The New York Times - This filter makes tap water delicious

This filter makes sink water taste like a mountain spring

An Aquasana AQ-5300+ Max Flow with an illustrated border.

Illustration: Dana Davis; Photo: Aquasana

Not only does this under-sink water filter do a great job of catching the contaminants you don’t want to be drinking—like lead, microplastics, and PFAS—it also makes tap water delicious.

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“Right out of the unfiltered tap, my water tastes flat and doesn’t entice me to chug the 8-plus cups a day that I know I should be drinking,” editorial director Christine Cyr Clisset writes. But when she’s using this filter? “The water tastes slightly sweet (dare I say like it’s from a mountain spring?).”

Tap is fine, thanks→

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The best water quality test kit

The Tap Score water testing kit next to a water testing guide.

Photo: Michael Murtaugh

If you’re concerned about the quality of your tap water, your first step should be to test it with a comprehensive at-home kit. We found a service that delivers lab-tested measurements of more than 100 contaminants. It clearly explains what your results mean—and what to do if there’s a problem.

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The kit we recommend→

Our water filter guides

A few water pitchers and filters standing alongside several glasses of water.

For convenience: Pitcher and dispenser filters

Pitcher-type filters remove chlorine disinfectants that can give water an off flavor, and some also remove lead and several industrial chemicals. They filter slowly but are dead simple to use.

The disassembled parts of an under-sink water filter.

For better filtration: Under-sink water filters

Under-sink filters last longer and can treat a wider range of contaminants than pitcher-type filters—and actually don’t require advanced plumbing skills to install.

One last thing: Yuck

Photo: Christine Cyr Clisset

This is what Chistine’s under-sink filters looked like after six months of use. And yes, that prefilter on the far left (which sifts out gunk like rust) used to be white. Gross.

Wait, how much water should you be drinking? NYT’s Well has the answer.

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The New York Times - This filter makes tap water delicious

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