Latest news with #Culligan
New York Post
4 days ago
- Health
- New York Post
How clean is New York City's water really? We had it tested
It's been called 'the champagne of tap water.' The H2O coming through New York City's pipes is so clean, in fact, that NYC is one of the only major US cities that doesn't use filtration. If you get your hydration right from the tap, you know it just tastes good — and it's been said it's at least partly responsible for why our bagels are superior. Advertisement So when Culligan gave us the chance to try out their at-home water testing kit — which looks for contaminants like lead, copper and arsenic as well as forever chemicals — we jumped at the chance to find out for ourselves: How healthy is New York City's tap water, really? 5 Culligan tested a sample of New York City's tap water for contaminants like lead — plus PFAS, or 'forever chemicals.' Stephen Yang Testing for forever chemicals Collecting the samples at my Manhattan apartment was was super easy — though it was actually for two tests, one covering contaminants and another that looks for PFAS, also known as 'forever chemicals.' Earlier this year, a study found that 97 million Americans are exposed to these forever chemicals through their tap water. Advertisement PFAS have been linked to a bunch of health concerns including reproductive issues, an increased risk of cancer, reduced immunity, higher cholesterol, higher obesity risk and developmental effects in children. And the bad news? New Yorkers aren't totally shielded while sipping our on-tap champagne. 'We identified one compound: PFBA, which stands for Perfluorobutanoic acid,' Culligan's lab manager Maria Mozdzen explained, going over our test results. 'We found that to be at 2.2 parts per trillion.' Advertisement That's higher than EWG [Environmental Working Group]'s health guidelines, which are set at one part per trillion. The EPA doesn't yet set limits on PFAS in water. So how bad are these results, really? 5 It was really easy to colelct the sample, which was then sent back to Culligan to be analyzed. NY Post 5 Between contaminants and PFAS, nearly 100 things were tested for. NY Post It turns out… not that bad at all. Culligan had tested for 55 PFAS compounds. Advertisement 'I think your municipality is doing a great job,' Mozdzen said. Though PFBA was identified, it was 'very lower level' in the sample tested. Mozdzen noted that I may still want to address it — like with a PFAS filtration system — depending on my comfort level. 'If this was me or my household, I would definitely want to protect myself from it,' she said. Forever chemicals can also be found in a load of other products we use, from cookware to makeup. Scientists have been on the hunt for ways to limit our exposure — even if it's bit by bit. It's important to note, though, that this test captured a single point in time — and what's found in the water can change slightly throughout the year. Dr. Eric Roy, Culligan's Head of Science, said that New York City does a 'really good job' of conducting different types of tests, so their results have shown variability. 5 Everything tested for had levels below EPA limits — or so low that they weren't detected at all. NY Post/Jared Larson Advertisement They have found, at times, the presence of another forever chemical that wasn't in my sample, PFOA. (That was also only at about 2.1 parts per trillion — so higher than the EWG recommends, but not particularly high.) If I were to test again in a few months, I might have a different result. What else is in the water? That covers forever chemicals, but what about all of the other stuff that could be dripping out of our faucets? According to Culligan's test, we're doing even better in that department. Of the 42 different things they tested for, not a single one was detected above the national standard limit — including the total amount of minerals, which at 61.89 mg/L was well below the EPA's limit of 500 mg/L. Advertisement Even better, about half weren't even above the minimum detection level. Those include lead, copper, iron, magnesium, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, silver, uranium and nitrate. The others all had levels below the national standard limit, including calcium, magnesium, silica, sodium, potassium, aluminum, chloride, fluoride, sulfate and bicarbonate. 'It's actually great water,' Mozdzen said. 'I'm on Lake Michigan, and I like to think we're on good water, but nothing compared to you.' 5 Culligan sells filtration systems, including ones that filter out PFAS. Culligan About that lead measurement… Advertisement Dr. Roy stressed once again that this is just a snapshot — and in fact, a 2023 report by the NYC Coalition to End Lead Poisoning found that about 21% of residents may be drinking water delivered via lead service lines, which could contaminate the water with lead. Even low levels of lead exposure can have a serious health impact. For adults, that could be nerve disorders, high blood pressure, reproductive issues, muscle and joint pain, and memory problems, according to the EPA. For kids, it can slow growth, cause headaches, create hearing problems — and even lead to lower IQ, brain damage, and learning and behavioral issues. Advertisement Unfortunately, lead contamination can enter your water at a lot of different points along its journey. While NYC's source water from the Catskill/Delaware watershed and the Croton watershed doesn't have lead, it can leach in through the service line or even your home's internal plumbing. Older cities, in particular, are more likely to have lead service lines, and older internal plumbing is more likely to have lead, too. If you live in an apartment building, there's not a whole lot you can do. But Mozdzen has one tip that can help you guard more against lead exposure. When you wake up in the morning and pour your first glass of water from the sink — wait a beat. 'Let that water run 30 seconds and then start using it,' she said. 'What I found — and I look at tons of lead results — it's the first draw in the morning that's the problem. It's not necessarily like down the line… It's just when the water stays stagnant in the in the fixture.'
