PFAS are in a surprisingly wide range of everyday products. These synthetic chemicals, often called “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down in the environment, are used to make things non-stick, waterproof, or grease-resistant. You’ll find them in your kitchen, your closet, your bathroom cabinet, your tap water, and even in the dust settling on your furniture. Here’s a practical breakdown of where these chemicals actually show up.
Non-Stick Cookware
The most familiar source of PFAS is non-stick pots and pans. The slippery coating on these surfaces is made from a type of PFAS called PTFE. When the coating is intact and used at low to medium heat, exposure is minimal. But cooking at high heat can release PFAS into your food and the air in your kitchen, and scratches in the coating do the same. Using wooden or silicone utensils instead of metal ones helps keep the surface intact.
Some newer cookware brands market themselves as PFAS-free, but many don’t disclose what chemicals they use instead. The San Francisco Environment Department notes that these alternatives may still contain toxic compounds, so “PFAS-free” on a label doesn’t automatically mean safer.
Food Packaging and Wrappers
PFAS have been widely used as grease-proofing agents in paper and paperboard food packaging. The specific products include fast-food wrappers, microwave popcorn bags, take-out containers, and even pet food bags. The chemicals keep oil and grease from soaking through the paper, which is why your burger wrapper doesn’t turn into a soggy mess.
The FDA announced that PFAS-based grease-proofing agents are no longer being sold in the U.S. for food packaging. That’s a meaningful step, but products already manufactured with these coatings may still be in circulation, and imports from other countries may not follow the same standard.
Waterproof Clothing and Outdoor Gear
If you own a rain jacket, ski pants, or hiking boots that bead water off the surface, there’s a good chance PFAS are involved. The technology behind this is called a durable water repellent, or DWR, which is typically made from fluorinated polymers. This coating is standard across much of the outdoor apparel industry, from budget brands to premium gear.
The concern goes beyond wearing the clothes. As these garments age and weather, the fluorinated coating breaks down and releases various PFAS compounds into the environment during washing and wear. Some outdoor brands have started transitioning to non-fluorinated DWR treatments, but the shift is gradual and not always clearly labeled.
Carpets, Rugs, and Upholstered Furniture
Stain-resistant treatments on carpets and upholstered furniture are another common source. If your couch or rug was marketed as spill-proof or stain-resistant, it may have been treated with PFAS-based coatings. These treatments repel liquids and prevent stains from setting into fibers.
Alternatives exist. Non-fluorinated options include silicone-based treatments, wax-based repellents, and specially designed synthetic fibers like certain polyester types that are inherently stain-resistant without any chemical treatment. California’s Department of Toxic Substances Control has identified over a dozen viable substitutes, which suggests that PFAS in carpeting is a choice, not a necessity.
Cosmetics and Dental Floss
PFAS show up in personal care products more often than most people realize. In cosmetics, PFAS-related ingredients are used to create smooth, long-lasting textures in foundations, concealers, and lip products. The chemical names to look for on ingredient lists include PTFE and perfluorodecalin.
Dental floss is a particularly striking example. Independent testing found that some glide-type flosses contain extremely high concentrations. Oral-B Glide tested at nearly 25% PFAS by weight. Not all flosses contain these chemicals, but products designed to slide easily between teeth often rely on the same slippery fluorinated compounds used in non-stick coatings.
Period Underwear and Reusable Pads
Researchers at the University of Notre Dame tested more than 70 reusable feminine hygiene products from multiple continents, including period underwear, reusable pads, menstrual cups, and incontinence underwear. They analyzed 323 individual layers across these products. About 71% of samples had PFAS levels low enough to suggest the chemicals weren’t added intentionally. But 33% of period underwear and 25% of reusable pads showed signs of intentional fluorination, likely used to make the absorbent layers leak-proof. The fact that the majority of products tested low confirms that PFAS aren’t required to make these products functional.
Firefighting Foam
One of the largest environmental sources of PFAS is aqueous film-forming foam, known as AFFF, used to fight fuel fires at airports, military bases, oil refineries, and industrial facilities. PFAS are the active ingredient in these foams. When sprayed, the foam forms a film over burning fuel that cuts off oxygen and prevents the fire from reigniting.
The environmental impact is significant. After use or even routine testing, PFAS from these foams leach into soil and eventually migrate into groundwater and surface water through runoff. This is the primary reason communities near military bases and airports often have elevated PFAS in their drinking water. Newer guidelines call for containment systems to capture foam during testing, but decades of uncontained use have already contaminated groundwater at hundreds of sites.
Drinking Water
PFAS contamination in tap water is widespread enough that the EPA established the first legally enforceable limits in 2024. The maximum allowable levels are extremely low, reflecting how potent these chemicals are even in tiny amounts. For the two most studied PFAS compounds, the limits are 4 parts per trillion each. To put that in perspective, one part per trillion is roughly equivalent to a single drop of water in 20 Olympic swimming pools. Three other individual compounds are capped at 10 parts per trillion, and there’s a separate standard for mixtures of multiple PFAS appearing together.
Public water systems are required to test for these compounds and report results. If your water exceeds these limits, your utility must take action to reduce levels. Home filtration systems using activated carbon or reverse osmosis can also reduce PFAS in tap water, though effectiveness varies by system.
Household Dust
Even if you eliminate PFAS-containing products from your home, these chemicals accumulate in indoor dust through direct deposition from treated items like carpets, furniture, and clothing. A global analysis of indoor dust samples found PFAS in every sample tested, with total median concentrations ranging from 17.3 to 197 nanograms per gram of dust. The variation depends on how many PFAS-containing products are in the home.
This matters because dust is a meaningful exposure pathway, especially for young children who spend time on floors and frequently put their hands in their mouths. Regular vacuuming with a HEPA filter and wet mopping can reduce dust-borne PFAS exposure, though it won’t eliminate it entirely.
How Widespread Is Human Exposure?
With PFAS in so many products and environments, virtually everyone in the U.S. has measurable levels in their blood. National health surveys from 2017 to 2018 found that the average American had a blood level of 4.25 parts per billion for PFOS and 1.42 parts per billion for PFOA. At the 95th percentile, meaning the levels exceeded by only 5% of the population, concentrations reached 14.6 and 3.77 parts per billion respectively. These numbers have actually declined since earlier surveys, reflecting the phase-out of some older PFAS compounds from manufacturing. But because thousands of PFAS variants exist and new ones replace old ones, total exposure remains difficult to measure comprehensively.