I hear you on the Brita. It’s definitely better than nothing, but it’s more of a taste/odor solution than a serious contaminant removal system. Brita’s activated carbon is decent for chlorine and some VOCs, but it’s not designed to handle heavy metals, endocrine disruptors, or fluoride effectively — especially at the levels you’ve mentioned.
If you want to tackle a wider range of contaminants without getting into super complex setups, you might look into
multi-stage filtration. For example:
- Whole-house filters if you want to protect every tap and appliance.
- Under-sink reverse osmosis (RO) for drinking/cooking water — RO systems can reduce fluoride, heavy metals, VOCs, and even dissolved solids.
- Specialty cartridges (like KDF or catalytic carbon) that target chlorine, chloramine, and heavy metals.
One thing I learned when I upgraded from a basic pitcher is that matching the filter to your actual water quality is key. If you’re on city water, your provider’s water quality report is a good starting point. For well water, a private lab test is worth it.
I ended up going through
DiscountFilterStore.com for my system because they have both RO and whole-house options, plus guides that explain which contaminants each filter handles. I also compared a few things at
WaterFilters.net — they have some interesting niche options for more stubborn issues like sulfur or high iron in well water.
Bottom line: If you’ve been happy with Brita for taste, great — but if your goal is to address the VOCs, heavy metals, endocrine disruptors, and fluoride you listed, it’s worth looking at systems that go a step or two beyond a carbon pitcher.
Did you notice any major benefits since you set up that system? 
