Culligan Review, Is Culligan Non-Toxic?
Culligan averages 95 out of 100 on PFAS Authority's PFAS and toxin screen across the 31 Culligan products graded as of October 2026, and all 31 reach its 70 point pass mark.
Culligan grades Excellent on our four-band scale.
PFAS Authority is a scoring system, not a laboratory. We do not test products ourselves. Grades are model-based, built from published ingredients, materials, certifications, brand disclosures and third-party lab results where they exist. See the rubric.
What Culligan says and does about PFAS
We found no statement from Culligan about PFAS in its own products. Culligan says its ZeroWater and MaxClear filters are independently certified by IAPMO to reduce Total PFAS under NSF/ANSI 53. We found no PFAS lawsuit naming Culligan.
- Brand statementCulligan says its water filters are independently certified by IAPMO to reduce total PFAS. This is a claim about filtering PFAS from water. Culligan PFAS Water Filter page ↗
- Brand statementCulligan says its MaxClear gravity filter systems are certified to reduce Total PFAS by 99.6% under NSF/ANSI 53. Culligan PFAS Water Filter page ↗
Sources checked September 30, 2026. A brand statement is the company’s own claim, which we report but have not verified. Our grades are model-based estimates, not lab tests.
Culligan is one of the brands we researched by hand for our record of what every brand has published about PFAS, where the same question is answered for each of them in one line.
You may also be interested in
Top-graded picks in the categories readers replace first, every one scored on the same rubric.
- polypropylene filter housing, carbon/sediment cartridge
- We found no PFAS statement from the brand
- Bacterial growth in spent cartridges
3 hazards checked on this product, all on its full breakdown.
Aquasure
Premier Series 75 GPD Under Sink Reverse Osmosis Water Filtration System
- RO membrane, carbon filters, stainless steel housing
- We found no PFAS statement from the brand
- Bacterial and microbial growth in housing and filters
4 hazards checked on this product, all on its full breakdown.
Avocado
Vegan Mattress
- organic cotton, natural latex, coconut coir, recycled steel coils
- The brand calls it PFAS-free, which we have not verified
- Heavy metals
2 hazards checked on this product, all on its full breakdown.
Does Culligan have PFAS, by category
Which Culligan products are PFAS-free? Good or better, best-graded first
- Borosilicate glass dispenser; carbon/ion-exchange filter cartridge
- Bacterial or microbial growth in filter cartridge. Pitcher filters with carbon media can develop biofilm if…
3 hazards checked on this product, all on its full breakdown.
- purified drinking water in polycarbonate or polyethylene container
- BPA & bisphenols. If the bottle is polycarbonate, BPA can leach under heat or prolonged storage, particularly…
2 hazards checked on this product, all on its full breakdown.
- BPA-free plastic pitcher with carbon/ion-exchange filter
- Bacterial growth in filter media if neglected. Carbon and resin filters can harbor bacteria if not replaced…
4 hazards checked on this product, all on its full breakdown.
- plastic pitcher/dispenser with activated carbon replacement filters
- Bacterial growth in filter cartridge. Activated carbon filters, if not replaced on schedule, can harbor…
2 hazards checked on this product, all on its full breakdown.
- Bottled water (purified/filtered); plastic bottles (PET or HDPE)
- Microplastic migration from PET bottle, PET bottles may shed microscopic plastic particles over time…
2 hazards checked on this product, all on its full breakdown.
- Carbon and sediment filtration media (non-membrane RO/carbon)
- Bacterial growth in filter media and housing (unmaintained). Activated carbon and sediment filters create a…
3 hazards checked on this product, all on its full breakdown.
- Activated carbon filter media, polypropylene housing
- Bacterial growth in filter housing and cartridge. Any water filter that is not replaced or maintained on…
3 hazards checked on this product, all on its full breakdown.
- activated carbon filter cartridge, plastic housing
- Plastic housing leachables (unspecified polymer). Culligan does not identify the plastic resin used in the…
3 hazards checked on this product, all on its full breakdown.
- activated carbon cartridge filter, plastic housing
- Bacterial and microbial growth in spent cartridge. Like all carbon filters, cartridges can harbor biofilm if…
3 hazards checked on this product, all on its full breakdown.
- activated carbon filter media, polypropylene housing
- Bacterial growth in stagnant housing. Polypropylene housings can support biofilm formation if water remains…
4 hazards checked on this product, all on its full breakdown.
- activated carbon and GAC (granular activated carbon) filter media
- Bacterial or microbial growth in filter media. Activated carbon can support bacterial biofilm growth if water…
3 hazards checked on this product, all on its full breakdown.
- Activated carbon filter cartridge, polypropylene housing
- Bacterial or biofilm growth in filter cartridge or housing. Gravity filters with standing water and porous…
3 hazards checked on this product, all on its full breakdown.
- Activated carbon, ion exchange resin, polypropylene housing
- Bacterial growth in filter media and housing. All gravity filters rely on user maintenance; if cartridges are…
3 hazards checked on this product, all on its full breakdown.
- Activated carbon and ion-exchange resin filter media; plastic pitcher housing
- Bacterial growth in pitcher reservoir. Pitcher-style filters with standing water and porous cartridge media…
3 hazards checked on this product, all on its full breakdown.
- activated carbon filter media, plastic housing
- Bacterial or mold growth in filter media. All activated carbon filters can accumulate biofilm if not replaced…
2 hazards checked on this product, all on its full breakdown.
- Carbon filter cartridge (activated carbon), plastic housing
- Bacterial growth if cartridge not replaced timely. Saturated activated carbon filters become low-flow and…
3 hazards checked on this product, all on its full breakdown.
