 What is the Safest Water Bottle Material? What is the Safest Water Bottle Material?So, what types of water bottles are actually the safest to use? In the world of big water bottles, brands are always looking for ways to differentiate and stand out. This includes using different types of materials like copper, stainless steel, and even titanium. Some are safer than others, so let's take a look at eight of the most common water bottle materials to learn about historical issues and what the current science says. If you're new to the channel/blog, welcome! What's Next?
Video ReviewIf videos are more your thing, check out my Youtube video that covers most of the same information.
Copper Copper Bottles Are Copper Bottles Safe, and Do They Work? At the bottom is copper. This material has a very long history, particularly related to Ayurveda and in regions and countries like India.  Copper Bottle Listing with Bold Claims There does seem to be some benefit relating to microbes and purification, but you see a lot of listings like the one shown above that claim all kinds of health benefits from using copper bottles so let's talk about that. From what I've read, many of these other health claims are at best unproven and at worst deceptive and misleading. Also, copper bottles tarnish as surface that's exposed to air undergoes a chemical reaction, so they require a lot more maintenance, usually involving acidic water from soaking with lemons or limes. But that leads into the next concern, leaching.  Copper Leach Test Do Copper Bottles Leach? Injesting too much copper can lead to health issues, and copper leaches when in contact with certain liquids and solutions, primarily ones that are acidic or higher in temperature, which is actually what's happening when you clean the bottle with lemon water. You can actually see this if you pour some lemon water into two glass containers then sit a copper bottle in one of them for a few hours. I let this one sit for 8 hours, and after that the bottom part did look a bit cleaner and fresher. But then I took these water quality test strips, and you can see from these markers that the acidic lemon juice picked up a lot of copper from the bottle.  Copper Leach Test Results If you rinse the bottle out well after cleaning and only drink cold water at a neutral pH, you honestly should be fine. But you'd certainly want to avoid acidic or hot drinks like coffee, soda, or juices, and that's enough of a concern for me to rank copper at the bottom when there are much safer options available. Plastic Plastic Bottles Are Plastic Bottles Safe? Next is plastic, which is the most commonly used material in water bottles worldwide. Some of the biggest brands include Nalgene, Camelbak's Eddy bottles, and YETI's Yonder series. However, plastic has a spotty safety record primarily due to leaching. Back in the early 2000s, bisphenol-A chemicals, also known as BPAs, were all in the news. These are commonly used in many plastics including popular water bottles at the time. But studies found negative effects primarily related to hormone disruption after longer term cumulative use. That's why every bottle on the market today is BPA-free, and bottles have shifted to alternative formulations. However there are a growing number of studies like this one that indicate potential issues with BPA replacements like BPS and BPF, and other chemicals like phthalates come with their own concerns.  Health Effects of BPA Substitutes Are Tritan and Polypropylene Plastic Safe? The most common type you'll see marketed for bottles is Triton plastic, which is a specific branded formulation that's become the go-to option for big brands like Camelbak, Nalgene, and YETI. This is completely free of phthalates and all bisphenols, even the common substitutes. Also, most lids contain some combination of polypropylene and in rarer cases ABS (like with Stanley's Aerolight Transit), and often times straws are LDPE because it is more flexible. All of these are recognized as food-safe by today's standards.  Tritan is Made Without Bisphenols or Phtalates It's worth noting that "plastics" is a HUGE category, and most studies today show that many plastic types that are classified as food-safe are OK for regular use in contact with food and water. But given the poor history and current uncertainty around many of the chemicals used in its construction, there is a growing number of people who are choosing to avoid plastic as much possible by picking bottles that limit plastic contact with their drink or mouth. That's enough for me to rank plastics a little lower. Aluminum Aluminum Bottles Do Aluminum Bottles have Plastic Liners? Next up we have aluminum, and probably the biggest name within this category is Sigg, the big bottle manufacturer based in Switzerland. I ranked aluminum fairly low for a reason you might not expect because in reality, it's effectively more like a plastic bottle. Aluminum naturally reacts with air to create a protective oxide layer on the outside. However, it doesn't really take much to disrupt that oxide layer, either through physical damage, or with a salty or basic solution. You can increase the thickness of this protective layer through a process called anodizing, but that usually just applies to the outside of the bottle, leaving the inside susceptible to corrosion from the liquid inside. That's why every aluminum can and bottle I'm aware of on the market has a plastic lining on the inside, and I recently did an experiment to show you that lining that you can see in this video. A similar lining is also included on the inside of paper cups and aluminum cans.  