Aquasana has been very successful in their whole house water filter systems. How well does the reverse osmosis system perform?
Aquasana OptimH2O Reverse Osmosis Review
Not A Good System
Sad to say that Aquasana is still lacking behind on their technology on the drinking water filters. For instance, the one and only reverse osmosis system from Aquasana, receive quite a number of negative feedbacks and complaints. Let’s take a look into this system.
The Aquasana reverse osmosis system also known as the OptimH2O is a combination of reverse osmosis and Claryum. Claryum is Aquasana’s filtration technology on reducing up to 67 contaminations for as high as 97%. It is widely used in it’s non reverse osmosis filtration system such as AQ-5300R.
Aquasana claims that their flow rate is reliable which will filled up 0.5 gallons per minute. However, it is contradicting with the reviews given by the existing owners.
Their daily production is just 11-32 gallons which is relatively lower than all of it’s competitor. Low production rate will lead to a low flow rate as the filter is unable to produce a decent amount of water for the day.
Filter replacement is relatively frequent as the Claryum filters is having a shorter lifespan. With this, it leads to a higher maintenance cost for this filter. The waste water is estimated to be 3.5 times production rate, which is 3.5 gallons of waste water every gallon produced.
In addition to the low flow rate that was mentioned above, a lot of customers complains on missing parts upon receiving the product. This delayed the installation process.
Technical Specification that you SHOULD KNOW
Below are the summarize technical specification that you should know before buying the Aquasana OptimH2O reverse osmosis system.
- Water Pressure: 40-100 psi
- Water Temperature: 48-100 F
- Capacity: 11-32 gallons per day (Lower than average of 50 GPD)
- Storage Tank Capacity: 3.2 gallons
- Max TDS: 1000ppm
- System Dimensions: 12″w x 14.5″h x 4.5″d
4 Stage of Filtration System
The Aquasana OptimH2O is a 4 stage filtration system which consists of the following.
Stage 1: Activated Carbon – Reduce organic contamination such as bacteria, pesticide and VOCfrom the source water.
Stage 2: Reverse osmosis membrane – Reduce dissolved solid such as flouride, nitrites, radium which is smaller the 1 micron using the membrane.
Stage 3: Catalytic Carbon – Removes odor and taste of chlorine, heavy materials such as mercury and lead from the source.
Stage 4: Remineralization Filter – Reinsert the healthy minerals and improve the pH of the water.
Aquasana claims that their OptimH2O filter reduce up to 95% of fluoride and 70 contaminations in the water as certified by NSF. Putting the reverse osmosis membrane in the second stage dramatically reduced the lifespan of the filter into half.
Installation doesn’t seems to be easy
The installation manual is pretty hard to understand and complicated. It might take a while to familiarize with the naming of the items. In addition, the remineralization filter is separated from the main filter which means that drilling is needed to hang the filter separately.
Tools that are required :
- Tape Measure
- Utility Knife
- Screwdriver (Phillips)
- 1/8″ & 7/32″ Drill Bits/Drill
- Adjustable Wrench
- Bleach
- Masking Tape
- Bucket
High Replacement cost due to Short Lifespan Filters
Aquasana OptimH2O reverse osmosis system is having a short lifespan in their filters as compare to other competitors. Suggested replacement timeframe is shown below:
- Stage 1, 3 Carbon Pre-filter and Clayrum Filter: 6 Months
- Stage 2 Reverse Osmosis Membrane Filter: 1 Year
- Stage 4 Post Carbon Filter: 1 Year
It is by far the most expensive reverse osmosis machine to maintain. If follows the suggested date on filter replacement, it will cost an average of $210 per year on replacement filter which is extremely expensive.
The Voice From Existing Owners
Majority of the owner aren’t very satisfied with this product. Mainly complaint on the effectiveness and efficiency of this filtration system. Let’s take a look what they say about this product:
– It requires constant upkeep and maintenance and is an absolute hassle.
– Water flow is POOR. Takes too long to fill up a glass of water.
– The installation was horrible! They didn’t send us one of the required parts the first time and the right parts the second time
– The mineralizer does not help with the PH all that much. The water is about a 5.0 to 6.5 for acidity
Verdict: NOT RECOMMENDED!
Expert View:
The Aquasana OptimH2O is considered below average and would not recommend for the reasons below:
- Low Flowrate: You will be frustrated with the daily production rate if you purchase this filter. It is the lowest among all.
- Short lifespan filters: Inefficient filters are normally short in lifespan. Hence, it will required constant replacement to maintain the quality of the filtered water.
- Expensive Maintenance: The ridiculously high maintenance will burn a hole in your wallet.
You wouldn’t want to pay $210 on yearly maintenance right? Check out our recommended reverse osmosis water filter.