How to remove fluoride from tap water in the UK

The addition of fluoride in tap water is a controversial topic in the UK.  

There are some individuals who agree with fluoride being added to the public water supply, and those that are venomously opposed to it. As trusted water filtration specialists we have our own individual views, but we took the decision a long time ago to avoid embroiling ourselves in the debate as an online retailer of water filters. 

Our purpose in this article is to present information about fluoride in tap water, clarify with the use of a UK water fluoridation map whether fluoride is being introduced into tap water in your area, and should you so wish, easy solutions on how to remove fluoride from water. The decision to remove or not fluoride from tap water is ultimately yours and we want to give you the information you need to make an informed decision. Let’s start!

What is water fluoridation?

Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral found in soil, rocks, and water sources.

Relating fluoride specifically to the public water supply to avoid going massively off topic, hexafluorosilicic acid and it’s salt sodium hexafluorosilicate is added to some of the public water supply network in the UK to increase the fluoride level up to 1mg of fluoride per litre of water. The reason why some and not all the public water supplies have added fluoride, is due to fluoride being a naturally occurring mineral and, in some parts of the UK, the level of naturally occurring fluoride is already at the 1mg/l target concentration.

The World Health Organisation recommends a maximum level of 1.5mg/l of fluoride.  You can read the recommendation here.

Water fluoridation in the UK has been going on for many years. The first UK water fluoridation scheme was set up in Birmingham in 1964.

Is there fluoride in water in the UK?

With what we’ve said already in this article, the answer to ‘is there fluoride in UK tap water?’ is a resounding yes.

Since 2013, individual local authorities in the UK have made their own decisions about whether to fluoridate water. This may change in the future if the transfer of responsibility for water fluoridation moves from local authorities to the Secretary of State.

The following areas of the UK currently add fluoride in tap water:

• the West Midlands
• the Northeast
• the East Midlands
• Eastern England
• the Northwest
• Yorkshire and Humber

There is no artificial fluoridation of water in Wales or Scotland.

No new water fluoridation schemes have been set up in the UK for over 40 years.

However, a recent BBC News article published on the 7th March 2025 indicated that the Department for Health and Social Care said that another 1.6 million households in the North East of England will have their water supply artificially fluoridated.

The new areas will include Darlington, Durham, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, South Tyneside, Stockton, Sunderland, and areas not currently fluoridated in Gateshead, Newcastle, Northumberland, and North Tyneside.

You can read the full article here.

Fluoride in water by postcode (UK)

The following is a list of fluoride in water by UK postcode. This is where the local authority artificially adds fluoride to tap water.

• Berkshire: RG1, 4-6, 40-41
• Birmingham: B6-11, 13-21, 23-34, 37, 40, 42, 45, 60-62, 65-71; parts of Central Birmingham and B36, 38, 43-44, 46-47, 63-64, 90, 92, 97
• Buckinghamshire: parts of SG18-19
• Chelmsford: CM1
• Coventry: CV1-6, 10, 11; parts of CV7-9, 12, 13
• Crewe: parts of CW1, 2, 5-7, 12, 17
• Cumbria: CA24, 25, 27, 28
• Dartford: DA1
• Derby: DE13-15
• Doncaster: DN15-16, 18-21, 38-40; parts of DN9-10, 17, 22, 31, 37
• Dudley: parts of DY9, 10
• Durham: DH2, 7-9; parts of DH15
• Lancaster: parts of LA19
• Leicestershire: parts of LE10, and 18
• Lincolnshire: LN1-2, 4-7
• Milton Keynes: MK17, 43-46
• Nottinghamshire: NG18-20, parts of NG17, 21-24, 31, 32, 34
• Oxfordshire: part of OX9
• Sheffield: parts of S80
• Shrewsbury: parts of SY13, 14
• Stoke: parts of ST7-8
• Tonbridge: TN26
• Tyneside: NE1 to 6, 8, 12, 15-18, 21, 23, 25-27, 39, 42, 43, 45, 46; parts of NE9-11, 13, 19, 20, 24, 28, 44, 46-48, 65
• Walsall
• Wolverhampton: WV2, 3, 13, 14; parts of WV6-8
• Worcestershire: part of WR7, 9-11

To find out whether fluoride has been added to your tap water, simply visit your local water supplier’s website.

