Hi there,

I thought I could help you out since I've done a lot of research lately because I, too, wanted a under sink water filter. I have purchased one with a separate faucet. But, in my research, there is one out there that does not require a separate faucet. It is the 3M Filtrete 3US-PS01 Under-Sink Professional Water Filtration System (which got pretty good reviews on Amazon). It connects directly to your cold water supply line. Although, I'm not sure how it does with lead, etc. You can always look into a whole house water filter with reverse osmosis. Hope this helps! :)

Here is a link that might be useful: 3M Filtrete 3US-PS01 Under-Sink Professional Water Filtration System

If you just want to put a filter in-line with your kitchen sink, a multi-chamber canister filter would do the trick. You want to get a copy of your local water report and see what's in your tap water and decide what you want to filter. There are many different options for media that can go in canisters that filter out different things. Some of that media -- usually the more robust -- can reduce waterflow, and also how many chambers of filtration you use will affect water flow. The great thing with a canister system is that if your needs change or you don't like a filter, you can get new filter cartridges, run chambers empty or add chambers fairly easily.

If you are just concerned with taste and odor, a one or two chamber system with carbon block filters will do the trick quick affordably. Think of it as a big Brita filter under the counter -- it won't eliminate MBTE's or fluoride or anything nasty, but it'll look and taste better.

You will need to replace your filters periodically -- how often depends on your water quality, water usage, and type of filter cartridge. So pay attention to how easy it is to get in there and change the filters.

alabamanicole is correct! We actually have one of these & it works beautifully. I would take a picture for you, but my camera is on the fritz! We are on well water with fabulous taste and no worries of impurities, but wanted to filter out the mineral sediment. Ours is Culligan. It wasn't cheap, but worth it, imo. It definitely meets our needs. When they came out we were told that they had different filters to meet your goals just as alabamanicole said.

I'll give you some tips because I'm on NYC water as well. And let me tell you we are blessed. NYC water isn't even filtered from upstate! (well now it is because of a DEP law suit... but it didn't have to be until this year). It's extremely low in mineral content (soft), and IMHO the best water short of the North West...

You'll want at least 2 stages, because sediment does end up getting in the pipes, a 5 micron sediment, and then a 5 micron carbon block would do just fine. I have a 2 stage from the filterguys.biz but I wanted a seperate water filter. You can filter your cold water entirely, but you can never filter hot, so in a mixed faucet (hot + cold) you sometimes aren't totally sure you're getting filtered... I mean turn it all the way to cold and it's probably fine, but I'd just rather be sure, no mixing etc...

You can just go to home depot and get a standard sized filter "10" that has 3/8" compression fittings, or adapters... just take a filter out of the box and go to the fittings aisle and have at it...

You do NOT want to filter Fluoride, there's a reason they put it in the water. RO (Reverse Osmosis) is also bad for you, it doesn't have enough minerals; plus NYC water is so soft it's almost like RO.

Actually Brita filters DO filter Fluoride, which is bad. This is because they do ionic filtering. Simply it uses electron sucking technology... more reactive minerals "stick" to these filter media, and less reactive don't... If you break a used brita filter open you will see both carbon particles and round spherical plastic beads, those are the anionic/cationic (positive/negative minerals) filter materials.

Anything with those little plastic beads will take good things like fluoride and calcium out of the water. I'm sure there are people willing to debate to death the benefits of fluoride etc... but tap water is monitored for bad things closer than any bottled water, and the only thing you should worry about is the chlorine taste and sediment that's made it into the water supply since it left the huge upstate reserves.

'Actually Brita filters DO filter Fluoride, which is bad. This is because they do ionic filtering.'

Brita filters do not remove fluoride, and they are proud of it:
http://www.brita.com/support/faq/misc-faq/

Brita filters are are activated carbon filters (taste & oder) with an exchange ion resin which softens water by removing CaCO3, which is only one form of calcium. Water is not a significant source of dietary calcium of any kind, and calcium carbonate is really only absorbed by the body in the presence of food and fiber.

There are many myths about water filtration being bad for you. While it is true some minerals may be lost in filtration, there are no dietarily significant sources of minerals in water. Period.

And other than distillation, no form of water filtration removes *everything* -- good or bad. The 'bad' stuff in your water varies from region to region, but from hormones to pharmaceuticals to pesticides to the necessary treatment chemicals, almost all tap water has toxic, carcinogenic or simply inappropriate substances. Men don't need birth control hormones in their water.

The items which are 'regulated' are only the tip of the iceberg -- it's not possible to test and regulate for everything. (Including those birth control hormones!)

Here is a link that might be useful: Brita FAQ