Fast Company
4 days ago
- Business
- Fast Company
Culligan's new water pitcher takes aim at your kitchen counter
In the filtered water space, there is one company that has dominated brand awareness for decades. Water pitchers and filtration devices from Brita can be found in so many millions of homes and offices around the world that the term market saturation is more than just a pun. But there's another water filtration company that, despite lower kitchen visibility, is actually a bigger player in the clean-water game. Culligan, founded in 1936 as a water softening and filtration service company, became known for its white-glove service. Often installed in basements or storage closets, Culligan's equipment was as utilitarian as a water heater or furnace. Once the system was installed in a home or office, its users hardly gave it another thought, or look. 'It was the technician that was actually working with the product,' says Kathy Chi Thurber, Culligan's new global president of consumer products. 'The products didn't have to be beautiful, but the technicians had to be able to talk about our history, our capabilities, our research, and innovation.' Now, as a private 15,000-person company that pulled more than $3 billion in revenue in 2023, Culligan is embarking on a total brand and strategy overhaul. And aggressively so. Within the past five years, Culligan has acquired 362 companies in the clean-water industry, from local water purifiers to filter companies to component manufacturers. It's positioning itself as a dominant player in a world where water safety and water scarcity are of increasing concern. Out of the basement and into your kitchen One priority is to start competing more directly in the consumer space, bringing its equipment out of the basement and into the hands of water drinkers everywhere. 'We'd never really given an eye to the consumer, and that has 100% changed,' says Chris Quatrochi, chief product and technology officer at Culligan International. To venture into the Brita-dominated consumer market, Culligan turned to the industrial design firm Ammunition Group. Known best for its work designing Beats by Dre headphones and products for companies like Polaroid, Square, and Lyft, Ammunition was tasked with helping Culligan develop products that appeal to regular consumers. It also updated the brand to tell those consumers that Culligan is not the box-in-the-basement brand they may have known in the past. 'Our portfolio has not been the greatest from a, I would say, beauty perspective,' Quatrochi says. 'If you really want to show that you are leading edge from a water-quality perspective, you have to have a product that demonstrates that.' Ammunition started by applying its deep product design background to creating a water filtration pitcher that embodies this new company focus. Building on its 2020 acquisition of the water filter maker ZeroWater, Culligan's ZeroWater Technology line of three handheld pitchers and two countertop dispensers is the company's first foray into the consumer space. Designing a better water pitcher Ammunition's design focused primarily on the ways people actually use filtered water pitchers. 'One of the constraints is putting it in your refrigerator,' says industrial designer Robert Brunner, Ammunition's founder. Research into the market showed that more than 70% of water pitcher users, particularly those in the U.S. and Western Europe, keep their pitchers in the refrigerator, often in the door of the appliance. At the same time, most of the pitchers on the market don't actually fit into a fridge door all that well. Their rectangular shape and bulging handle tend to take up a lot of space, and need more room around them to be moved in and out. Ammunition rethought that form factor to better fit inside the refrigerator door, using a rounded square shape for the pitcher that allows it to fit more like a carton of milk. The pitcher also has an innovative open-ended handle that cuts down on its overall bulk and allows more stuff to fit in the refrigerator door's shelves alongside it, while also being more ergonomically comfortable to carry and hold. 'Figuring out how to have that single connection point for that handle so it'd be mechanically robust and reliable—it was actually a fair amount of engineering effort to make sure that could work when it's getting filled up with water,' Brunner says. 'The handle is extremely important, because when this thing is full, it's quite heavy, and you have to be able to manipulate it, carry it, pour it. We wanted to maintain this simplicity.' The design team also thought about the spout shape and the challenge of pouring water for people with dexterity and mobility issues. That led to considerations about one of the key parts of using a water pitcher: refilling it. Ammunition designed a sliding lid that makes holding the pitcher under the tap and refilling it easier. advertisement The lid's circular shape became a recurring theme in the design of the pitcher line, as well as the broader work Ammunition is doing across Culligan's other product and service categories. 