While the jury has not come back with a decision on whether or not fluoride in drinking water poses a serious health risk to people who drink water spiked with it, if you don’t want it in your water Crystal Quest has recently come out with a convenient, easily installed countertop water filter for fluoride — and many other unwanted potential drinking water contaminants.

Crystal Quest manufactures a product called the Countertop Disposable Single Fluoride Multi PLUS Water Filter System which installs in seconds and effectively removes fluoride AND hundreds of drinking water contaminants — if present in the water to begin with.

Water travels through a series of seven filtration stages in this unit. You will find detailed information on those stages below:

Pre and Post One-Micron Filter Pads: Used in stages 1 and 7, this filtration method removes suspended particles including silt, sediment, cyst (Giardia, Cryptosporidium), sand, rust, dirt, and other undissolved solid matter.

Fluoride Removal Cartridge: Used as the second stage of filtration, water flows through a fine mesh synthetic aluminum oxide absorbent media which has an extremely high affinity for fluoride, lead and arsenic. Through a combination of adsorption and chemical reaction the media effectively removes metals over a wide pH range.

How much fluoride can the filter hold before it needs servicing? The filter will reduce 10ppm feeds to 0.2ppm for a total of 6,000ppm fluoride removed.

KDF Media Bed: The third and fifth stages of filtration feature proprietary blends of high-purity KDF resins (KDF-55D and KDF-85D) which work using electrochemical and spontaneous oxidation-reduction (REDOX) principles. In these stages compounds such as chlorine get neutralized. Laboratory testing has shown that combination KDF/GAC cartridges can remove more than 99% of chlorine from greater than 20,000 gallons of water.

During these stages iron and hydrogen sulfide also get oxidized and become an insoluble substance that attaches to the surface of the media. Additionally, heavy metals such as lead, mercury, copper, nickel, chromium, cadmium, aluminum, and other dissolved metals get removed from the water by an electrochemical process at this point.

Ion Exchange Resin: The fourth stage of filtration uses an ion exchange to further reduce/remove heavy metals such as lead, copper and aluminum. This stage also acts a water softener by reducing calcium and magnesium levels (aka: total hardness) in the water.

Granulated Activated Carbon (GAC): The sixth stage of filtration makes use of granulated activated carbon, a material universally accepted as a highly effective means of eliminating a wide range of unwanted contaminants such as chlorine, potential carcinogens (i.e. THM’s, benzene, etc.), pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, volatile organic compounds (VOC’s), PCB’s, MTBE’s and many more chemical contaminants that may show up in water. Many of these compounds create a ‘bad’ color, taste and/or odor in drinking water, but not all.

Important note regarding carbon filters… Some manufacturers use a lesser grade of carbon, but this filter uses a highly porous, and therefore more useful, carbon derived from coconut shells.

How do I know if I need a water filter like this one?

If you have concerns regarding fluoride in your drinking water, contact your local water department and ask for a copy of the most recent drinking water report. Some water districts have made their annual reports available online so you may want to look on your water district’s web site first.

If your concerns deal with potential water contaminants that may have entered your water supply after it left the water treatment plant — bacteria, lead, heavy metals, etc. — then at-home drinking water test kits like the following may work just fine for you.

Keep in mind, though, that if you have serious reason to suspect drinking water contamination, you should seek the assistance and expertise of a certified water testing laboratory.

Below you will find a selection of countertop water filter systems from FiltersFast.Net, a leading online retailer of products for water quality improvement.

OmniFilter OCT2 Counter-Top Water Filter
OmniFilter 2-Oct

Your Cost: $35.00
Regular Price: $44.00

“The OmniFilter OCT2 Counter-Top Water Filter sits directly on your counter to give you fresh, clean drinking water at a fraction of the cost of bottled water. Cartridges sold separately. The OCT2 includes Faucet Mounted Diverter Valve, Tubing, Built-In Faucet, and wrench. The OCT2 is NSF/ANSI Tested and Certified and can be used with the TO1, GAC1, CB3, or CB1 OmniFilter Cartridges.Counter Top Unit comes in white only. Dimensions: 4 1/2″ x 11 1/2″”

