The dangers of the counterfeit filters

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1924

AHAM, U.S. Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, conducted a study on the counterfeit refrigerator water filters that revealed an overwhelming failure to remove harmful contaminants from water. The Association activated a campaign to educate the consumers about the importance of using filters that meet industry standards. The counterfeit filters pose a serious risk to the consumer’s health: while the water may look, smell or taste fine, human senses cannot always detect microbial and organic contaminants lurking in the water. The study sought to determine if counterfeit filters met industry standards for health and safety related claims. Tests were conducted at three independent labs to assess counterfeit filters efficacy at removing lead, cysts and other contaminants. “Considering the randomly selected and tested filters – the Association explains -, of the 32 filters tested for removal of lead, 100% failed to meet NSF/ANSI standards to two times the life cycle (200% of the rated or specified capacity), which is notable since most consumers do not replace their filters at the required six-month mark. No counterfeit filter removed live cysts to the standards of NSF/ANSI 53, despite lowering the testing threshold from 99.95 percent removal to 90 percent. During the extraction test, ten separate compounds over the total allowable concentration were introduced into clean sample water by counterfeit filters”. The report highlights the inferior quality and the dangers of the counterfeit water filters sold online, and the importance of purchasing filters sold by a refrigerator manufacturer that requires its products to meet NSF/ANSI Drinking Water Treatment standards.