Editorial Standards & Affiliate Disclosure

Affiliate Disclosure

H2O Insider participates in affiliate advertising programs. When you click a link to a product on our site and make a purchase, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. We participate in:

• Amazon Associates — we earn from qualifying purchases
• Direct affiliate programs with select water filter brands

This disclosure is required by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) under 16 CFR Part 255. It applies to all product links throughout this site, including links in articles, comparison tables, and "buy" buttons.

Editorial Independence

H2O Insider editorial rankings are determined by testing results and our published scoring methodology— not by commercial relationships. The following are absolute editorial policies:

• ✓Brands cannot pay for favorable reviews or placement in rankings.
• ✓Brands cannot request removal or modification of published negative findings.
• ✓We do not publish sponsored content or paid placements. If we ever do, it will be clearly labeled as advertising — separate from editorial content.
• ✓Our test results and scores are not shared with manufacturers prior to publication.
• ✓We do not receive advertising revenue from brands we review. Display advertising, if introduced in the future, will be managed through a programmatic network with no editorial involvement.

Product Acquisition Policy

Most products reviewed on H2O Insider are purchased at retail price — from Amazon, the manufacturer's website, or a physical store — the same way a consumer would buy them. For high-cost systems (whole-house filters, RO systems above $500), we may accept manufacturer-provided loan units for testing.

When a product is provided on loan by a manufacturer:

• It is disclosed at the top of the relevant review
• The loan arrangement carries no obligation to publish a positive review
• The manufacturer does not review the article prior to publication
• The product is returned or properly disposed of after testing

Certification Verification Policy

NSF/ANSI certification claims are verified against the NSF Certified Products Database before publication. We do not accept manufacturer statements, packaging claims, or press materials as verification of NSF certification status.

If a product claims NSF 53 certification but does not appear in the database, it receives no NSF 53 credit in our scoring and this discrepancy is noted in the review.

Corrections Policy

We make mistakes. When we do, we correct them:

• Corrections are made promptly upon verification
• The nature of the correction and date are noted at the top of the corrected article
• We do not silently revise published content — changes are always documented
• We correct errors regardless of whether they favor or disfavor any brand

To submit a correction, email editorial@h2oinsider.com with the URL and the specific claim you believe is incorrect. We respond to all correction submissions.

Content Update Policy

Water filter products change — manufacturers update filter media, add certifications, change prices, and discontinue models. We maintain an ongoing review schedule to re-verify key facts:

• NSF certification status: verified quarterly against the NSF database
• Product pricing: updated upon significant changes (±20%)
• Filter specifications: updated when manufacturers announce changes
• Discontinued products: removed from active recommendations and noted as discontinued

A "Last reviewed" date appears on each product review page reflecting the most recent substantive update.