter designed to do all that our other 2-canister filters do, plus remove most of the chloramines, for those who need that.

                                                                      Click here for some story telling on the importance of filtered water

                                                                             
                                                                         

 
                                                       Click to go to water filters in the store,



                                 "We Mostly Drink Bottled Water"

Well please stop!  We have created an entirely new set of major problems with all of this bottled water.  We'll list some of them:

• Many think that bottled water is healthier. There is no basis for this belief. Tap water is more regulated.
• A great deal of bottled water is contaminated. It does not have to be filtered when bottled.  Much of it is filtered only superficially to improve the taste and smell.
• The plastic itself can contaminate the water. The soft plastic used to bottle water quickly releases chemicals into the water.
• 1.5 million barrels of crude oil are used annually to produce the plastic used to bottle water
• Bottled water is hauled long distances for distribution, burning massive quantities of fuel
• One study put the cost of bottled water at 7.5 times that of tap water
• Mountainous rubbish heaps have been created from the throw-away bottles
• Massive water bottling is a form of defacto privatization
• Water shortages near water bottling plants have been reported all over, including Wisconsin, New Hampshire, Florida and Texas. 

                                           By Getting a Good Water Filter You Can

                                                       Know you are drinking pure healthy clean water
                                                         Stop drinking poisons (and other unknowns)
                                                  Have better-tasting and healthier coffee, tea and food
                                                          Reduce the burning of oil for making plastic
                                               Reduce gasoline usage in trucking bottled water around
                                                   Stop contributing to other people's water shortages
                                                         Stop contributing to waste material in dumps
                                          Reduce the need for recycling, which also has an energy cost
                                                    Save money - a lot of it - if you're buying bottled water
                                      Save water resources by sending clean water into the environment


                                                      Click to go to water filters in the store,


                   What About the Other Types of Water Filters?

Sorting through all the information on water filtering and water filters can be baffling. We have some background in understanding water filters, but it took us quite a while to determine which are the best now.  We have an online store.  We can sell whatever type of water filters we want.  There are several reasons we are convinced that the filters we are offering are indeed the best.  To summarize - these water filters do a great job at water filtration, require virtually no maintenance, filter replacements last a long time (and continue to do the filtering you need that entire time), and the water filters are very reasonably priced. 

We believe that they are the best value available for water filters.  They actually do what is needed and are affordable.  You can find less expensive filters with the same filter media - but the reason is that the quality and quantity of filter media is less.  They won't filter as well nor last as long.  Having a filter that doesn't do the job can be worse than not having one at all.

Let's look at the major categories of water filters.  Reverse osmosis water filters result in good tasting very clean water.  Unfortunately the process also strips out nutritional minerals, which naturally should be in the water we drink.  Also, reverse osmosis filters separate good water, leaving the stuff you don't want in the water which is discarded. That can account for 3 to 5 gallons wasted for every filtered gallon!  We're trying to avoid waste and save our water resource.  We understand that reverse osmosis water filters also must periodically sanitized with chlorine bleach!   This is an unsustainable solution.  They also operate very slowly. 

Distillation, like reverse osmosis,  is a process that also results in very clean and good tasting water.  Distillation seems a highly questionable approach, however.  It strips out what you do want in your drinking water.  You use energy to boil water creating steam, which you then recondense to get your drinking water.  This water is very pure, and would be good for making computer chips.  It is not best for the human body however, including that you made acidic water, which is bad for the health.  You also are using energy to consistently distill water - then you need to store it.   Just doesn't make sense to us when you can get a filter that water flows right through, taking out what you don't want and leaving in what you do.  

Acidic body pH reduces the ability to absorb nutrients, decreases energy production, and interferes with cells' ability to repair and detoxify themselves. 

Carbon block water filters work well to remove organice volatile contaminants from cold water. The biggest single problem is that they aren't changed often enough and bacteria can breed in them, drastically reducing their effectiveness.  By itself, block carbon is usually used because the density makes it harder for bacteria to colonize.  But they still can - it just takes longer.  So carbon works for organic compounds, but you need to change filters frequently.  Granular carbon works even better than block carbon because there is so much more surface area to filter the water.

