Likewise with a filtered water pitcher – are you pouring that water pitcher over your fruits and vegetables to clean them off? Are you pouring that water pitcher into your pots or pans to cook your food? And did you know that the carbon granules in a filtered water pitcher are only really effective at treating the chlorine in tap water? The water may taste better and smell better, but that kind of filter is simply not good enough to protect you from things like lead, mercury, pesticides, herbicides, or the dozens of other potentially harmful water contaminants. Filtered water is only useful when it’s actually safe and healthy to drink.

Have you seen a reverse osmosis (RO) system in person? They’re big enough that they take up most of the cabinet space below your sink, and complex enough that you typically need to hire a plumber to install them. And while they can be effective, reverse osmosis is a really slow process. That’s why your average RO system includes a one- to five-gallon water reservoir, so that the cleaner water can sit in there for use after the long filtration process. But guess what? If you need more filtered water than the reservoir holds, you’re out of luck – expect to wait an hour or two to get a usable amount of clean water available. Filtered water is only useful if you can get it when you need it.

Carbon is a great filter medium because it is natural, non-toxic, environmentally friendly, attracts contaminant particles, and can physically trap tiny particles within itself. But a loose collection of activated carbon – granular activated carbon (GAC), used in your typical filtered water pitcher – is ineffective because it does not force the water to stay in contact with the carbon long enough for stronger filter action to occur.