'The circular element is really the most natural shape to route water from one place to another, pipes being the most obvious example,' says Christopher Kuh, vice president of Ammunition's industrial design studio. 'It's really an important and core element.' Another differentiating factor is the built-in water-quality meter. Measuring total dissolved solids (TDS) at the scale of parts per million, the digital meter slots into the pitchers and the countertop dispensers to give users a clear readout of how well the filter is functioning—and when it's time to replace it. 'The TDS meter actually is going to start to read a value above zero at some point in time, which gives you a clear indication of the end of filter life,' Kuh says. In a clever turn, the meter can be removed from the pitcher or dispenser to dip into, say, a glass of water direct from the tap to see just how much the filtration system is doing. A bigger rebrand moment These design moves were informed by deep user research Culligan has conducted over the past three years. Thurber says Ammunition was game for putting its design prototypes in the hands of users from the very early stages and taking their feedback to inform new iterations of the designs before landing on a final product that looks and feels different from what's already out there. 'We all know who the major competitor is that has, like, 60% to 70% market share,' Thurber says. 'It would be very hard to break through if we were not serious about what we wanted to do, and if we were not game-changing in our design and our functionality.' But this doesn't mean Culligan is abandoning the more utilitarian water products that have kept it in business for nearly a century. Instead, Ammunition's design approach for the pitcher is being extended throughout Culligan's product offerings, including the industrial-scale water softeners and filtration systems that still live in basements and utility closets, as well as the company's large and growing business in office water coolers. Some of those redesigned products will be coming online in the next year. The early-rate deadline for Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies Awards is Friday, September 5, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Apply today.
Entrepreneur
01-08-2025
- Business
- Entrepreneur
What Quiet Leadership Looks Like in a Loud World
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. When I sat down with Scott Clawson, CEO of Culligan, there was no pomp, no buzzwords and certainly no ego. He's not trying to sell you on anything. Culligan is a nearly 90-year-old water company based in suburban Chicago, and under Scott's leadership, it's grown from $400 million to over $3.3 billion in revenue, now serving more than 14 million households and two million businesses across 90 countries — and I had never heard of him! But Scott doesn't come across like a typical "big company" CEO. He was grounded, thoughtful and deeply mission-driven. We met at the United Center, where Culligan is the official hydration partner. It was fitting. Sports have played a big role in Scott's life, and he credits much of his leadership style to lessons from his high school basketball team in small-town Indiana. There's no star player mentality — just a group of people working together with clear roles and shared goals. That philosophy seems to underpin his entire approach to business: Build a strong team, stay focused on purpose, and lead with consistency over flash. Related: 2 Tech CEOs Talk Cyber Threats, Space Flights and the Dark Side of AI — Here's How They're Preparing for the Future Culligan's purpose is straightforward: to provide healthy, safe, sustainable water to people around the world. It's a mission that matters more than most people realize. More than two billion people lack access to safe drinking water. In the U.S., issues around outdated infrastructure and chemical contamination in regions like Michigan, Texas and parts of the Midwest are far more prevalent than many think. Scott and his team are trying to fix that — not just through better filtration, but by reducing reliance on single-use plastics and expanding access in underserved regions like Latin America and Southeast Asia. What stood out most to me wasn't just the mission, though. It was Scott's clarity of thought and genuine sense of responsibility. He's not trying to be a social media personality. He's not chasing headlines. When you lead a company for 10+ years