Plastic Liner (Soda Can)  Plastic Liner (Paper Cup)  Plastic Liner (Sigg Aluminum Bottle) This lining has a very practical effect because without it, the paper cups would quickly fall apart and the aluminum would corrode. Having a plastic liner is better than not having one. However, that plastic liner comes with similar questions you read about in the previous section. Back when Nalgene had all the negative publicity with BPAs, many people switched to Sigg's aluminum bottles only to find out later that the inner plastic coating also has BPAs. There was a lot of fallout because of how Sigg handled the situation. While it seems like Sigg's new formulation and the ones used in aluminum cans and paper cups are all safe, in my mind they still have questions because when you really get down to it, your water's actually contacting plastic. Silicone Silicone Bottles Are Silicone Bottles Safe? Next is silicone. These bottles aren't quite as popular as other ones like plastic or stainless steel, but you can still find a decent number of options like this one, particularly in niches like hiking because they're lightweight, durable, and packable. Most studies and references I've seen point to the fact that food-grade silicone is safe for regular use. It has a lot of similarities to plastic, but plastic is petroleum-based compared to silicone which is silica-based. Silica is what you find in something like quartz sand and is also used to make glass, and it has fewer chemicals and toxicity concerns like you find with petroleum product used to make plastic. But it's still a very synthesized material that's being studied more and more, so many people are understandably worried that studies might come out later showing health impacts much like what happened with BPAs and plastic. Silicone is also fairly notorious for holding onto odors longer than other materials, though that isn't necessarily an indication that the bottle is unsafe.  Is the Silicone Pinch Test Accurate? You also may have seen something called the pinch test. The idea is that you can pinch silicone, and if it turns white, then there are fillers that might not be safe. The pinch test is not necessarily an accurate way to measure material safety, and silicone that turns white when pinched could still be safe according to FDA or other food-safety standards. Instead, you really need to have some kind of actual test result that analyzes the composition to know for sure. To learn more about this, check out this article. Overall, food-grade silicone seems quite safe and in general is currently recognized as being stable and few risks, but it's worth keeping an eye on future studies. Ceramic-Lined Ceramic-Lined Bottles Are Ceramic-Lined Bottles Safe? Next is ceramic. To clarify, we're not looking at traditional ceramics like you'd find with coffee mugs because those aren't really used that often for water. But you certainly could, and there are some places where you can buy something like a tumbler with traditional ceramic construction, though sometimes you might need to get it from a local ceramicist. The main thing to check on there is if the glaze and ceramics are free of lead and cadmium, and if you're good on those then you should be safe. Instead, our main focus is instead with ceramic linings.  Examples of Ceramic Coatings This is really more of of a sub-category under stainless steel bottles where a very thin ceramic coating is applied to the inside of the bottle. It's marketed as ceramic, but it's really not, at least in the traditional sense. Sometimes it's even referred to as "quasi-ceramic" to indicate how it's not quite the same. Often times the ceramic lining a layer of silicone dioxide It's something that's fairly common on cookware, and you're seeing it more and more in bottles like Frank Green, Simple Modern, RTIC, and more recently YETI, usually in their coffee-focused products. The main promoted benefit is that the ceramic coating can give your water, coffee, or tea a purer taste without that hint of stainless steel that can bother some people.  Fellow's Instructions Mentioning Cracked Lining For the most part this material seems safe, but the main concern with ceramic-lined bottles is with chipping and potentially swallowing bits of the lining. According to a many posts and reviews I've seen, that ceramic coating can crack and chip, like if you drop your bottle or use something like a frother. Because it cracks inside the bottle, you probably won't realize it very easily so there's a chance you could accidentally drink small broken off pieces of that lining.  Reddit Post with a Picture of a Cracked Ceramic Lining If you're careful with your bottle and don't use mixers or frothers inside them, ceramic lined bottles should be safe. Just be aware of the potential concerns if the lining is physically damaged. Titanium Titanium Bottles Next up is titanium, which is non-reactive and safe in most applications and that's why you even see it used in things like medical and dental implants where material safety is really important. Also, titanium is more resistant to corrosion than aluminum, so you don't need a plastic coating. That all translates to titanium looking like a safe option for a water bottle material based on the information I found in articles like this (which mentions there are potentially some issues, but it's very rare). Though it's worth noting that because it's still a relatively new material for use in water bottles, there aren't that many scientific studies yet compared to other materials like plastic.  