The kdf water filter media is bacteriastatic, which means that bacteria cannot grow in either the kdf or the carbon filter material that follows it - or in your water.   Carbon removes chlorine from your water by absorbing it.  In our kdf filters, the kdf removes the chlorine by eliminating it.  That means that the carbon doesn't absorb it and stays more 'fresh'.  These things add up to your filter media staying effective much longer. 

There was a very interesting thing we noticed in our research.   Many companies provides charts showing how their water filters or method of purification compare with their competition.  None of them include a look at these kdf Power Disk water filters.   We believe that the answer is that these work better than theirs and are a better value.   There is also some self-serving presentation in some of these comparision charts in that there are things not shared.  Things like: after how many gallons does the effectiveness deteriorate and by how much?  And at what speed did the water flow through your filters to achieve the level of purifying you cite?   Water filter tests can be indicative (we have one at filter tests.)  But one could test a new filter, have it show very well - but be used up in three months.  More important is the right filter method and material - and the quality and quanity of filter media.  You also want well-made filter canisters or tanks and cartridges.


                                                                                      


                                         Click to go to kitchen water filters in the store




                          How the KDF Power Disk Filters Work

KDF filter media is the most efficient, longest-lasting and lowest maintenance water filter media available.  And it extends the life and value of carbon.
 
KDF water filters, known as kdf filters, have a copper and zinc disk that introduces many positive effects.  One is that water can't form regular channels through.  This means that they maintain their filtering ability - and their capacity to filter is notable.  They also are bacteriostatic - an inhospital environment for bacteria preventing bacterial growth.   Kdf water filters render bacteria harmless - the water filter 'disables' bacteria.

Additionally, water is tumbled all through these filters so it enters the carbon filter media in endless ways - eliminating that problem-causing channeling.  So these water filters can use granular carbon, which delivers a greater water filter media-to-water ratio and therefore better water filtering.  Carbon is great at removing organic contaminants, including ecoli and hormones.   We use only the highest grade, prewashed and dusted granulated coconut shell carbon, which is sustainable.

Our KDF water filter media removes chlorine and heavy metals before the water gets to the carbon.  It is one of the best media for removing arsenic.  (If you have a particular problem with arsenic, you want an ARSENIC PLUS water filter.)  Without the KDF filter before the carbon, these contaminants use up the carbon, which is what happens with most water filters.  In combination with kdf, carbon can focus on volitile organic compounds, which it's great at removing.

The copper-zinc kdf filter media is a natural solution that solves the common problems of the alternatives and brings several additional positive results.  Their use as a filter before carbon means that the life of the carbon is extended tremendously.  The copper-zinc has no pores that can plug up, is not soft like carbon, has no membranes that need replacing, and remains bacteriostatic. 

Our filters use a pound of top-quality prewashed and dusted coconut carbon, enough kdf material to operate in balance with the carbon and eliminate everything needed - and last a year.  The fluoride filters have 1 1/2 pounds of activated alumina.  We don't believe any other line uses as much filter material.  That's why they work better and last longer. 

Your drinking water tastes good and natural.  More importantly, it is good and natural.

As contaminants pass through, a reaction takes place causing zinc hydroxides and copper hydroxides to form in miniscule amounts.  These carry into the water and provide hostile conditions for algae, fungus and bacteria.  These trace amounts are defined as food supplements and nutrients by the FDA.   In the tiny amounts in your drinking water they form a small percentage of the minimum daily requrement.  While this is not all the zinc you should have in a day, it at least contributes to the lessening the zinc deficiency, which is one of the most common mineral deficiencies among Americans.

The Environmental Protection Agency has ruled that copper-zinc, patented as kdf- imparts nothing harmful to the water.  The National Sanitation Foundation tested KDF and found it to be in compliance with its Standard 61 for water treatment plant applications and Standard 42 for aesthetic effects (taste, odor, chlorine reduction). 

