PFAS Water Filter: How to Remove Forever Chemicals from Your Water

Three things take PFAS out of household water: activated carbon, a PFAS resin tank (ion exchange), and reverse osmosis. Water softeners, iron filters and boiling do not. For the whole house, I put a carbon tank first and the PFAS resin tank after it, so you cover all your bases. For drinking and cooking water only, a reverse osmosis system at the kitchen sink is the lower-cost way to do it. Whichever you pick, start from a PFAS lab number and test the treated water once a year.

Caller "I'm particularly interested in PFAS chemicals, and I'm reading what you're saying on your website, which is suggesting ion exchange instead of carbon filtering is gonna be better for that."

Aidan "We usually put a carbon tank in first to eliminate chlorine, chlorine byproducts, and some long-chain PFAS, and then the water softener to take out all the hardness before it goes into the actual PFAS system after that."

A caller on city water in October 2026, reading the old version of this page. This page is the long version of my answer.

Which PFAS setup fits your home?

Pick from your lab number, not from a guess. A regular well test does not include PFAS; you need a PFAS test. Our PFAS water test kit ($349) measures 14 PFAS, and how to test water for PFAS walks through taking the sample. Once you have the number, this is how I match it to a setup.

	Setup	Best for	Price	Upkeep
	Whole-house carbon tank by itself	You want one tank for the whole house that also takes out chlorine and other chemicals. Most of our customers go this way.	$1,995 (2.5 cubic foot, the size I recommend for PFAS) or $1,495 (1.5 cubic foot)	Fresh carbon every 5 years
	Carbon tank, then the PFAS resin tank	You want every base covered for the whole house. This is the setup I personally recommend.	$4,490 for both: $1,995 carbon tank plus $2,495 PFAS resin tank	Carbon every 5 years; PFAS resin every 2 to 3 years ($595 per cubic foot)
	Reverse osmosis at the kitchen sink	You want PFAS out of the water you drink and cook with, for the least money.	$595 for the Pure-75 or from $275 for the MAW-50	Filters every 6 months; membrane every 1 to 2 years
	Certified whole-house PFAS cartridge	You want a filter certified for PFAS and don't mind buying a new cartridge every year. It handles up to 5 gallons per minute.	$349 for the cartridge	New cartridge about every 12 months, or 40,000 gallons

Do you have your PFAS test results?

Text your PFAS test results to Aidan

Send a photo of the report and Aidan will tell you which setup fits your water, and what has to go ahead of it.

Text Aidan443-277-2204 Call800-460-5810Aidan

8 AM to 5 PM Eastern, seven days a week. A real person, not a call center.

Does carbon remove PFAS?

Yes, activated carbon removes PFAS, but how much depends on the carbon, how much of it there is, and which PFAS you have. Carbon removes the larger PFAS, like PFOA and PFOS, better than the smaller ones. The EPA says granular carbon works well on longer-chain PFAS like PFOA and PFOS, while shorter ones like PFBS and PFBA do not stick to it as well, and that it can be 100 percent effective for a period of time, depending on the type of carbon, the depth of the bed and the flow rate. In a Duke and NC State study of home filters, activated carbon filters removed 73% of PFAS on average, and the results ran from complete removal to none.

That is why the type of carbon and the amount of it matter. I tell people carbon is "one of the recommended methods for removing PFAS. Plus it removes other contaminants as well, so you get more bang for your buck." For PFAS I recommend the 2.5 cubic foot non-backwashing tank; you need at least a 1.5 cubic foot tank for contact time, with a high grade of carbon like the Centaur catalytic carbon we use. Change the carbon every 5 years, because after about 5 years it gets exhausted. A carbon block cartridge is carbon too; the certified one is in which PFAS filters are certified.

How does a PFAS resin tank work?

A PFAS resin tank is filled with resin: tiny beads that grab PFAS out of the water as it passes through (this is called ion exchange). The maker of ResinTech SIR-110-HP says it removes PFOA, PFOS and a wide range of other PFAS. SIR-110-HP is the replacement resin we sell for the tank. The EPA says this kind of resin has a high capacity for many PFAS, removes 100 percent of them for a time set by the resin, the bed depth, the flow rate, which PFAS are in the water and what else is in it, and usually costs more than carbon.

Our PFAS resin tank is non-backwashing and needs no electricity, and it is rated for 8 gallons per minute. The resin is used once, not cleaned and reused, so it gets replaced every 2 to 3 years or so. Taking out chlorine is the carbon's job, which is why the carbon goes ahead of it (see what order the filters go in).

In my video I say our PFAS system takes all PFAS out. The USGS counts more than 12,000 types of PFAS, not all of which current tests can detect, so the honest version is the maker's: PFOA, PFOS and a wide range of others. That is one more reason I want the treated water tested.