Titanium Bottles are Usually Expensive Honestly, the main harm you'll experience is probably with your wallet more than your actual health because most of the titantium bottles currently on the market are quite expensive. But if you can afford it, titanium does appear to be a safe choice. Is this Post Helpful? Real quick, this post contains some links to Amazon. If you're buying a bottle or cleaning accessory anyways, it'd be great if you'd consider using a link to buy. I get a small commission at no cost to you, and those commissions are what help me continue to stay unbiased and free of direct sponsorships. Stainless Steel Stainless Steel Bottles Next is stainless steel, which is what you find with most of the viral and popular water bottles today like YETI Ramblers, Stanley Quenchers, and Owalas. Stainless steel is very safe and widely used in food preparation and other food contact uses, which makes it a great choice for water bottles. It comes in several different grades that can be confusing, and you'll often see terms like 304 or 316, along with 18/8 or 18/10 thrown around. These terms reference the chemical composition, for example 18/8 has 18% chromium and 8% nickel. Some grades are technically safer or more resistant to corrosion than others, so if you want the highest quality steel possible go with a bottle made with 316 or 18/10. But honestly, any of these stainless steel classifications should be safe for use as a water bottle. Here's a link to an article that goes into even more detail if you'd like to learn more about the different grades of steel.  NIckel Allergies The only real concern I can think of related to steel is for people who have nickel allergies, which is more widespread than many people realize. But if you're fortunate to not have that allergy, then you can feel safe using a stainless steel bottle. Glass Glass Bottles And last but not least is glass. This is widely regarded as being possibly the purest and safest choice in terms of leaching because it avoids metals, chemicals, and other questionable additives like you find with something like plastic.  Example of a Listing for a Borosilicate Glass Bottle If you go with glass, I'd highly recommend picking a bottle that's specifically made of borosilicate glass, which is a different formalation including boron that makes it more temperature and shock resistant. Borosilicate glass helps prevent the obvious problem; it's breakable and can shatter into small, sharp pieces.  Ello Syndicate is not Borosilicate Glass but Includes a Silicone Sleeve The good news is that many popular glass bottles like this one by Ello come with a protective silicone sleeve, but it's still more likely to break than something like stainless steel so please be careful with it. There are also some cool options like this one that has a stainless steel outer bottle and a glass bottle that fits inside, which gives you vacuum insulation while letting you sip from a glass bottle.  Bottle with a Glass Inner and Stainless Steel Outer No Top Tier? No Bottles in Top Tier Now you might have noticed I didn't rank anything in the top tier, and that's intentional. Most bottles use a combination of materials, like glass bottles having plastic lids and just about every bottle using silicone seals. So in reality, almost every bottle you buy can realistically come with some risk, or at the very least some components that might be worth keeping an eye on in case science and studies come out with new information. That's not intended to scare you because most of the bottles on the market are probably perfectly safe assuming you use and maintain them properly. And either way drinking water more regularly and improving your hydration is still one of the best things you can do for your health. Other Contaminants Options for Removing PFAS and Microplastics Which Bottles Contain Lead?  Info about Stanley and Lead Stanley was in the news a few years ago when it was reported that lead is used in their bottles. In reality, lead is used in the vast majority of vacuum insulated stainless steel bottles as part of the seal on the bottom that holds the vacuum. That seal is always covered up with something like paint or a tab, so it's not realistically a risk unless your bottle is extremely damaged. But if you want to avoid anything with lead, the easiest way it to pick a bottle that does not have vacuum insulation. Or you can go with the stainless steel brands like Owala, Hydro Flask, or Zojirushi that use lead-free seals. Do Bottles Contain Microplastics or PFAS? Info about PFAS and Ways to Filter It While picking the right water bottle is an important choice, unfortunately there are other contaminants like microplastics and PFAS that existing almost everywhere in the environment, including many people's water supplies. If you haven't heard of PFAS yet, here's my deep dive into that topic. Long-story-short, they are chemicals that last a very long time (aka "forever chemicals") and have been linked to health issues to the point that several major lawsuits have been awarded against key offenders, including this one for over $10 BILLION with 3M. Very few bottles have filters capable of removing something as small as PFAS, but GRAYL's GeoPress is one that has tests to back it up. And for microplastics, there is a lot of evidence that these particles exist in A LOT of places already. But given that the majority of bottles contain plastic lids and threads, there are a growing number of people actively looking for bottles that reduce plastic use and contact with their drink or mouth. Bottle Cleaning Don't Let This Happen - Clean Your Bottle Regularly And finally, the biggest health risk overall in my opinion isn't the material type or contaminants like PFAS or microplastics. Instead, the biggest risk is not cleaning your bottle regularly. Bottles are notorious for hiding germs, mold, and bacteria, so getting on a regular cleaning schedule is really important. Check out this post for my recommended best practices and please get in that habit regardless of which bottle you get, including these two accessories I've used for years. Hope this helps, and happy hydrating!