Culligan
US-600A Under Sink Water Filter System
- activated carbon filter, NSF-certified polypropylene housing
- Bacterial colonization in activated carbon media. Saturated carbon filters can harbor bacterial biofilm if…
2 hazards checked on this product, all on its full breakdown.
- Carbon/sediment filter cartridges, polypropylene housing
- Bacterial contamination in filter housing. Carbon filters can harbor biofilm if not replaced regularly or if…
3 hazards checked on this product, all on its full breakdown.
- Carbon and ion-exchange filter cartridges
- Ion-exchange resin degradation. If chlorinated water is used without prior dechlorination or temperatures…
3 hazards checked on this product, all on its full breakdown.
- plastic bottle with activated carbon/charcoal filter cartridge
- Bacterial growth in filter cartridge if unmaintained. Activated carbon provides a nutrient-poor environment…
2 hazards checked on this product, all on its full breakdown.
- Plastic bottle housing, carbon/activated carbon filter media
- Microbial growth (mold, bacteria) in filter media. If the bottle is stored wet or used infrequently, the…
3 hazards checked on this product, all on its full breakdown.
- Carbon and sediment filter media; polypropylene housing
- Bacterial growth in filter housing if maintenance is deferred. Whole-house filters can develop biofilm inside…
3 hazards checked on this product, all on its full breakdown.
- Activated carbon, ion-exchange resin, filter media
- Bacterial growth in filter housing. Moist filter housings can harbor biofilm if not dried between uses or if…
3 hazards checked on this product, all on its full breakdown.
- Polystyrene dispenser body; ion-exchange resin filter
- Ion-exchange resin degradation and particle release. Resin beads can fragment if cartridge is dropped, shaken…
3 hazards checked on this product, all on its full breakdown.
- activated carbon filter cartridge, BPA-free plastic pitcher body
- Bacterial growth if filter unmaintained. Activated carbon is a permeable medium that can harbor biofilm if…
2 hazards checked on this product, all on its full breakdown.
- polycarbonate or polyethylene plastic bottle; carbon/resin filter media
- BPA & bisphenols. Culligan labels these bottles as BPA-free, but independent lab verification of BPA-free…
4 hazards checked on this product, all on its full breakdown.
- Plastic housing, carbon/ion-exchange filter media
- Bacterial and mold growth in reservoir. Gravity filters create standing water conditions that can favor…
2 hazards checked on this product, all on its full breakdown.
- Activated carbon filter with polypropylene housing
- Activated carbon dust or particle shedding. Fine carbon particles may be released during initial use or from…
3 hazards checked on this product, all on its full breakdown.
- Activated carbon and ion-exchange resin filter media; plastic/polymer housing
- Plastic housing leachables. Thermoplastic polymer housing can leach trace amounts of residual monomers or…
5 hazards checked on this product, all on its full breakdown.
- Activated carbon filters, plastic housing
- Bacterial or mold growth in filter bed. Any pitcher filter can harbor bacteria if cartridges are not replaced…
4 hazards checked on this product, all on its full breakdown.
- plastic reservoir, carbon/ion-exchange filter media
- Bacterial biofilm growth in filter cartridge and housing. Any pitcher filter with standing water risks…
2 hazards checked on this product, all on its full breakdown.
What to buy instead Good or better, in the categories Culligan sells
- glass bottles, sodium dichloroisocyanurate treatment chemical
- We found no PFAS statement from the brand
- Chemical overdose or misuse
5 hazards checked on this product, all on its full breakdown.
- Stainless steel housing and spigot
- We found no PFAS statement from the brand
- Bacterial growth and biofilm if filters not replaced
5 hazards checked on this product, all on its full breakdown.
- Borosilicate glass pitcher, replaceable activated-carbon filter cartridge
- Bacterial growth in filter cartridge if unmaintained
5 hazards checked on this product, all on its full breakdown.
- borosilicate glass pitcher, replaceable activated carbon filter
- Bacterial growth in filter housing if unmaintained
4 hazards checked on this product, all on its full breakdown.
- Borosilicate glass pitcher, activated carbon filter cartridge
- Bacterial growth in filter cartridge
4 hazards checked on this product, all on its full breakdown.
- borosilicate glass, plastic pitcher housing, ion-exchange resin cartridge
- Ion-exchange resin cartridge composition opacity
3 hazards checked on this product, all on its full breakdown.
Culligan and PFAS, common questions
- Does Culligan have PFAS?
- Culligan averages 95 out of 100 on PFAS Authority's PFAS and toxin screen across the 31 Culligan products graded as of October 2026, and all 31 reach its 70 point pass mark. Grades are model-based estimates built from published materials, ingredients and disclosures, not lab tests. Does Culligan have PFAS? We found no PFAS statement from Culligan about PFAS in its own filters or housings. Culligan says its filters are independently certified by IAPMO to reduce PFAS in drinking water, which is a claim about filtering PFAS out of water, not about what the products are made of.
- Is Culligan non-toxic?
- Culligan ZeroWater 40 Cup Glass Dispenser is the highest-graded Culligan product we have scored, at 100/100. It depends on the product line rather than the brand, so check the grade of the exact item you are buying.
- Which Culligan products are lower concern for PFAS?
- The highest-graded Culligan products we have scored are Culligan ZeroWater 40 Cup Glass Dispenser, 3 Gallon Culligan Drinking Water, Culligan 10-Cup Ready Pour Pitcher. That is our model-based estimate from materials and public disclosure, not a lab test.
Every grade uses the same public rubric. How grades work →