How we work
How we make money
We are a publisher and referral source. We earn money in two ways: referral commissions, when you buy through a tracked link and the seller pays us, and labeled advertising, such as banner ads. Neither one decides what we review or how we score it.
- 01
Editors pick first
Products are chosen from published manufacturer specifications, cited research, and our own published review notes. Commission does not decide what we cover.
- 02
Commerce links are applied after
Once a review is written, we check whether an approved referral link exists for that exact product. If one does, the shopping button uses it. If not, the review stays and the button reads "See the review" or "Seller listing unavailable".
- 03
Sellers fulfill
Hydrology University does not take payment, ship, process returns, or issue refunds. The seller you click through to handles the order, the price, and the warranty.
Programs we use
- WaterVO
- House referral. All WaterVO links, and all Spout links, go to watervo.com. HU has a referral relationship with WaterVO and labels it on every card.
- Amazon Associates
- Associates tag hydrology00-20, on product pages only. As an Amazon Associate, Hydrology University earns from qualifying purchases.
- PartnerBoost
- Tracked links for Waterdrop (Waterdrop pages prefer the PartnerBoost link over Amazon), WaterH, and Purewell.
Advertising
Some pages carry banner ads labeled "Advertisement" or "Sponsored". A banner only appears if it links to an approved destination, and only one shows per slot. See Advertise.
How a paid link looks
- A visible "Referral" label and a disclosure line on the card that earns the click.
- Soft wording: "Check today's price", "See it at WaterVO", "Visit seller".
- Prices are the seller's listed price or a range, with the date we checked. They are not a promise.
- Links carry rel="sponsored nofollow noopener".
Listed, link not commissioned
These brands are reviewed or listed on HU, but we do not have an approved referral link for them. Their pages carry no shopping button. Count: 16 brands across 19 listings.
- AquaTru · listed, link not commissioned
- BatterySafetyCompany · listed, link not commissioned
- Frizzlife · listed, link not commissioned
- Genaq · listed, link not commissioned
- Invigorated Water · listed, link not commissioned
- iSpring · listed, link not commissioned
- Katadyn · listed, link not commissioned
- Purifighter · listed, link not commissioned
- Rainman · listed, link not commissioned
- SeawaterPro · listed, link not commissioned
- SimPure · listed, link not commissioned
- SoftPro · listed, link not commissioned
- SOURCE Global · listed, link not commissioned
- SpringWell · listed, link not commissioned
- Watergen · listed, link not commissioned
- Watts · listed, link not commissioned
Related: Affiliate disclosure · Methodology · Editorial policy · Product disclaimer