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 The Hidden Plastic Liner in Many Cups, Cans, and Bottles (10 minute read) Which Cups, Cans, and Bottles have Plastic Liners, and Which Ones Don't?Many supposedly "eco-friendly" cups, cans, and bottles actually use a plastic liner on the inside. In addition to eventually ending up in landfills and adding to the growing microplastic problem, there are legitimate concerns over whether these plastic liners are healthy with long-term use. In this post, we'll take a closer look to learn more about the plastic liners hidden in many common cups, cans, and bottles so you can make a more informed decision. What's Next?
Video Review: Which Bottles have Plastic Liners?If videos are more your thing, check out my Youtube video that covers most of the same information. Amazon Disclaimer Some links are provided below to products mentioned in this post. If you find this information helpful, I hope you'll consider using a link to buy. We're part of the Amazon Associates program, and if you click a link then purchase, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. It's the main way I can continue to provide detailed, unbiased reviews without relying on direct sponsorships. Thank you! Which Cups, Cans, and Bottles have Plastic Liners?There are three types of popular containers that most people consider eco-friendly or plastic-free that actually have a plastic liner hidden on the inside.  Each of these has a plastic liner on the inside
Experiment Setup We're going to use a bit of science to find the plastic liner hidden in each of these containers. Drain cleaner contains sodium hydroxide, which reacts with raw aluminum to dissolve it, leaving the plastic liner behind. It also can saturate the paper in the paper cup, which eventually lets you peel it away. What I used:
Total cost: ~$50 (mostly the Sigg) Safety Notice! Drain cleaner is a very caustic (basic) mixture that includes sodium hydroxide and sodium hypochlorate (bleach). These chemicals are very dangerous if used improperly. Always follow all safety requirements and recommendations from the manufacturer, including but not limited to gloves, safety goggles, and close-toed shoes. Also, be sure to do this in a well-ventilated space. I did the experiment outside and placed a large plastic tote over everything when I was away from the experiment.