with that type of performance, he easily could be. But he's building something with long-term impact, and that tone seems to permeate Culligan's culture. It's rare to hear a CEO say he wakes up every day and loves going to work — not because it's easy, but because it's meaningful. Scott also made it clear that leadership doesn't have to be short-sighted. He advocates for more business leaders to prioritize sustainability, long-term value and the human element of enterprise. In a time when CEO turnover is at an all-time high and employee disengagement continues to rise, leaders like Scott serve as a reminder that humility, consistency and purpose still win over the long haul. Related: 'The Most Important Traits Are Confidence and Humility': Leadership Lessons From an Army Ranger Turned CEO This is why I do The CEO Series. Not to promote companies or CEOs. Not to grill executives on quarterly performance. But to better understand the people behind the titles — and to highlight leadership that isn't driven by ego or profit alone. Scott Clawson is one of those leaders, and I'm glad we got to tell a little bit of his story. Hope you enjoyed the video.
Tom's Guide
27-07-2025
- Health
- Tom's Guide
I tried this advanced water filter to test how ‘unclean' my tap water is — and the results surprised me
When it comes to staying hydrated everyday, water is my go-to beverage, especially during a heatwave when I need to keep cool. And if, like me, you don't like the taste of regular tap water, or simply want to save a fortune on bottled water, having a countertop filter jug is a kitchen essential. Essentially, filters reduce common tap water contaminants such as chlorine, heavy metals and microplastics often found in our water system.. And having used a few filter jugs over the years, I can honestly say these have certainly improved the taste and quality of my drinking water. But while I'm pretty sure England's tap water is perfectly safe to drink (without the risk of a stomach bug), I've always wondered how 'clean' it really is. That was when I discovered the Culligan with ZeroWater Technology 10-Cup Water Filter Pitcher that also tests the quality and cleanliness of water. It also comes with a 5-stage filtration to ensure it works faster to dissolve all the impurities (TDS) from your water. So with that in mind, I put it to the test to find out exactly how 'unclean' my home's tap water is. Here's what happened. Essentially, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) are organic and non-organic sediments in our water that affect the taste and appearance. These compounds can include minerals, salts through contact with rock surfaces, or calcium, magnesium, iron, sodium chloride and sulphides (which are frequently found in groundwater supplies). A TDS reader can tell you how high this level is in your water, and is measured in parts per million (PPM). This 10-cup water pitcher includes a 5-stage filtration system to remove 99.9% of total dissolved solids in your drinking water. It also comes with an integrated TDS meter for real-time readings. What's more, it comes with an ergonomic handle and can easily fit in your fridge. Unlike others I've owned, the ZeroWater water filter pitcher comes with an integrated TDS meter so you can see the quality of your water in real-time. Assembly was pretty straightforward, and after cleaning the pitcher with warm soapy water, I inserted the filter before filling it up with tap water from the faucet. But I really wanted to know what my 5-filtration water filter would be up against. I then filled a glass with tap water and inserted the TDS meter to check the quality. Within seconds it gave a reading of 322 ppm, before slightly dipping to 316 ppm. I suddenly went into panic mode: was that a good reading or bad? Fortunately, I was relieved to know that this reading was fine. According to Culligan, the normal TDS level ranges from 50 ppm to 1,000 ppm. However, anything above 500 might affect the taste, but generally not a health risk unless there are specific contaminants present. Despite my water quality being in the 'safe' zone, I was still surprised that it still had a relatively high reading, and not in the low, double-figures. Needless to say, I was impressed at the ZeroWater filter pitcher's ability to quickly dissolve '99.99% impurities'. In fact, the TDS reading remained at a steady 0 — meaning that it did a grand job. Plus, the water filer pitcher can easily be stored in the refrigerator for instant, chilled water. Despite my tap water being in the 'normal' reading, I'm still not converted to drinking from the faucet. I'll definitely be sticking with filtered or bottled water from now on. The Culligan with ZeroWater Technology 10-Cup Water Filter Pitcher is available to buy for $29 on Amazon .