Doulton HCPS-SC, HCP Counter Top Filter System
Doulton HCPS-SC

Your Cost: $149.00
Regular Price: $189.00

“The Doulton HCPS-SC, HCP Counter Top Filter System comes complete with a Super Carb Ceramic Filter Candle and features durable plastic housing. No plumbing required! Connects to the faucet with an easily attachable divertor valve. That means no permanent modifications to your kitchen or bathroom sink necessary! Also known by part number W9331031. With over 150 years experience in water filtration, Doulton is an established brand name in the water filtration industry, known for producing some of the best products on the market. HCPS-SC Specifications: 99.99% Cyst Reduction (Giardia Cryptosporidium) 97% Chlorine Reduction Class I Particlulate Reduction (dirt, sand, sediment) NSF Standard 42 53 Tested Certified International Standards BS EN ISO 9001:2000 1000 Gallon Filter Capacity .5 GPM Flow RateThe above claims are based on usage with a Doulton SuperCarb ceramic cartridge (10″ S). This filter should be changed every year or 1000 gallons. ”

Doulton HCPS-UC, HCP Counter Top Filter System
Doulton HCPS-UC

Your Cost: $159.00
Regular Price: $199.00

“The Doulton HCPS-UC, HCP Counter Top Filter System comes complete with an UltraCarb Ceramic Filter Candle and features durable plastic housing. No plumbing required! Connects to the faucet with an easily attachable divertor valve. That means no permanent modifications to your kitchen or bathroom sink necessary! Also known by part number W9331032. With over 150 years experience in water filtration, Doulton is an established brand name in the water filtration industry, known for producing some of the best products on the market. HCPS-UC Specifications: 99.99% Cyst Reduction (Giardia Cryptosporidium) 97% Chlorine Reduction 98.3% Lead Reduction Class I Particlulate Reduction (dirt, sand, sediment) NSF Standard 42 53 Tested Certified International Standards BS EN ISO 9001:2000 600 Gallon Filter Capacity .5 GPM Flow RateThe above claims are based on usage with a Doulton UltraCarb ceramic filter candle. This filter should be changed every 6 months or 600 gallons. ”

Doulton W9361122, SS-2 Gravity Fed Filter System
Doulton W9361122

Your Cost: $179.99
Regular Price: $209.00

“The Doulton W9361122, SS-2 Gravity Fed Filtration System is used by many of the world’s leading relief organizations to provide clean water in times of emergency. The SS2 with its compact size and superior performance is perfect for Disaster Preparedness, Apartments, Boats, RV’s and travel use.To use simply pour untreated water into the top reservoir. The water will then pass through the ceramic filter candles where it is then forced by gravity to the lower reservoir. Once water is in the lower chamber simply use the tap on the front of the system to obtain your filtered water. The Doulton SS2 “Pour-Through” Gravity Fed System Features: High Grade Stainless Steel Construction for Durability No External Plumbing Required! Compact and Easy to Operate Easy Conversion to the SS-4, SS4 — simply remove the 2 rubber plugs insert 2 additional 7″ Super Sterasyl Ceramic Filter CandlesThe Doulton SS-2 Specifications: Dimensions: Assembled 8″ x 19″ / Stored 8″ x 13.5″ Capacity: 12 GPD (with 2 filters) 24 GPD (with 4 filters) Upper Reservoir Holds 2.11 Gallons ( 8 liters ) Untreated Water Lower Reservoir Holds 2.11 Gallons (8 liters ) Treated WaterComes with (2) 7″ Super Sterasyl Candles which will reduce: 99.99% Chlorine 99.99% Cysts 99.99% Organic Chemicals 99.99% Parasites 99.99% Particulates 99.99% Pathogenic Bacteria (ie E. Coli, Cholera, Typhoid, ect) 99.99% Rust Sediment Never find yourself unprepared in times of emergency! Purchase your Gravity Fed SS2 today! Please note that the ceramic filters can be cleaned for repeated use but it is recommended that you change the filters at least once every 6 months for optimum performance and to prevent bacteria growth in the activated carbon core. ”

Don’t Forget to Test the Water First!

While buying and installing a countertop water filter seems like the perfect, easy way to guarantee that you have safe, clean drinking water, failure to test your water before selecting a filter system may cause you to purchase a filter for no reason or purchase a filter not capable of removing specific contaminants in your water.

As an example, most countertop water filter systems use only a carbon filter which cannot remove harmful nitrates, toxic metals, fluoride, or high levels of sodium.

If you test your water and find that you have any of the aforementioned drinking water contaminants, you should consider a countertop reverse osmosis water filter instead.

You won’t know what type of water filter you will need, though, until you test your drinking water.