The copper-zinc kdf water filter media is very effective at removing heavy metals, taking out 90 to 98% including iron, lead, arsenic and cadmium.  The zinc makes sure that only a trace amount of copper stays in the water.  The copper makes sure only a trace amount of zinc stays in the water. 

Friendsofwater.com has these water filters in both undercounter and countertop versions. 



     New Type of Filtration in a Water Pitcher, Water Bottle, Canteen & Straw

Update October 2009:  At the beginning of August we found and started selling water filter products based on a new type of filtration.  These include a water filter pitcher, stainless steel filtering water bottle, filtering canteen and filtering straw.  These filters use a breakthrough in water filtration technology, an new type of filtration based on treated powdered carbon.  Based on extensive testing, they have shown to provide the best filtration is a small filter that we've ever heard of.  While they don't remove as much fluoride as our countertop and undercounter filters do, they are the only products we've found that remove most contaminants to a very high degree, and remove some 75% of fluoride.

These products can be a great supplement to a kitchen FLUORIDE PLUS filter, so that you have good filtration at your office, when you travel, for bathroom drinking water, for backpacking and camping, and just when you are out of the house.

                    For more information please visit this page on the main site: Water Filter Pitchers 
                                                                                             or the store at:  Travel Water Filters.
 

                                                               WELL WATER

We also have water filters available to remove nitrates, and configurations to remove arsenic which can be used if your water comes from a well.  You can find them listed in our online store.  They use the same double canisters as the fluoride water filters, but are designed to remove nitrates or arsenic instead.  For well water, you should get your water tested first.  Based on that information, we'll let you know if our filters are right for you, and if so, what configuration you need.  See more info below.  (more info lower on this page)

                                                                                              Independent water filter test results

                                                                                  


                               What About Fluoride?
                                  We Have Fluoride Water Filters!

The American Dental Association, in November 2006, announced that the ingestion of fluoride is too dangerous for babies.  They have notified their members of this, but we are not aware of their making any effort to notify the public.  You can read more about that and other risks of drinking fluoride, including that it is carcinogenic, at our page                                                                                                     fluoride dangers.

                                                                                      for a guest article on our site, click on fluoride toxicity. 

Fluoride is very hard to filter out.  In water it becomes part of a metallic compound, and it takes the attraction of a metallic substance to remove it.  Every metal has a charge, either positive or negative, and each can be either strong or weak.  The right combination happens with activated alumina, which is in one of the canisters of the double-canister water filter.  Through an electrochemical reaction, 90% to 98% is normally removed (rated at 2400 ppm). In the typical kitchen with a municipal water supply, the filter will remove between 95% and 99% of fluoride for a year.

Activated alumina is a resin made of aluminium oxide, the same chemical substance as sapphire and rubies, but without the impurities that give the gems their color.  It has a very high surface-area-to-weight ratio. It has a lot of tunnel-like pores that run all through it.  This means that there is a lot of surface area against which the water interacts, thereby eliminating fluoride.  The alumina is NOT processed aluminum.  One of the ingredients added to make aluminum if fluoride!  With a normal municipal water supply, filters will remove up to 99% of fluoride for a year.

One customer and his wife were previously bedridden from over-fluoridation.  It took a lot of work for him to figure out the cause because everyone in the medical industry he saw denied the possibility of it being fluoride.  Once he cut their fluoride intake dramatically, thier health greatly improved.  This fellow spent the $385 needed to get a good fluoride tester.  He reported 0 fluoride coming out of our FLUORIDE PLUS filter when it was new, and again when he tested it after 6 months of use.

The water moves through the special fluoride filter first, then through the kdf and carbon filters, so that they can additionally remove any small amounts of fluoride if any made it that far, as well as assure that if there were any leaching of that first filter media, that is also removed.