The Hidden Plastic Liner in an Aluminum Can (90 Minutes After Starting)
At this point the cup looked saturated, but the paper still had a lot of strength to it. The aluminum bottle looked unchanged. The Hidden Plastic Liner in a Paper Cup (4 Days After Starting)
The Sigg aluminum bottle had started dissolving, but I let it go a few more days. The Hidden Plastic Liner in an Aluminum Sigg Bottle (7 Days After Starting)
Are Plastic Liners in Paper Cups, Soda Cans, and Aluminum Bottles Safe?So now you've seen the plastic liner on these three containers, and it's a practical and inexpensive way for manufacturers to offer drinks. But the question is, is it safe? This is where it gets a little murky. It's worth noting that all of the plastic liners you've seen in this video are classified as food safe. However, plastic containers have a long, troubled history with our health, usually after research over decades indicates that certain chemicals commonly used in plastics can have negative effects on your health. BPAs and Phthalates  BPA and Phthalate health risks (Wikipedia and a Scientific Article) BPAs and phthalates were all in the news in the late 2000s because of their effects on hormone regulation in your body, and that's what fueled the public's transition away from reusable plastic bottles like Nalgenes to stainless steel ones like Klean Kanteens.  Sigg BPA Controversy (Spokesman-Review) Interestingly, Sigg was a haven at first for many Nalgene refugees, but then it came out that the company had used misleading marketing that made many loyal customers believe it was BPA-free when in fact it wasn't. And they only changed their formulation around 2008 after a lot of public backlash. PFAS and Microplastics  PFAS health risks (ConsumerNotice.org) More recently the spotlight is on PFAS and microplastics. PFAS usually deals more with non-stick coatings like Teflon and isn't as relevant for bottles as far as I've read. You'd actually be more likely to have PFAS in your water supply, and you can see my deep dive into that topic in this other video.  The plastic liners, which eventually would break down into microplastics Microplastics on the other hand are almost definitely a problem with any of these because just think about what happens when you throw them away. The paper will probably dissolve relatively quickly while the aluminum will take much longer to corrode, but either way you still have a plastic liner. I suspect it will eventually break down into smaller and smaller pieces, contributing further to the microplastic problem in the environment. Multiply that by every restaurant, gas station, and all the other places you find them, and that's a lot of plastic being thrown away in cups, cans, and bottles that most people think are plastic free. Which Bottles Avoid Plastic LinersSo what can you do? When it comes to disposable paper cups and aluminum cans, it's best to avoid them as much as possible. You could recycle them, but the inefficiencies and issues with recycling programs in general could be the topic of a much longer post. The sad fact is that many things we think are recycled end up just being thrown away. Case in point, the Subway where I got the cup for this experiment has the typical trash can near the door that's inside a cabinet. There are two holes on top, one for trash and one for recycling. But if you look inside, both holes drop into the same trash bin. Bottles without Plastic Liners The best options that avoid plastic liners are stainless steel and glass bottles.  Stainless steel and glass bottles avoid plastic liners No stainless steel bottles I'm aware of have a plastic liner, so going with popular brands like Owala, YETI, Stanley, or Hydro Flask is a great option. Unless you have a nickel allergy, it's a really safe bet. Glass does not contain plastic at all, and there are a bunch of those to choose from including Lifefactory, Ello, and W&P Porter.
Which Bottles Avoid Plastic Under the Lid? If you really want to go all out and limit plastic contact with your water as much as possible, you could also look for a bottle with stainless steel under the lid.
Unfortunately, this seems to be a growing sub-product niche that hasn't gone mainstream yet, and I've seen quite a few brands and options with stainless steel under the lid that have come-and-gone. Some of the links above were out of stock when I wrote this article, but I'm hoping they'll be back in stock soon so I still left the links in so you can check them yourself.
Hope this helps, and happy hydrating!  What is PFAS, and Which Filters and Bottles Remove It? What are PFAS Chemicals, aka "Forever Chemicals?"Chances are you've heard the term "PFAS chemicals" or "forever chemicals" within the last few years, but maybe you're wondering what they are. This article will get you up to speed by covering the most common PFAS-related topics and questions, including:
And importantly, what can you do about it?
