Lead
Comes from your pipes, not from the water supply. Only some cartridges are certified to reduce it.
Filter jugs handle this wellLead does not arrive in the mains. It leaches from lead service pipes, lead solder and brass fittings on the way to your tap, which means it is a property-by-property problem rather than a regional one, and your water supplier's quality report will not tell you whether you have it. Housing built before the 1970s in the UK, or before 1986 in the US, is where it concentrates. This is the one contaminant where the difference between cartridges genuinely matters, because most of them are not certified for it.
How you know you have it
- No taste, no smell, no colour — this is the point. Lead is undetectable without a test.
- Lead or brass-coloured supply pipe where it enters the property
- Housing stock older than the local lead plumbing ban
What works
In North America: Brita Elite, PUR Plus, ZeroWater, LifeStraw Home, Clearly Filtered and Epic all hold independent certification or testing for lead reduction. Internationally, Brita, Philips and Aquaphor all claim lead reduction, though without NSF certification behind the number.
What does not
The American Brita Standard filter, Brita Stream, PUR Basic and essentially every uncertified generic cartridge. If lead is the reason you are filtering, the cartridge grade is the whole decision.
Cartridges that reduce lead
Ordered by strength of evidence, not by brand. An independently certified claim outranks a lab-tested one, which outranks a manufacturer’s word for it.
Cartridges that do not
These make no claim here, and that is not a criticism — it is what their manufacturers say. Buying one of these for this problem is the mistake.
Questions
Does a filter jug remove lead?
Yes — this is one of the things a filter jug does well. In North America: Brita Elite, PUR Plus, ZeroWater, LifeStraw Home, Clearly Filtered and Epic all hold independent certification or testing for lead reduction. Internationally, Brita, Philips and Aquaphor all claim lead reduction, though without NSF certification behind the number.
What does not work: The American Brita Standard filter, Brita Stream, PUR Basic and essentially every uncertified generic cartridge. If lead is the reason you are filtering, the cartridge grade is the whole decision.