Why is fluoride in water?

Fluoride is added to tap water to reduce oral health inequalities and tooth decay rates, particularly among children.

Tooth decay in children is a cause for concern in the UK. The levels of tooth decay vary from nearly 32% of 5 year olds in the northwest to 18% in the southeast of England.

There were approximately 37,000 hospital admissions for children aged 0 to 19 in 2019 to 2020 to have decayed teeth extracted.  You can read more about the role of fluoride in water and its use to reduce dental decay in this independent report by the department of health.

When scouring the internet to find the answer to your burning question ‘why is fluoride in water’? you will come across reported links to osteosarcoma (a rare form of bone cancer), Down’s syndrome, kidney problems, and developmental neurological effects. Authoritative expert evaluations have suggested that there is not enough evidence to support these adverse effects.

Dental fluorosis

It’s important to highlight dental fluorosis. Drinking water that has a higher level of fluoride present may lead to dental fluorosis. Dental fluorosis in children can appear as mild discolouration of the tooth enamel to a severe pitting of the tooth structure. While not detrimental to health, it can be emotionally debilitating from an aesthetic perspective to those that suffer from it. Once the adult teeth are fully formed there does not tend to be further deterioration of the dental fluorosis.

Something to bear in mind if you have young children.

Does boiling water remove fluoride?

Very often, our very first thought when it comes to removing impurities from water is to boil it. This may work for some bacteria, viruses, and protozoa, but does boiling water remove fluoride?

NO, boiling tap water does not get rid of fluoride.

If you boiled water in the hope of removing fluoride, you’d be left with the same amount of fluoride but in a smaller quantity of water, due to evaporation.

Does fluoride evaporate?

If you think that leaving a glass of water out overnight will miraculously remove the fluoride, think again! Fluoride does not evaporate if you leave it exposed to the air.

Does a water softener give you fluoride free water?

No, a water softener will not have any impact on the fluoride levels in your tap water. This is because fluoride is a negatively charged ion and water softeners only exchange positively charged ions.  

How Fountain Filters can help you remove fluoride from your tap water

Fluoride is naturally occurring so you will have some fluoride in there. But you may want to find out if fluoride has been introduced to bump the levels up as part of a public heath measure.

Once you’ve checked whether you have fluoride in your tap water by visiting your local water supplier's website, you'll be in a position to decide whether you want to remove it, if it is in there.

The question is how to remove fluoride from water.

We’ve already established that boiling your tap water does not remove fluoride.

So, what does?

Which water filters remove fluoride? Activated alumina vs reverse osmosis vs distillation

Let’s look at some highly effective water filters that remove fluoride that are easy to install and maintain.

Method	Fluoride removal	Cost	Practicality	Best for
Activated alumina	Up to 93%	Low	High	Most UK households wanting an affordable, easy to maintain solution
Reverse osmosis	Up to 99%	Medium to high	Medium	Households wanting whole contaminant filtration beyond fluoride
Distillation	Up to 99%	Low to medium	Low	Those without mains plumbing access; not practical for daily use
Activated carbon (e.g. jug filters)	Does not remove fluoride	Low	n/a for fluoride	Not suitable for fluoride removal

Activated Alumina – *Fountain Filters recommends*

Activated Alumina is a very popular water filter for removing fluoride. A granular activated alumina water filter will remove up to 93% of fluoride in tap water.

Filtering fluoride from tap water using activated alumina is the most cost effective and efficient method there is. Browse our fluoride water filters to find the right option for your home.   