What is PFAS? The term "PFAS" stands for polyfluoroalkyl substances. It doesn't refer to any single chemical, but rather it refers to a group of thousands of similar ones. Some of the more common and problematic variations you'll see are PFOS, PFOA, and GenX. Their unique chemical properties give them noticeable benefits with certain products and applications, particularly with non-stick and stain-free consumer goods. Because they are inexpensive and have beneficial properties, PFAS chemicals have been used in manufacturing and industry since the 1940s and 50s in all kinds of things, and The most common ones you'll likely hear about are:
Some of these like non-stick cookware and stain-free clothing are easier to avoid, and you're starting to see more products labeled as PFAS-free like the ones shown on PFAS Central's website. This seems to be leading up to a similar cultural and consumer shift like with what happened in the water bottle industry in the late 2000s with BPAs, which is why nearly every bottle on the market today says they're BPA-free. And while you may think the products in your home are a more immediate threat, that's not necessarily true. The areas around or downstream from factories and facilities where PFAS was used often have higher contamination levels in the water supply, which has led to multiple high-profile settlements. Contamination is very region-specific, so your location plays a big role on whether you likely have increased levels of PFAS in your water supply (which we'll cover in more detail in an upcoming section). If you're curious to learn more, here is a link to find more information about active PFAS court cases and settlements, including the one with 3M which requires the company to pay at least $10.5 billion in damages. What are the Current PFAS Regulatory Limits and Thresholds? Perhap the most mindblowing and disturbing thing about PFAS isn't what it is, where it's from, or how it affects you. Rather, it's how such incredibly small amounts of it can impact your health. It's is almost impossible to comprehend, but we're going to use the sun to help us out. EPA Regulations for Copper, Lead, and PFAS Regulatory agencies limit concentrations of harmful contaminants in your drinking water. Three common ones you'll see are copper, lead, and more recently PFAS. The US EPA limits copper at 1.3 parts-per-million ("ppm"). What this means is that if the copper concentration exceeds that limit, sometimes known as an "action level," then the utility provider or the company or person causing the contamination has to take corrective actions as well as notify the public of any potential health concerns. But 1.3 ppm is hard to visualize, so what does that look like? For comparison, let's use the sun as a reference. The sun is on average 93 million miles away, and if you calculate it out, 1.3 millionth of the way to the sun is 121 miles. That's almost halfway to the orbit of the International Space Station, so it's pretty far.  Copper contamination threshold (1.3 ppm) compared to the distance to the Sun Lead is even more dangerous, so it has a action level of 150 parts-per-billion ("ppb"). If you calculate THAT out, 150 billionths of the way to the sun is roughly 14 miles up, which is about twice as high as most commercial airplanes.  Lead contamination threshold (150 ppb) compared to the distance to the Sun But some PFAS chemicals have an action level of 4 parts-per-trillion ("ppt"). (link to EPA presentation with info about limits on pg 10) To go 4 trillionth of the way to the sun, you don't need a rocket or a plane. You just need a short ladder because when you calculate it out, 4 trillionths of the way to the sun is about 2 feet.  PFAS contamination threshold (4 ppt) compared to the distance to the Sun This is an incomprehensibly small amount, which leads to the question, how does something that small even affect your health? Are PFAS Chemicals Harmful? While it may be difficult to believe, those kinds of small concentrations of PFAS chemicals have been linked to a wide range of health issues, including:
Disclaimer: I do not claim to be an expert on PFAS, and I am relying on published data from reputable sources. One such source I used is the US EPA, and you can find their PFAS guidelines here. Now to be clear, this is a developing set of knowledge on a topic that need more research. Our understanding of what PFAS does to the human body and which concentrations are truly harmful are going to continue evolving based on the evidence, just like all good science. But there have already been enough peer-reviewed scientific studies from reputable sources that show clear enough negative health impacts to support proposing or enacting some pretty major regulations. And judging by Google trends and reading headlines about it and multi-billion dollar settlements with major contamination offenders, you're seeing a rise in PFAS awareness with the public which is sure to lead to more changes from brands and manufacturers.  Google Trends search volume for "pfas" from 2020-2025 Are PFAS and Forever Chemicals the Same? Maybe you've also heard the term "forever chemicals" in recent news, but that's just another name for PFAS. It's catchier and is better at the reader's attention, so the term is used very frequently in news headlines. The nickname was coined for two main reasons:
