What's the First Step to Know Your Water Quality?

If you’ve ever wondered whether you should filter your drinking water, this is the episode for you. Wirecutter senior staff writer Tim Heffernan, who covers air and water filtration, shares practical steps for deciding whether to filter your water. 

Tim discusses the most common contaminants you should watch out for, how municipalities filter your drinking water, and when it might be worth ponying up for a water test. 

This episode covers:

• Why you should look up your annual drinking water quality report: Tim explains how every utility must publish an annual water-quality/consumer confidence report (CCR)--  a free first step toward understanding the quality of your drinking water. You can also look it up via the EPA site.
• When you may want to test your water for contaminants: If you’re concerned about what’s coming out of your tap, Tim recommends getting your water tested using a send-away lab kit. He’d skip at-home color-strip tests, which are often hard to read.
• Why living near a polluted area doesn’t mean your water will be polluted: The pressure in the pipes should help keep contaminants out. Contaminants in the water are more about your water source and how that water is treated.
• The pros and cons of different filters: Pitchers are cheap and convenient, but they clog and have short lifespans. Faucet and under-sink units use household water pressure for denser filtration and often remove more contaminants–but they can be more expensive overall.

Products we recommend:

• Our favorite water pitcher: Brita Standard Everyday Pitcher
• Our favorite under-sink filter: Aquasana AQ-5200
• Our favorite upgrade under-sink filter: Aquasana AQ-5300+ Max Flow
• Our favorite faucet water filter: Pur Plus Faucet Filtration System
• Our favorite water test kit: Tap Score Advanced City Water Test
• Our favorite water test kit for well water: Tap Score Advanced Well Water Test

Additional reading:

• The Best Under-Sink Water Filter for 2025
• The 5 Best Water Filter Pitchers & Dispensers of 2025
• The Best Water Quality Test Kit for Your Home
• The Best Faucet-Mounted Water Filter of 2025 
• I’m Wirecutter’s Water-Quality Expert. I Don’t Filter My Water.

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The Wirecutter Show is executive produced by Rosie Guerin and produced by Abigail Keel.Engineering support from Maddy Masiello and Nick Pitman. Episodes are mixed by Catherine Anderson, Efim Shapiro, Rowan Niemisto, Sophia Lanman, and Sonia Herrero. Original music by Dan Powell, Marion Lozano, Elisheba Ittoop, and Diane Wong. Wirecutter’s deputy publisher and general manager is Cliff Levy. Ben Frumin is Wirecutter’s editor-in-chief. Hosted by Rosie Guerin, Caira Blackwell and Christine Cyr Clisset.

Find edited transcripts for each episode here: The Wirecutter Show Podcast