You can remove fluoride with the undercounter double-canister water filters found in our store.  The undercounter is UC-2K-F.  There are also two version for the countertop - white, hard, food-grade plastic called the CT-2K-F and a chrome-covered version, the CT-2K-F.   In all of these, one canister contains the standard (KR-101N) filter cartridge - with both kdf copper-zinc and carbon water filters - that do everything described above.  The filter material in the first canister removes fluoride.  The water runs through the fluoride filter then through the copper-zinc (kdf) and the carbon.  The two-canister undercounter water filter system comes with its own faucet that goes through the extra opening in your sink.  

Our kitchen fluoride filters have 1 1/2 pounds of activated alumina.  This is more than any other kitchen filters we know of.  Remember, it is the quantity and the quality of filter media that determines how effective your water filter is, and how long it will last before needing a replacement filter.  There is a full pound of high-grade granulated carbon in the second canister, in addition to kdf, with very high filtration value.

                             For more information on our water filters that remove fluoride:  fluoride filters information.

                                                                                                                           Click to go to fluoride filters in the store. 



                                   What About Well Water Filters?
         We Have Water Filters that Remove Nitrates, Iron & Arsenic

For well water filters, you may want a two-canister kitchen water filter, with our standard kdf and granulated coconut carbon in one canister, and a nitrate-removing water filter in the other.  The kdf does a great job removing heavy metals including iron - often found in well water -  and is bacteriastatic, preventing growth of bacteria.  The quality granulated carbon then further filters the water by further removing bacteria and organic compounds.  The carbon also removes pesticides and herbicides.  Nitrates are filtered out by the nitrate water filter in the first canister.  Both canisters also have sediment filters.

The risk of nitrites is reported to be from ingestion, so removing it from your drinking and cooking water is what is important.

Nitrates get in the water from agricultural runoff, so it is usually people in rural areas that these filters are right for.

The nitrate 2-canister water filters come in the same configurations - an undercounter unit, a white countertop unit and a chrome countertop unit.  The 2 canister undercounter water filter comes with a 'third faucet', with both of the countertop units you can either get a spout right off them, or divert the water back to your kitchen faucet.  

The ARSENIC PLUS filters remove excessive arsenic in addition to other contaminants.

We have 3-canister configurations as well, so you can combine the types of filtration you need.


                                               For more information on well water risks and water filters, click on well water.

                                                                                     To see well water filters in the store, click on water filters.

We also can fashion a whole house water filtration system for you, with a whole house system plus an extra filter at your kitchen sink for extra-pure drinking water.  Be sure to tell us if your system is for filtering well water.  We can put a copper-zinc ratio that is superior for removing iron and hydrogen sulfide, or otherwise configure the right filter for you.

                                                  To see our Whole House Combos, click on house filters to see how we do it.
                                                    Then give us a call and we'll figure out what is best for your circumstances.

                             What About Chloramines?     
 
                                     

Most homes don't have to worry about chloramines.  But if your municipality adds ammonia to 'fix' the chlorine, then you may want a canister to remove chloramines.  They are very hard to remove since the ammonia is added to make the chlorine 'hold'.  

One of the reasons some municipalities are adding ammonia is to change the chlorine which many believe is carcinogenic.  But the resultant chloramines are reported to increase lead in the water. 

                                                          866-482-6803

Our chloramine-removing filter will remove about 85% of chlormines from typical municipal water supplies where ammonia has been added.

If you want to remove both fluoride and chloramines in addition to the other contaminants removed by our 'core' filter, you want the 3-canister unit pictured above, and found in the store.  


                                                           Testimonial

I just wanted to thank you so much again for helping me on my desperate search for healthy drinking water!!  When I started my kitchen remodel many months ago all I knew was that I wanted clean fluoride free water without using reverse osmosis.  I also had so many questions about setting up the system to meet my need for hot (Jill had her plumber run the clean water line to her hot tea-water dispenser at her sink) and room temperature water from the sink, and my family's need for cold water and ice from the fridge.  You were always so helpful with all my questions.   Well, we all couldn't be more pleased.  Not only does it all work logistically, but the water tastes great!!!!    I really appreciate all your help!!