So don't be confused: PFAS and "forever chemicals" are the same thing. One is simply the technical name, and the other is more of a marketing term. How does PFAS get into your Water? Though it is regulated now, PFAS is in many common products that are still used to this day. However, in many ways the bigger problem for many people relates to groundwater and the public water supply. Factories, manufacturing plants, and government facilities that used PFAS either in products manufacturing or things like firefighting foam exposed the environment to PFAS contamination for decades. Over time, this increased the PFAS concentrations in the soil and groundwater in the immediate area, as well as locations and communities downstream. Because PFAS chemicals are is so small, many common treatment methods used by public water utilities do not remove it. And because the threshold like the EPA's 4 ppt limit are so low, it does not take much exposure for a public water utility to technically be over the regulated limit. Are PFAS and Microplastics the Same? Many people have started hearing the terms "PFAS" and "microplastics" recently, and their Google Trends search volumes have risen around roughly the same time period. As its name suggest, microplastics are small bits of plastic found the water, and increasingly in different parts of the human body. Both are health concerns that are very widespread in the environment and water systems, making them difficult to avoid. Also, both can relate to the same types of products, making it even more confusing.  Google Trends search volume for "pfas" and "microplastics" from 2020-2025 However, it's important to know that PFAS and microplastics are not the same thing. PFAS is a particular family of chemicals, and microplastics are simply broken down pieces of plastic. Some plastic products and parts have PFAS chemicals, so when they break down over time, this process can release both PFAS and microplastics into the environment. However, they are technically different things. Some filters can remove both microplastics and PFAS, so it helps to check the manufacturer's product info to see exactly what they are claim to remove before you buy a system. We've listed a few systems later in this article that remove both. Which Regions of the US have the Worst PFAS? So should you be worried? Well, to a large degree that depends on where you live. The Environmental Working Group has this interactive map that lets you look at sampling data at different points throughout the US. Darker blue circles are good, lighter blue are bad, purple are military sites which often times have the highest concentrations, and orange are other types of sites like manufacturing plants. I've included a screenshot of the map below so you can see the overview, but I encourage you to check out EWG's website and interact with the map to zoom in and see sampling data near you.  PFAS contamination map of the US (Environmental Working Group) Some areas that are closer to major contamination sources often find higher PFAS concentrations, though it's not a given. Wilmington, NC is frequently included in lists of cities with the worst PFAS contamination issues, but the actual source of much of that contamination was roughly 70 miles away at a chemical plant near Fayettville owned at the time by DuPont and more recently their spinoff Chemours. Even if chemicals aren't directly dumped into the river, they can still get into the groundwater, which can then seeps into rivers over time, which then affect downstream communities like Wilmington. This is what led to the nearly $1.2 billion dollar settlement in 2023 between Chemours, DuPont, and Corteva and downstream water suppliers.  Wilmington, NC and the source of contamination (DuPont / Chemours plant near Fayettville, NC) Long-story-short, if you want to avoid PFAS and have some flexibility on where you live, getting closer to the headwaters at higher elevations is probably a safer bet. Can You Remove PFAS, and Which Home Filter Systems Work Best? Of course, most of us can't move to Aspen, so what can we do? Consumer Notice.org has this really helpful summary of PFAS, and it includes ways you can limit your exposure, mostly focusing on which products to avoid. When it comes to your drinking water, that's a little trickier but thankfully there are a few options. Disclaimer: A single PFAS test costs hundreds of dollars because it requires highly senstive and technical tests. I run a small YouTube channel and blog, so I don't have the money to pay for tests like that yet. But after researching this and reaching out to companies, here's what I've found. Not all filters will remove PFAS, so you need to be careful. The below recommendations are based largely on this the Duke University article referenced above and these test results from the Environmental Working Group. Amazon Associates Disclosure BottlePro is part of the Amazon Associates Program. If you make a purchase using a link, we earn a small commission at no cost to you. It really helps, so thank you very much if you use one! Reverse Osmosis Filters: Proven to Work
2-Stage Filters: Likely to Work
Countertop System: Proven to Work Pitcher Systems: Proven to Work The Environmental Working Group also tested a number of pitchers, which can be a better option for traveling or events. These two had at least 98% PFAS removal in their testing, and they're some of the lowest-cost ways to start removing PFAS from your drinking water. Which Bottles Filter Out and Remove PFAS? Now on this website I mostly talk about water bottles, and they have a place in this discussion too. Even if you have an under-sink reverse osmosis system, but that doesn't help you out when you're on the road, especially if you're flying somewhere and you can't take any water with you. So for traveling professionals and road warriors, having a bottle that can help filter out PFAS can be appealing. Here are a few options that may be worth considering. Two Bottles that May Help Some, but not as Certain
Two Bottles that are Proven to Remove PFAS
Some of these are more conclusively good at removing PFAS, others are easier to use, and some are a lot more affordable. It's a developing mix of products, but I'm just glad there are some viable options on the market today and there will almost certainly be more coming soon. If you made it this far, consider using one of the links if you're going to buy one of these products anyways. It doesn't cost you any extra, and I may earn a commission that really helps out. Hope this information helps. Thanks again, and happy hydrating! |
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It doesn't cost you extra, and it really helps us out. Thank you!
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