Q:

How can I get pharmaceutical drugs out of my drinking water?

A: It's a good question. You've obviously been paying attention. The best thing to do is to invest in a good filtration system for the main pipe coming into your house (known as a point-of-entry system) or in a system for under the sink that provides your main source of drinking water.

Be careful when buying water filters, because there's a lot of junk out there. Look for water filters that have been certified by one of the main independent testing laboratories, such as NSF (www.nsf.org), Underwriters Laboratories (www.ul.com), and the Water Quality Association (www.wqa.org).

All three of these Web sites have search functions for consumers where you can research all products that have been certified to remove just about any contaminant you can think of. Many of the products you'll find on these Web sites can be purchased at your local retail outlet, such as Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Target or Sears. Others can be bought online through a variety of retailers.