CNN
16-05-2025
- Business
- CNN
Our favorite product releases this week: Govee, On Running, Pokémon and more
There are a ton of great products that drop every week — and we're here, as always, to keep you up to date on the best of them. Each week, we'll be rounding up a short list of our favorite product drops from the last seven days for you to shop as you sip your morning coffee or take a quick break from work (trust, it's the only list you need for staying up to date on these things). This week brings the launch of a new collaboration between Loewe and On Running, the latest expansion to the Pokémon trading card game and a refreshed Govee smart home lighting kit. Ditch plastic water bottles for good There's a new release fighting for the throne of best water filter pitchers this week. Culligan, in partnership with ZeroWater, just unveiled its newest water pitcher complete with all the bells and whistles you need for refreshing water, sans the minerals. The new lineup relies on a five-stage filtration system that is said to remove five times more contaminants than the competition. What lets this new water filter pitcher stand out from the slew of others on the market is the company's built-in TDS water tester. This little gadget measures the level of dissolved solids in your water to tell you when it's time to change the filter. It's one of the biggest issues with these kinds of pitchers: You use it for a few months, then inevitably forget how long the filters are good for. Culligan is solving that with an included tester that keeps track of the filter's lifespan for you. Our senior deals editor Rikka Altland has been using one of these for the past week. She normally uses a water cooler at home paired with one of those 5-gallon jugs you'd typically see in an office building to enjoy better-tasting water while avoiding plastic bottles. With this water filter pitcher, she can keep single-use bottles out of her routine while switching to a more cost-effective solution. After all, the latest from Culligan starts from $37 at Amazon and is cheaper in the long run than swapping out 5-gallon bottles every month. The AAPI-owned brand introduces a fresh newcomer Treat parched under-eyes to a refreshing glass of water, which in this case, is the hydrating, gel-like eye masks from Loops. Named the best drugstore face mask by CNN Underscored experts, the K-beauty brand has been on our radar for its hydrogel mask's smooth, soothing texture loaded with skin care. It's likely this new launch won't be a far departure from that either. It's designed to brighten, depuff and revive tired eyes, promising visible results in as little as 10 minutes. These cooling masks fold in antioxidants, humectants and brightening ingredient niacinamide to help reduce the appearance of puffiness, dark circles and tired eyes. Snag a set of five eye masks for $25 at Loops and at Ulta Beauty. The newest expansion to the trading card game Prev Next The Pokémon trading card game is taking a turn to the dark side this month with the release of its new Destined Rivals expansion. This set features cards inspired by intimidating Elite Four members as well as cards decked out with the franchise's crime group, Team Rocket. Altland has been a lifelong fan of Pokémon and is always excited to see new cards roll out. That goes double for Destined Rivals, which includes some pretty eye-catching chase cards featuring Mew-Two, Ho-oh and Cynthia's Garchomp. After getting her hands on one of the new Elite Trainer Boxes ahead of launch, Rikka notes that the hit rate (the odds you pull noteworthy cards from the randomized packs) is higher than previous releases. That makes this one of the more rewarding expansions to open, especially if you're a fan of Team Rocket. Orders go live next week on May 23. The Elite Trainer Boxes sell for $50, while other packs start at under $5 at Best Buy and at GameStop. A windproof umbrella gets a compact upgrade Nothing is more embarrassing than fighting with your umbrella. Shed Rain's sturdy, windproof umbrellas help you win the battle, according to our deals editor Jacqueline Saguin. Its extra-large top and flip-resistant design has kept her shielded from downpours. Her only con was its bulkiness, weighing down bags and not fitting into handbags. Fortunately, the tide is changing with the brand's latest addition, the Super-Slim Compact. The new umbrella features a slimmer handle and build, packing back into its included sleeve. It touts a more lightweight, travel-friendly design complete with water-repellent, sun-blocking UPF 50 fabric. Considering a solid umbrella that will last you years to come hovers around $30, we'd say this $38 price is more than fair, especially if it saves you