system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5 What exactly are home water filters filtering out of your drinking water?
gpt
It depends on where you live and your water source, but some of the more common things:

* Chlorine (more common) or chloramine (less common) are added to municipal water to disinfect it, but it tastes better if you filter it out before drinking it.
* Calcium and magnesium dissolved in your water make it "hard" and leave limescale deposits in your faucets and drains. Softening or conditioning your water can help with this
* Other trace amounts of other contaminants may be at levels that are safe enough for human consumption, but you might like the taste better if they're filtered out

If you're not sure if you need a water filter, you can get a home test kit for less than $20 on Amazon or your local hardware store.