Do you want to know if your Brita water filter removes fluoride?
Fluoride is a chemical that has been added to many public water supplies throughout the United States. It helps prevent tooth decay, but there are some concerns about its safety and effectiveness. If you’re concerned about fluoride in drinking water, it might be time for you to invest in a good filtration system like the one from Brita.
Brita filters do not remove fluoride from drinking water. The Brita Standard filter uses a combination of activated carbon, particle filters, and ion exchange resin to purify water. However, none of these filtration processes remove fluoride. The Brita Longlast+ filter uses a proprietary filter media to remove lead, but it doesn’t filter out fluoride. A few brands of pitcher filters, such as Clearly Filtered and PUR, can effectively remove fluoride from drinking water.
Continue reading this article to learn which treatment methods can remove fluoride, how to test your water, and much more on this topic.
Read my article – Expert Recommendations: Pitcher Water Filters That Remove Fluoride.
Table of Contents
Fluoride in Drinking Water
Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral that helps prevent tooth decay. It’s also added to drinking water and some brands of toothpaste to help strengthen teeth. But there are concerns that too much fluoride can be harmful, especially for children under 8 years old.
Why is fluoride in our drinking water
Fluoride is added to public water supplies to help prevent tooth decay. It’s a naturally occurring mineral that is found in water and soil. A small amount of fluoride is beneficial for teeth and helps to prevent cavities.
How much fluoride is in my water
The level of fluoride in drinking water varies depending on the location. Most public water supplies have between 0.60 and 0.90 parts per million (ppm) of fluoride in their water. However, it’s important to check with your local water authority to find out how much fluoride is in your tap water. Remember, fluoride does help prevent tooth decay, so having it in your water isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Concerns over fluoride
Despite being good for teeth, some people are concerned that fluoride can be harmful. There is evidence that too much fluoride can lead to a condition called fluorosis. This condition causes white spots on teeth and in severe cases, can even lead to pitting and discoloration of teeth.
Fluorosis is the only unwanted health effect of community water fluoridation. It’s important to note that the levels of fluoride found in drinking water are not high enough to cause any serious health concerns.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has set the recommended level of fluoride at 0.70 ppm for drinking water. This recommendation is based on studies that show that this level of fluoride is beneficial to teeth and helps to prevent cavities.
Do Brita Filters Remove Fluoride from Water
Brita filters do not remove fluoride from drinking water. Fluoride is a difficult chemical to remove from water, and the filtration methods used by Brita are not effective at removing it.
Brita sells several types of water filters, but none of them filters out fluoride. You would think that at least one of the six different filters Brita makes would treat fluoride. Unfortunately, none of them do.
Brita filters and fluoride treatment
Here is a list of the filter elements you can use with your Brita pitcher filter:
- Standard Filter. This filter uses activated carbon, ion exchange resin, and mesh media. None of these filtration methods remove fluoride from water.
- Longlast+ filter. This filter uses a combination of activated carbon and a particle filter media. These treatment methods do not remove fluoride.
- Bottle filter. This filter uses an activated carbon block cartridge to purify water. The carbon block media is not capable of removing fluoride from water.
- Stream filter. These filters utilize a proprietary dual-layer carbon filter to treat water. Activated carbon does not remove fluoride.
- Faucet filter. This filter uses a nonwoven filter material and a tightly bound carbon block. These filtration methods do not work against fluoride.
Brita filters can remove a lot of contaminants from drinking water such as lead, VOCs, and PFAS.
Brita video on water filter pitcher fluoride removal
Check out this video on fluoride removal. The conclusion is: no Brita filters are not effective against fluoride.
Does Brita remove fluoride from drinking water? No Brita filters do not remove fluoride.
Which Water Filter Pitchers Remove Fluoride
If Brita filters don’t remove fluoride, are there any other pitcher type filters that do? Fortunately, there are two brands of pitcher filters that can remove fluoride from drinking water. Let’s take a look at these filters.
Clearly Filtered pitcher filters remove fluoride
The Clearly Filtered brand of pitcher filters can get rid of the fluoride from your drinking water. They use two treatment technologies consisting of a highly efficient particle filter and a proprietary filter media. The proprietary filter media is able to remove all of the fluoride from water with a very long service life.
Clearly Filtered Pitcher Filter System
The Clearly Filtered pitcher has the highest fluoride removal capacity of any pitcher filter on the market. It can remove 100% of the fluoride in drinking water. It can process a lot of water before the filter has to be replaced.
Clearly Filtered provides analytical data that indicates their pitcher filter can remove 100% of fluoride at a concentration of 2.18 ppm. This is three times the concentration found in tap water.
PUR pitcher filters remove fluoride
The PUR pitcher filter can remove fluoride from your drinking water. Testing data indicates that the filter can remove up to 0.7 ppm of fluoride. Read my article about PUR filters and fluoride removal.
However, the PUR website does not list fluoride as a contaminant their product can treat. Presumably, if PUR believed their filter is effective at removing fluoride, they would claim this as a benefit. Since they don’t, it suggests that the reliability of the PUR filter is not adequate to consistently treat this contaminant.
PUR CR1100CV Classic Water Filter Pitcher
The PUR filtration system can produce 11 cups of water in each batch. It is able to remove a wide range of contaminants – although PUR does not note it in any of their product literature.
Learn more about Brita filters and the contaminants they can remove from drinking water.
