Here’s the kicker: a carbon filter is terrible at removing heavy metals like lead, mercury, or arsenic. It’s like hiring a guard dog to catch a cat burglar—it just sniffs the air and goes back to sleep.
It also won’t zap bacteria or viruses. If your water is teeming with microscopic critters, a carbon filter is basically a luxury hotel for them. They’ll just check in and have a pool party.
And salt? Forget about it. A carbon filter doesn’t care about your ocean-flavored water. That’s a job for reverse osmosis, which is carbon’s much more dramatic cousin.