getting drenched from head to toe. Science-backed skin care that deep cleans and hydrates Days ago, Remedy launched its new powerhouse skin care duo ahead of warm spring and hot summer days. The gentle cleanser is suitable for sensitive, acne-prone and normal to oily skin types. It's formulated to help unclog pores and exfoliate with ingredients like salicylic acid and green tea extract. Added calming ingredients like ceramides and glycerin helps achieve this without compromising your skin's barrier. Unlike other skin barrier moisturizers that feel heavy on the skin, Remedy is designed to feel weightless. Folks who want the hydration without feeling the slugging effect of their moisturizing routine will love using this during the day and in warmer months. The brand recommends applying a generous layer to the skin in the morning and at night, making your routine a bit simpler with repeated steps. The Remedy for Light Moisture goes for $20, and the Remedy for Cleansing is $16. Both are available for a one-time purchase on the brand's site, and you can save an extra 10% when opting in for a subscription. Floating wall-washing lighting effects Altland has her fair share of smart lighting. Scratch that, she has far more than an average amount in her Brooklyn apartment. She has tried practically every major smart bulb, light strip and modular LED kit on the market, so it's not often that she's impressed by a new release. That is, until this week's debut of Govee's new Skyline Kit. The starter kit comes in two light strip lengths — 13.1- and 19.7-feet — and features unique mounting brackets that allow you to run the light between two walls. The end result is a diffused, wall-washing effect that offers overhead ambient lighting without having to swap out multiple bulbs. Each segment of the light strip can be independently controlled for further customization. The new Govee Skyline Kit is now available for purchase from Amazon as well as directly from Govee. The smaller of the two lengths starts at $120, while the longer 19-foot model steps up to $150. A luxury designer continues its collab with a popular running brand There's more to love from the ongoing collaboration between luxury fashion house Loewe and Swiss performance brand On. Launched on May 14, the latest collection expands its ready-to-wear line by bringing a makeover to the Cloudventure shoe. Its upper features layers of translucent mesh and a bold Loewe x On label stamped boldly on either side. Or, put a spring in your step by shopping the elevated Cloudtilt sneaker, also available for men and women. Alongside the sneaker launch, clothing and accessories like the ripstop shell Ultra Jacket and textured technical jersey Active T-shirt join the capsule collection. Mix and match with a series of caps and performance sports bras and leggings for women. This collab brings designer fashion to a more affordable price, however, that's not to say it's not still a pretty penny. You'll find socks emblazoned with Loewe x On for as little as $70 and the Cloudventure 2.0 trail sneakers for $550. This week also saw the launch of other products our editors deemed worthy of standalone coverage. Shop all these additional launches below, including a new set of Lululemon Align leggings, the latest Samsung Galaxy smartphone and more. Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge The Galaxy S25 Edge packs most of the Galaxy S25's key features into one of Samsung's thinnest and lightest designs yet. Preorder now to save $120 off the latest smartphone. Read our review Lululemon Align No Line High-Rise Pant Lululemon's bestselling Align leggings now come in a highly requested, no front-rise seam version for a distraction-free fit for all-day comfort. Read our review Eight Sleep Pod 5 Previous editions of the Eight Sleep Pod Cover have changed the way our editors sleep. This week, the new and improved 5th-generation model has hit store shelves complete with a temperature-controlled blanket and speakers that can play soothing noises. Plugable UD-7400PD USB-C Docking Station Plugable's newest MacBook docking station can extend your laptop's screen to five monitors at once. Clip the on-page coupon to save 20% with this launch discount at Amazon. As deals editors at Underscored, we are some of the first people to hear about the latest product news from reader-favorite brands. Our deals team — comprised of senior editor Rikka Altland, editor Jacqueline Saguin and associate editor Elena Matarazzo — is passionate about product launches that we would be tempted to shop, and we enjoy finding a coveted new item (especially one from a brand with top marks from our experts) because it means we're helping our readers make savvy buying decisions.