                                                                                          Jill Andrew
                                                                                          Massachusetts

go to
     Chloramines and FLUORIDE PLUS 3-canister undercounter filter in the store.


                      

A customer who bought a two-canister countertop filter like these sent us the following note: 

"Thank you very much, I have received my order on time, installation was a snap.  You know, it occurred to me that I had never seen, smelled, or tasted pure water before..."        Adam Ryder, Dublin Ohio.                  

                     
                             Undercounter & Countertop Models

We carry undercounter water filters to filter your drinking water.  One is the fluoride-removing, double canister water filter just mentioned.  Another is a 2-canister filter that removes nitrates, suitable for some well water.  There is also a 'single' that contains the powerdisk (kdf) and granulated carbon filter media described above.

Each of the 2-canister undercounter water filters come with their own faucet, which can go through the opening in your kitchen sink.  The undercounter filters are very easy for a plumber to install in about a half-hour.   It is a mistake to do it yourself if you are not a plumber, however.  The  filters with a faucet come with a saddle valve that clamps on to your pipe under the sink to cut into the cold water line.

There is a picture of the 'extra' faucet above on this page.  See the photo above with the bowl of raspberries behind the sink.

The single-canister undercounter filter does not necessarily come with a separate faucet, however if you want to get one with a faucet, that configuration is listed in the store too.

The Big Splash at friendsofwater.com got an undercounter fluoride water filter for his house, when living in Vancouver Washington.  He called in a plumber to install the system (and to get the plumbers opinion on the water filter).  The plumber swapped out something already in the 'extra' opening, and had the new filter installed in about 35 minutes.  In his opinion the filter parts are of good quality and the saddle valve to tie into the water line was cleverly designed and well made.  He was very impressed with the strong water flow through the filter and the faucet.  In his experience this was much better than most water filters.
                                                                                   
We have countertop water filters in both chrome and white.  Both come with a swivel spout (see the photo at the top left of this page). However, if you wish you can get instead a double-diverter option that sends the water back to flow out of your tap.  We recommend that latter.

Every one of these drinking water filters removes more than 600 contaminants including chlorine, chlorination byproducts, perchlorate, arsenic, lead, homones, chemicals, heavy metals, trihalomethanes and pesticides in much the same way that Mother Earth uses the minerals in the rocks and ground to clean water as it runs through to the aquifers.  The idea is that these canisters include the right filter media to address the contaminants you might find in your municipal water, whether chemical or organic based.  Fluoride and chloramines are hard to remoe and require an additional canister.


                                                       


If you're still reading we have to assume you're pretty serious about this. We've done the homework. Get yourself a water filter.  If you're not happy for any reason we'll give you a full refund within 90 days.  Additionally, the water filter units (not the replaceable filters) have a pro-rated five year manufacturers warranty. 


We also have put together reduced-pricing 'bundles' combining drinking water filters with shower and bath filters, and for the gardeners a garden filter.  We call these our Whole House Water Filter Alternatives.  

            For information on Whole House Water Filter Alternatives, as well as Whole House Water Filters 
                                 and Whole House Water Bundles click here:  Whole House Filter Options.


                         
                                                         Please click below to visit the store. 
                             Get Yourself A Kitchen Water Filter Now.


                         Excellent Prices and Value
             Free Shipping on 2 & 3 Canister Water Filters

                   on undercounter and countertop kitchen water filters.


                                                         Water Filters



                                             friendsofwater.com guarantees everything we sell. 
                                   If you aren't satisfied, you can take up to 90 days to 
                                                return any product for a full refund, 
                                 including original shipping charges if there were any.


                                                              If you need some help,
                            we're happy to help you figure which filter would be best for you.
                                                         Call us.  We're easy to talk to.  
                                             If we can't answer, we'll get back to you soon.


                                                           friendsofwater.com can be reached at:

                                                                   
                                                                                    866-482-6803
                                                               or
                                                                            sales@friendsofwater.com 

                              Our offices are located in Northern California.
                 Products ship from different warehouses around the country.