Water filtration products
Twenty-one categories, each with an honest verdict on what it does, whether it suits your water, and whether fitting it yourself is realistic.
Drinking water
Filtration at the tap, the fridge or the shower — the products most households actually need.
Under-sink drinking water filters
A filter housing plumbed into the cold supply under your kitchen sink, feeding either your existing tap or a separate filter tap. The most popular way to get filtered drinking water in a UK home.
Reverse osmosis systems
A multi-stage system that forces water through a semi-permeable membrane, removing the overwhelming majority of dissolved substances. The most thorough domestic filtration available.
Inline water filters
A sealed cartridge fitted directly into a water line, most often feeding a fridge, an ice maker, a coffee machine or a drinks dispenser.
Fridge water filters
The cartridge inside an American-style fridge freezer that filters the water and ice dispenser. Usually a manufacturer-specific part.
Carbon filters
Activated carbon cartridges that adsorb chlorine, organic compounds and the things that make water taste and smell wrong. The workhorse of domestic filtration.
Shower filters
A compact filter fitted between the shower arm and the head, aimed at chlorine and its effects on skin and hair.
Hard water and limescale
Softeners and inhibitors. Which one you need depends entirely on how hard your water is.
Water softeners
An ion-exchange unit plumbed into the rising main that removes calcium and magnesium entirely, giving genuinely soft water throughout the property.
Limescale inhibitors and scale reducers
A compact in-line device that changes how hardness minerals behave so they do not stick as scale, without removing them. Far cheaper and simpler than a softener.
Whole-property treatment
Fitted on the rising main, treating every outlet. Bigger jobs, bigger commitments.
Whole-house water filters
A large filter fitted to the rising main where water enters the property, so every tap, shower and appliance gets treated water.
Sediment filters
A mechanical filter that strains out sand, silt, rust and other particles. Usually the first stage in any multi-stage system.
UV water treatment
An ultraviolet lamp in a chamber that inactivates bacteria, viruses and protozoa as water passes. Disinfection, not filtration.
Commercial
Cafés, restaurants, offices, salons and gyms.
Testing
Find out what you are actually dealing with before spending anything.
Consumables
The cartridges that do the work and cost more than the system over its life.
Hardware and fittings
Housings, taps, valves and the small parts every installation needs.
Filter housings
The canister the cartridge sits in. Standard sizes make cartridges interchangeable; proprietary ones do not.
Filter taps
A dedicated tap for filtered water, or a three-way tap combining hot, cold and filtered in a single spout.
Pipe fittings and connectors
The push-fit connectors, tubing, adapters and tees that join a filtration system to your plumbing.
Isolation valves
Small in-line valves letting you shut off one appliance without turning off the water to the whole property.
Bypass kits
A valve arrangement that routes water around a softener or filter, so the property keeps its supply while the unit is serviced or removed.
Installation accessories
Housing spanners, mounting brackets, food-safe grease, PTFE tape, drain saddles and the other small items every filtration job needs.