Test Your Drinking Water for Fluorine
Tap Score offers a laboratory test to measure the level of fluoride in your drinking water. This package provides all the necessary materials to collect and submit a sample for testing. Results will include a detailed, quantified analysis of fluoride levels in your water.
Knowing what’s in your water is the first step to keeping your family safe.
What Other Treatment Methods Can Remove Fluoride
There are several treatment methods that can effectively remove fluoride from your drinking water. Which water filters remove fluoride? Here are the best fluoride water filters you can purchase for your home.
Do Big Berkey filters remove fluoride
Big Berkey makes a gravity filter that can remove fluoride from drinking water. Their Black Berkey Filter uses a three-step process: microfiltration, adsorption/absorption, and ion exchange. This combination can remove up to 99.99% of fluoride.
However, the Black Berkey filter has a limited treatment capacity after which the filter has to be replaced. Berkey makes a Fluoride Reduction Filter that can treat 1,000 gallons of water with a fluoride removal efficiency of up to 97%.
Imperial Berkey Gravity-Fed Water Filter
The Imperial Berkey System filters water for about 4 to 8 people each day. The system is just 26” tall and 10” in diameter. A pair of Black Berkey Elements lasts for up to 6,000 gallons before replacement is required.
Reverse osmosis filters remove fluoride
Reverse osmosis is very effective at removing fluoride from water. Most RO filters can remove more than 94%, and several can remove 99% of fluoride.
Reverse osmosis filters work by forcing water through a semipermeable membrane. This membrane allows pure water to pass through, while contaminants such as fluoride are left behind. The concentrated waste liquid, known as brine, is dumped down the drain. As much as 3 gallons of water are wasted for every gallon of drinkable water produced.
Express Water RO5DX Reverse Osmosis Filter
This RO filter has 5 filter stages to purify water. It is NSF certified and can remove a long list of contaminants from drinking water. I have this filter in my kitchen, and it works very well. You may want a unit like this for your home.
If you’re looking for an affordable way to remove fluoride from your drinking water, a reverse osmosis filter is the best option. Not only do they remove fluoride, but they also remove other harmful contaminants such as lead, chromium, and arsenic.
Read my article on removing fluoride with reverse osmosis.
Crystal Crest fluoride removal in-line filter
If you are concerned about fluoride in your drinking water, you can use an inline filter that specifically removes fluoride. There are a few of these filters available, and they can be attached to your sink, your refrigerator’s water supply line, or your entire house.
The following in-line water filter reduces fluoride levels very effectively.
The Crystal Quest fluoride removal In-line Water Filter System is designed specifically for refrigerators with ice-makers and water dispensers and sink faucets. It is a great way to ensure you have fluoride-free water whenever you want. It’s simple to install and even easier to maintain.
Water distillers remove fluoride
Water distillers are very effective at removing fluoride from water. They can remove 99+% of fluoride plus a long list of other contaminants from your drinking water.
Distillation works by heating water to its boiling point. The resulting steam is then condensed back into water that is collected and provided for drinking. A small amount of liquid and remaining contaminants are left behind.
One potential downside of using a distiller is that it also removes beneficial minerals from your water. This can make the water taste flat and acidic. If you want to add minerals back into your distilled water, you can use a mineral filter or add them yourself.
VIVOHOME Brushed 304 Stainless Steel Water Distiller
This countertop water distiller can produce 4 liters of purified water in each batch. It has a brushed 304 stainless steel finish that I think looks great. If you live in an apartment or don’t want to install a treatment system under your sink, this is a great option.
Testing Your Water for Fluoride
If you want to find out how much fluoride is in your drinking water, you can have it tested. There are several labs that will test for fluoride, and the cost is usually around $45 per sample.
I like Tap Score for all of my water testing. They provide a comprehensive report that includes the concentration of the contaminants plus a detailed explanation of what the results mean. They provide drinking water standards, comparison to public water system results, and a recommendation for how to treat the water if necessary.
FAQs
Do ZeroWater filters remove fluoride?
ZeroWater pitcher filters remove 41% of fluoride from tap water. These filters include particle filters and activated carbon filters, neither of which work for fluoride.
Do Seychelle filters remove fluoride?
Seychelle pitcher filters do not remove fluoride. Their website does not list fluoride as a contaminant it can remove. Most water filters will not effectively remove fluoride.
Their filters use activated carbon filtration to remove contaminants, but this media is not effective for fluoride.
Do Epic pitcher filters remove fluoride?
Epic pitcher filters do not remove fluoride. They treat water using particle filters combined with activated carbon. These treatment methods are ineffective for fluoride removal.
Do refrigerator water filters remove fluoride?
Refrigerator water filters do not remove fluoride. Most fridge filters consist of particle filters and activated carbon. Neither of these treatment processes work for fluoride.
Final Take on Fluoride Water Filters
Do Brita Filters Remove Fluoride? A lot of people assume that Brita filters remove fluoride from drinking water, but they don’t. Brita filters do not remove significant amounts of fluoride.
It turns out that Brita filters, and other pitchers like them, do not remove fluoride from the water. If you’re looking to reduce your exposure to fluoride, you might need a different type of filter. We’ve compiled a list of filters that have been certified by NSF International as removing fluoride from drinking water; you can find it on our website. Stay safe and healthy by knowing what’s in your water!