Does reverse osmosis remove PFAS?

Yes, reverse osmosis removes PFAS, including the small ones carbon has trouble with. The EPA says reverse osmosis is typically more than 90 percent effective on a wide range of PFAS, shorter-chain PFAS included. In the Duke and NC State study, every under-sink reverse osmosis and two-stage under-sink filter they tested showed near complete removal of every PFAS they measured.

The catch is that reverse osmosis treats one tap. The Minnesota Department of Health calls it more practical at one faucet than for the whole house. We do not claim a PFAS certification for our two units, the Pure-75 and the MAW-50.

What does not remove PFAS?

A water softener, an iron filter and boiling the water do not remove PFAS. The Minnesota Department of Health says softeners, iron filters and boiling do not remove PFAS; its sampling found whole-house softeners and iron filters do not. If you already have a softener or an iron filter, it stays; it just goes ahead of the PFAS treatment, not instead of it.

Whole house or just drinking water?

Most PFAS gets into you through what you drink and cook with, not through your skin. The EPA says showering, bathing and washing dishes in water with PFAS are unlikely to significantly increase your risk. So a reverse osmosis system at the kitchen sink covers the main route, and the Minnesota Department of Health notes that treating one tap usually costs less than treating the whole house.

I still recommend treating the entire house for PFAS. A whole-house tank gives you, as I tell callers, "endless capacity of filtered water" at every tap, and the carbon tank takes out chlorine and other chemicals on the way. If the budget only covers one thing, a reverse osmosis at the sink is a real answer, not a lesser one.

What order do the filters go in?

The PFAS resin tank goes last, after everything that cleans the water up. "You need to clean out the water before it goes through the PFAS system." On city water, the carbon goes first because it takes the chlorine out:

1. Carbon tank (chlorine, chlorine byproducts and some long-chain PFAS)
2. Water softener, if the water is hard
3. PFAS resin tank

On a well, everything goes after the well tank, and the PFAS resin tank still goes after the tanks that fix the water:

1. Well pressure tank
2. 5 micron sediment filter
3. Iron filter or acid neutralizer, if the test calls for one
4. Water softener, if the water is hard
5. Carbon tank, if you use one; it works better on water that is already neutral and soft
6. PFAS resin tank
7. UV light, last, if the well has bacteria

For a well that needs PFAS treatment and protection from bacteria, our PFAS well water system ($2,595) is the 20 inch Big Blue with a 5 micron filter, the PFAS resin tank and a UV light in one order. In this short video I answer the questions well owners call me with, standing next to that PFAS tank.

How do I know my PFAS filter works?

Test the treated water with a lab once a year; it is the only way to know. "You should have a lab test done on a yearly basis to make sure it's functioning properly." Take the sample from a tap after the PFAS treatment, with the same PFAS test kit you started with, so the two reports compare.

In the Duke and NC State study, 4 of the 8 whole-house carbon systems they tested had more PFAS after the filter than before it; the authors think the used-up carbon was giving PFAS back to the water. The 5 whole-house ion exchange systems they tested were, in their words, "largely inconsistent and unpredictable," and they say their sample was small. Replace the carbon and the resin on schedule, and let the test tell you it is working.

Which PFAS filters are certified?

The EPA says to look for certification to NSF/ANSI 53 or NSF/ANSI 58 for PFAS reduction. Of what we sell, the Pentair FloPlus Protect 20BB cartridge is the one certified for PFAS. It is a 1 micron carbon block certified by IAPMO R&T against NSF/ANSI 53, with listed reductions for PFOA, PFOS, PFHxS, PFNA and PFHpA, and it is rated for 40,000 gallons at 5 gallons per minute. I will tell you the downside too: cartridges like this are a great idea, but they are expensive to keep up with, and suppliers can't always keep up with the demand for them.

For our whole-house carbon tanks, the PFAS resin tank and our reverse osmosis units, we do not claim a PFAS certification. The resin carries the WQA Gold Seal, which certifies it as safe to use in drinking water; it is not a PFAS performance rating. The Minnesota Department of Health adds that, as of April 2024, the PFAS certifications do not yet show a filter gets down to the EPA's new limits, so a certified filter still gets a test.

Who installs a PFAS tank?

We recommend having a plumber install it. The carbon tank and the PFAS resin tank are inlet and outlet only: no drain line and no electricity, so each tank is about an hour or two of a plumber's time. Every tank ships empty; the carbon and the resin come in separate boxes and go into the tank at install through the funnel that comes with it. I'm a phone call away for your plumber at 800-460-5810, and if you have done some plumbing and would rather do it yourself, text me at 443-277-2204 with any questions.

On the well system, the UV light needs an outlet near the line, and its lamp ships in a tube in the box and slides into the chamber at install.

Frequently asked questions