When searching for the best water filter, there is definitely a lot of conflicting information available, but the quandary ends when you turn to the latest scientific data. The EPA, the National Research Council on Water Quality, and other experts have recently pointed out the dangers of chemical contamination in our water, and the ineffectiveness of bottled water and older reverse osmosis processes in addressing the problem.

Instead, multi-stage systems that use activated carbon filtration to remove these chemicals are ideal. The EPA has shown that the average household has measurable amounts of chloroform in the air. This is the gaseous form of chlorine, and it enters the home's atmosphere through the evaporation of chlorinated water from daily showering.

So right there, it's clear that the best water filters are going to filter all the water in the house or at least will be adaptable to the shower head so that we're no longer breathing this dangerous chemical in our homes.

The best water filter uses activated carbon filtration to remove chlorine and other chemicals. The filter itself actually bonds chemically with the unwanted substances, thus removing them from the water. Other chemicals that are removed are those resulting from agricultural runoff, i.e. pesticides and fertilizers, industrial waste, and improperly disposed of household cleansers.

These chemicals are generally tasteless and odorless, but they do make it to your tap. Older systems like reverse osmosis fail to remove these chemicals, so no matter what these companies claim in terms of having quality home water filters, it just isn't true.

In fact, they not only remove harmful chemicals but also, through another stage in their multi-stage process, filter out sediments and harmful metals like lead. On the other hand, these filters leave naturally occurring minerals intact.

They are designed by the engineer who knows that minerals are actually what contribute to good taste in water, and they are vital to human health. Think about your multi-vitamin - it's full of vitamins and minerals. If these minerals are already in the water, that's a good thing, and activated carbon quality home water filters are designed with this fact in mind.

The ideal system is also one that is certified effective, guaranteed, and comes with the highest rating from independent sources such as Consumer's Digest. Look for a company that not only produces the best water filters, but backs that up with excellent customer service.

And there's no reason to go through a middle man when choosing a water filtration system. The joys of the internet include direct access to quality home water filter manufacturers, lowering your initial costs.

You can choose the best water filter for each faucet individually or for the whole house. Either way, they are easy to install, easy to maintain, and the best of the best cost less than ten cents a gallon, even after you figure in the cost of purchasing replacement filters (once every six months for individual faucet filters and once every three years for whole house filters).