You can choose to treat your drinking water only with our two stage Oyster Fluoride water filter. This is one of our bestselling units to filter fluoride from tap water as it also improves the taste and odour of your water by removing chlorine, tackles volatile organic compounds and pesticides, as well as reducing fluoride.

Alternatively, you can opt for the reduction of fluoride in tap water across your whole house. This can be easily achieved with a mains water filter for home. Either our Moby taste and fluoride mains water filter or Doby taste and fluoride filter are highly effective water filters that remove fluoride.

Reverse Osmosis

Our second recommendation on how to remove fluoride from water is to install either a pumped or unpumped reverse osmosis system.

Reverse osmosis, although more expensive to initially install and maintain, is another popular water filter for removing fluoride. The water passes through a variety cartridges before being pushed against a semi-permeable membrane. The impurities bounce off the membrane and are then drained out of the reverse osmosis system as wastewater.

Reverse osmosis system cartridges remove contaminants such as chlorine, bacteria, viruses, volatile organic compounds, heavy metals, pesticides, and fluoride. These systems seem to take out everything but the water and can be quite expensive to run as they throw up to 70-80% of your ‘paid for’ water down the drain.

You would choose a pumped reverse osmosis system if your water pressure was poor and an unpumped system if you had good water pressure.

Distillation

Yes, distillation is one of the most effective ways to remove fluoride from water. It works by boiling the water into steam, leaving fluoride and other dissolved substances behind. The steam is then cooled back into liquid, producing water with very low fluoride levels.

That said, there are a few downsides. Distillation can be slow and uses more energy than other water filtration methods. It also removes natural minerals from the water. Some modern distillers include carbon filters to help reduce volatile contaminants that may evaporate with the steam.

If you want to lower fluoride levels at home, both reverse osmosis and distillation are good options. Reverse osmosis is usually better for everyday use because it provides filtered water more easily, while distillation is a good choice when you want smaller amounts of very pure water.

Further reading on fluoride in tap water

Here are some useful links for further reading on fluoride in tap water.

• Statement on water fluoridation from the UK Chief Medical Officers - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
• Article from the Drinking Water Inspectorate
• Health and Care Bill: water fluoridation – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

 We hope that this article has given you some insight into fluoride in tap water, answered the question of why there is fluoride in water, and given you options of the different and sensible options for water filters that remove fluoride.

As water quality specialists, we aim to present information in a simple and easy to understand way. Where practical we will give generic solutions to water filtration, but it’s important to understand that sometimes it’s not a ‘one solution fits all’ scenario.

That’s why we are always answering questions on our helpdesk and taking calls about a whole range of water filtration problems.

You can call us on 01352838281.

We’d be delighted to help you remove fluoride from your water if that’s what you want to do.

FAQ

Does a Brita filter remove fluoride?

No. Most Brita and standard activated carbon jug filters are designed to improve taste and reduce chlorine, but they do not effectively remove fluoride from water. If fluoride reduction is your goal, you'll need a specialist fluoride filter or a reverse osmosis system.

What is the most effective way to remove fluoride from drinking water?

The most effective methods for removing fluoride from drinking water are activated alumina and reverse osmosis. Standard carbon filters are not designed to remove fluoride, so it's important to choose a system that specifically states fluoride reduction.

Can boiling water remove fluoride?

No. Boiling water does not remove fluoride. Because fluoride remains in the water while some water evaporates, boiling can actually increase the concentration of fluoride in the remaining water.

How do I know if my tap water contains fluoride?

Fluoride levels vary across the UK. Some water supplies have naturally occurring fluoride, while others are part of water fluoridation schemes. You can check with your local water supplier or use a fluoride checker to see whether fluoride is present in your area.

Which water filter is best for removing fluoride?

The best filter depends on your needs and budget. Reverse osmosis systems generally achieve the highest fluoride reduction, while activated alumina filters offer an effective and more affordable alternative for many households looking to reduce fluoride in drinking water.