Do water filters remove fluoride?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Pengwuino
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Filters Water
AI Thread Summary
Drinking tap water is often considered healthier than bottled water due to its fluoride content, which is beneficial for dental health. However, many Brita filters, primarily using activated carbon and ion exchange resins, do not effectively remove fluoride, allowing most of it to pass through. While bottled water can vary in fluoride content, many sources are simply purified tap water, which may also contain fluoride depending on the original source. Some areas do not fluoridate their water, leading to concerns about fluoride intake for those using filters. Reverse osmosis systems are noted to effectively remove fluoride from water. Overall, maintaining fluoride intake through toothpaste remains a common practice for dental care.
Pengwuino
Gold Member
Messages
5,112
Reaction score
20
I noticed on the news a thing on tooth care and one thing they said was that drinking tap water is better than bottled water because of the fluoride in the tap water. That made me realize that a good portion of the water I drink is filtered using one of those Brita filters! So do filters, such as those by Brita (which I assume are simply activated carbon), remove fluoride? And is it true that I'm not getting fluoride when drinking bottled waters?
 
Chemistry news on Phys.org
I can be wrong, but I doubt. These filters contain two active substances. One is some kind of ion exchange resin which removes calcium and magnesium carbonates to soften the water, other is activated carbon that removes organic impurities - these are relatively large organic molecules. Neither of these active substances should be effective when it comes to removing fluoride, so I would expect most of it to come through.
 
One reason that tap water is healthier to drink is that it contains the carbonates.Is that correct?
 
Never heard about it.

Doesn't mean much.
 
From Brita's website...

BRITA products have no effect on the fluoride content of water.
 
chemisttree said:
From Brita's website...

*facepalm*

I'm one of those people who can't just google something apparently :(
 
LOL! I thought the funny thing was the inference that all bottled water didn't have fluoride and that tapwater did. There are still tapwater sources without added fluoride. Most bottled water is just purified tap water so most bottled water should have as much fluoride as it's tapwater source.
 
No! Not the fluoride controversy again!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcHNYenN7OY

hmmm... That's weird. I just discovered we don't fluoridate our water here. I don't have to worry about it. (I've been carbon filtering my tap water for 20 years now).

I'll just keep brushing my teeth with fluoride toothpaste, as always. o:)
 
On the other hand, under-the-sink reverse osmosis units do remove fluoride.
 

Similar threads

Do I Have Micro Plastics In My Filtered Water?
Replies
26
Views
4K
Mold in Plastic Water Bottles? What does it eat?
Replies
24
Views
7K
Do carbon block water filters actually remove some fluoride?
Replies
11
Views
42K
Simple aid to Brita filter for declorinating tap water.
Replies
15
Views
7K
Chemical water treatment: Acid base reaction
Replies
2
Views
3K
Are Ionized Water Spray Bottles Really Effective for Cleaning?
Replies
3
Views
6K
Chloramine from water preventing health recovery, how to help myself?
Replies
2
Views
3K
How do water companies filter and purify water for drinking?
Replies
3
Views
3K
What caused the spontaneous ice slush in my carbonated drink?
Replies
5
Views
4K
What caused a slimy wormlike mass to clog a dishwasher filter?
Replies
8
Views
4K

Hot Threads

Recent Insights

Back
Top