What are PFAS?

PFAS are strong chemicals that can repel both water and oil, which is why they're frequently used in manufacturing. However, these chemicals don't break down easily in the environment and can linger in the human body.

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry says nearly everyone in the United States has PFAS in their blood.

"They have really unique properties, and that's part of what has made them so attractive to industry," said Megan Romano, an epidemiologist at Dartmouth College, who studies PFAS. "Unfortunately, we're learning that it is also something that makes them toxic and causes problems in the human body."

According to a report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), it would be impossible to eliminate all sources of PFAS in your life, but research has found that when people reduce their exposure to the chemicals, the levels of PFAS in their bodies decrease over the course of several years.

5 ways to reduce your PFAS exposure

1. Check to see if your water has been tested.

If you live in a community that has water contaminated by PFAS, your main exposure to these chemicals could be drinking water. One 2023 study from the U.S. Geological Service found that 45% of U.S. tap water supply could contain at least one form of PFAS.

Many U.S. cities and towns have tested their tap water for PFAS, so you can check with your water utility to see if those results have been published by calling their customer service line or looking online to see if PFAS data is in their water quality reports, Hoplamazian writes.

In a number of states, environmental regulators could also share information about PFAS levels in public water. Under current Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations, water utilities are required to test for PFAS by 2027, so if results aren't available yet, they should be by then.

Meanwhile, if you're on a private well, you may have to test the water yourself. Some states have programs to help with the expense and logistics of doing so.

In addition, the U.S. Geological Survey has a map showing their testing results across the country, and an interactive map from EPA shows testing results from public water systems, with any systems testing above national limits shown in brown.

Once you determine the levels of PFAS in your water, you can compare them to regulations from EPA and you can enter them into CDC's blood level estimation tool to estimate the potential levels of PFAS in your blood.

2. Determine if your community is installing filters, or consider getting one of your own.

If you discover your water has PFAS above EPA's limits, check to see if your community is planning to install a filtration system to catch those chemicals, Hoplamazian writes. All public water systems are required by EPA to reduce PFAS by 2029, or by 2031 under an extension proposed by the Trump administration.

There are some treatment systems that work on PFAS, specifically activated carbon filters, ion exchange treatment, and reverse osmosis.

If you decide to purchase your own filter, ensure it's certified to treat PFAS contamination. Specifically, look for certifications from NSF International and the American National Standards Institute, and look for filters with "NSF/ANSI 53" or "NSF/ANSI 58" certifications.

Research has found that these home filters work relatively well at filtering out PFAS. One 2020 study found that on average, pitcher and refrigerator filters using activated carbon reduced PFAS levels by around 50%. More advanced filtration systems using reverse osmosis were more than 90% effective, but are much more expensive and waste a lot of water.

However, sometimes filters can do more harm than good. Research from Thanh Nguyen, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, found that if water sits in a faucet or under-sink filter for a long time, it can pick up more contaminants, including lead and bacteria. As a result, Nguyen recommends you flush your water filter for at least 10 seconds before drinking from it.

4. Figure out which products in your life could contain PFAS.

Researchers are still determining how much the products we use influence the levels of PFAS in our bodies, and the NASEM report says there's not enough evidence to suggest that changing our use of those products could decrease our exposure. However, knowing which products you use contain PFAS could still help if you're trying to limit your exposure, Hoplamazian writes.

PFAS have been widely used in consumer products, partly because they're very good at making things waterproof, slippery, or otherwise resistant to the elements. If you want to figure out which products in your home have PFAS, start with any that have those properties.

For example, in the kitchen you may find PFAS in nonstick frying pans, waffle irons, rice cookers, or muffin tins, while in your closet, PFAS could be in waterproof coats or hiking pants. In addition, carpets, upholstery, tablecloths, and other household items treated to be durable, waterproof, or stain-resistant could contain PFAS, as could personal care products like dental floss, diapers, menstrual products, moisturizer, and makeup.

5. Consider replacing the products you use the most.

If you'd like to replace your everyday products that contain PFAS, Romano said she usually recommends starting with the products that have the most contact with your skin.

"Look for moisturizers or foundations or bronzers, things that you're going to put on your face or your body and leave there all day," she said.

If you're looking for products without PFAS, try to determine if a company has conducted any third-party testing, meaning their products have been tested by an independent lab, Hoplamazian writes.

When you're buying a new product, look for the ingredient "PTFE" or other ingredients with "fluoro" in them to determine if PFAS chemicals have intentionally been added. In addition, the Consumer Product Safety Commission could answer questions about PFAS in household items.

Generally speaking, more manufacturers are phasing out the use of PFAS, Hoplamazian writes. Some chemical companies like 3M and BASF are stopping their production and major brands like Dick's Sporting Goods and Sephora have said they're working to either remove or reduce PFAS from their products.

Hoplamazian notes that when major manufacturers cut down on PFAS use, that can have an effect on our health. Research has found that when the production and use of some PFAS chemicals declined, the levels of those chemicals in the blood of Americans dropped as well.