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    The Truth About What’s Lurking in Your Tap (and How to Make It Safer)

    By Scott Nielsen, Director of Filtration, Zurn Elkay

    You might not think twice about filling a glass from your kitchen tap, but sometimes what you can’t see is what matters most. While your drinking water might look crystal clear, that doesn’t always mean it’s clean.

    As someone who’s spent years focused on filtration and water safety, I’ve seen firsthand that many families have misconceptions about the quality of their home water. Here are a few important facts that might make you reconsider what’s coming from your faucet, and what you can do to make your family’s water safer.

    The Biggest Myth: “If It Looks Clean, It Is Clean”
    One of the biggest misconceptions people have is that you can tell if water is safe just by looking at it. The reality is that the most concerning contaminants, like lead and forever chemicals (PFAS), don’t change the look, taste or smell of your water.

    And boiling it doesn’t help either. While boiling can kill bacteria, it actually concentrates many chemical contaminants, including lead and PFAS, making things worse instead of better.

    Hidden Threats in the Water
    Three contaminants concern me the most: lead, forever chemicals, and microplastics.

    • Lead remains widespread due to aging infrastructure. Even when cities replace old lead service lines, lead can still leach into water from older pipes or faucets inside your home.
    • PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” are found almost everywhere, food packaging, textiles, cookware, and yes, drinking water. These chemicals are nearly indestructible, persisting in the environment for hundreds of years. Even in extremely low concentrations, they’ve been linked to cancers, reproductive issues, and developmental delays.
    • Microplastics, tiny fragments of plastic, are now showing up in water systems across the globe. We’re still learning about their long-term effects, but early findings suggest they accumulate in the body, and that’s unlikely to end well.

    Widespread, Not Isolated
    Unfortunately, these threats aren’t confined to a few communities. PFAS and microplastics have been found in drinking water sources across the country, and lead remains a problem wherever outdated infrastructure exists.

    The EPA estimates there are still 9.2 million lead service lines in use in the U.S. today. That means millions of families are still at risk from lead exposure every time they turn on the tap.

    The “Good Taste” Trap
    Many people assume their water is safe because it tastes fine, or because it comes from a trusted municipal source. But our senses can’t detect the contaminants that matter most. And while refrigerator or pitcher filters are convenient, most are only certified to address taste and odor, not harmful contaminants.

    If you want real protection, look for filters certified by NSF/ANSI standards 42, 53 and 401.

    • Standard 42 covers taste, odor and appearance.
    • Standard 53 covers contaminants like lead.
    • Standard 401 covers emerging contaminants, including PFAS and microplastics.

    If a filter isn’t certified to all three, it’s probably not doing enough.

    The Reality: Bottled Water Isn’t Safer
    Studies have found forever chemicals and microplastics in bottled water, too. And the process of producing and recycling a single-use plastic water bottle actually requires about nine times more water than the bottle itself holds. So, for every 20-ounce bottle you drink, you’ve effectively used more than a gallon and a half of water.

    Turning Awareness Into Action
    At Zurn Elkay, we’ve been addressing these threats for years, protecting kids in schools, travelers in airports, and employees in offices with our commercial-grade filtered bottle filling stations. Now, we’re bringing that same technology into the home with our Elkay Liv EZ™ Built-in Filtered Water Dispenser.

    Each Liv EZ unit uses our Elkay WaterSentry® filter, tested and certified to NSF/ANSI 42, 53 and 401 for the reduction of:

    • Lead
    • Forever chemicals (including PFOA and PFOS)
    • Microplastics
    • Class 1 particulates and cysts
    • Chlorine taste and odor

    That’s cleaner, safer, healthier water, delivered straight from the wall. And unlike most pitcher or fridge filters that need frequent replacement, the WaterSentry filter lasts up to one full year or 2,250 gallons, the equivalent of more than six gallons of clean water every day.

    A Safer Future Starts at Home
    We can’t control everything about our water systems overnight, but we can control what comes out of our tap. Point-of-use filtration gives families an immediate and affordable solution, and peace of mind that what they’re drinking is truly safe.

    At Zurn Elkay, we’re continuing to innovate filtration technology to stay ahead of emerging contaminants. Because while water quality issues are real, our goal is to make sure they never reach your glass.

    About the Author

    Scott Nielsen is the Director of Filtration at Zurn Elkay. He has spent his career focused on advancing water quality solutions that help families, schools, and communities enjoy cleaner, safer drinking water.