3 Upgrades for a Cleaner, Safer Home

Date Published: 10/13/2025

Small swaps, big impact: under-sink, shower, and air filters to reduce toxins, boost comfort, and support your family’s health.

Clean kitchen with plants around the corners of the room with and air purifier at the center.

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Three Filter Upgrades for Home

How many of us, growing up, never thought about what was floating around in the air, or what was coming out of our faucet? Now that we can Google anything in seconds, it's easier than ever to peek behind the scenes.

Water Filter

Depending on where you live, your local water treatment might not be as clean as you may think. For example, the US Geological Survey found that at least 45% of the tap water found in the US contains one or more types of PFAS ("forever chemicals").

The CDC website lists a few common contaminants found in tap water. Some of these come from natural sources, while others are the result of pollution.

Your water local water treatment plan is doing the best its can, but sometimes it's not enough.

Sink

The kitchen sink is where we use the most water at home. A filter for the sink is a quiet little upgrade that can make a world of difference. Your boiled water will taste better, the pasta doesn't taste like metals, and you can stop buying plastic water bottles "just in case".

Most sink filters connect to the cold-water line and purify the water before it comes out of the faucet. The most common type is the carbon block system. It handles chlorine, lead, and odors.

When shopping for brands, look for NSF/ANSI certifications. Some common ones are:

NSF/ANSI 42: improves taste and odor
NSF/ANSI 53: targets health related contaminants (lead, pesticides)
NSF/ANSI 58: ensures reverse osmosis standards

Tip: Never run hot water through a carbon filter. The heat makes it break down faster. If you want filtered hot water, pair it with a dispenser or a whole home system.

The reverse osmosis water filtration system takes it a step further and even filters out dissolved particles in the water. Modern reverse osmosis technology was developed for seawater desalination. Studies show it can filter out most dissolved solids while improving taste and odor (Yang et al, 2019).

Reverse osmosis countertop machines require virtually no set up, and no plumbing. Just plug them in.

Bluevua RO100ROPOT-UV Reverse Osmosis System Countertop Water Filter - 6 Stage Purification with UV and Remineralization, Counter RO Filtration, Portable Water Purifier

$409.00 on Amazon

Bluevua's Reverse Osmosis system blends performance and convenience, and gives your home quality drinking water without drilling holes under your sink. Most countertop filters use carbon filtration, but Bluevua's six-stage system adds both a reverse osmosis membrane and UV light. Not only can it handle chlorine and odor, it can reduce fluoride, PFAs, arsenic, and heavy metals in drinking water.

They also have a remineralization stage, which puts healthy minerals back into the water so it tastes delicious. It's made from borosilicate glass, which prevents microplastic leaching, and just looks darn good sitting on the counter.

Over time, a reverse osmosis system can pay for itself. By spending less on bottled water and cutting down on plastic waste, you will enjoy having the peace of mind that you're doing your body and the Earth good.

Shower Filter

What's hiding in your shower water?

Trihalomethanes - THM

For many of us, the daily shower ritual is our happy place. There's something just so soothing about hot water hitting bare skin, with the steam rising up all around. Even the acoustics sound better in the shower (for the shower singers). All the baggage of the day seem to melt away. But when hot water hits skin pores, the contaminants hiding inside can slip in. Chlorine, metals, and chemicals can leave skin, scalp, and hair issues. If you've ever stepped out of the shower and still didn't feel clean, that's probably the culprit.

When water sprays, it turns into fine droplets you breathe in. Studies show that these can carry THMs, heavy metals, salts, and bacteria, which ends up settling deep in the lungs.

On the skin, chlorine can reduce the skin's ability to retain moisture. In experiments, only 10 minutes of chlorine exposure lowered hydration. People with eczema are especially in danger.

Another study showed that showering can contribute as much as 12% of airborne bacteria during use. For vulnerable people, inhaling even a little bit of Legionella or non-tuberculosis mycobacteria over time can carry some risks.

Afina's filtered shower head is dermatologist recommended and designed to filter out all the things you don't want in your water. It uses a calcium sulfite filtration system and is designed to reduce chlorine and other common contaminants that wreck the skin and hair.

It keeps the water pressure high, and can be installed in just a few minutes. No plumber necessary.

Afina Filtered Shower Head, Shower Filter for Hard Water | Improves Skin & Hair by Removing Chlorine & Toxic Chemicals from Hard Water | High Pressure Shower Filter Head Water Filter (Matte Black)

$129.00 on Amazon

Whole-Home or Portable Air Filters

Air purifier in living room next to a potted plant, a cushioned chair and a windowed door shining light into the room

The National Institute of Health reports indoor air often carries a mix of fine dust, pollen, pet dander, smoke particles. Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCS) are also released from cleaning and cooking. These pollutants aren't easily seen but can be easily felt.

Add a true HEPA filter to current HVAC systems
Running a standalone air purifier in common rooms (bedroom, living room, office)

Brand pick we love

If you read our Holiday Gift article, you saw Coway as a top pick for HEPA filtration. The Coway Airmega 150 uses a washable pre-filter, activated carbon for odors/VOCs, and a true HEPA filter for fine particles. It also includes an auto mode with an air-quality sensor, so it runs quietly most of the time and ramps up only when needed—great value without the fuss.

COWAY Air Purifier

Coway Airmega 150W is a slim, quiet purifier in a clean white finish for small rooms. It uses a three stage system with a washable prefilter, a deodorizing carbon filter, and a GreenHEPA true HEPA filter to capture dust, pollen, smoke, and odors. You get an air quality indicator, auto and sleep modes, filter change reminders, and a front panel that makes filter swaps easy.

$189.99 on Amazon

How to get the most out of your air purifier:

When shopping for air purifiers, be sure to match the CADR/room-size rating to your space.
Keep purifiers 12-18 inches from walls in order to not block the intake.
Set it to auto 24/7, and only bump to high when cleaning or cooking.
Cleaning and changing the filter consistently is one of the best ways to keep it running more efficiently.

With an air purifier, you will notice less visible dust on surfaces, fewer sneezy mornings, and rooms that smell wonderfully neutral (instead of yesterday's dinner).

Bringing it all together

Each of these potential filters add up. A sink filter for betting tasting water, a shower filter for calmer skin, and a HEPA purifier for cleaner air. Each one quietly removes what your body doesn't want. Start with the one room or tap you use the most, shop around for a product that matches your space, and remember to keep the filters on a schedule. That's the whole playbook for a healthier home.

Sources

Tags: health, home, pollution, humidity, clean, filters

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