AquasanaUnder Sink Water Filter System - Reduces PFAS, Lead, & Chlorine in Drinking Water - Under Counter Claryum Filtration for Kitchen - 3-Stage Max Flow - Brushed Nickel Faucet - AQ-5300+.55

(Note: See January 2025 update on filter replacement at the end of this review.)My kitchen sink cabinet, now nearly 20 years old, remains pristine, like new .... and I would like to keep it that way. Water is our beloved friend, a huge part of our bodies, but, as homeowners, water is also our dreaded enemy. Did I really want to add another possible source of a water leak under the kitchen sink? Surveying the product reviews for the Aquasana introduced all sorts of potential leaky nightmares: faulty O-rings, shredded threads, pressure-cracked plastic housings ... Yiiii! But I really really wanted to cut the cord from the spring water company, save some money, and liberate the hall closet from the water cooler and 5 gallon bottles.So, I took the plunge (so to speak) into home-filtered water. So far, cautiously optimistic. Reading the product reviews in more detail, it seems like the bulk of the leak problems may be due to faulty installation. It seems important to hand-tighten only when installing new filter replacements, to be very careful to have the threads engaged properly when putting in the new filters, and - strange to say - to actually read and follow the product literature.Probably the most serious potential problem with the Aquasana units themselves is the tendency for the plastic housing containing the filter units to crack after some years of use. This was noted by several reviews, and is now tacitly acknowledged as an issue by Aquasana, which notes in the product literature you receive with the unit that the housing should be replaced every five years! I may have inadvertently given myself some added protection from these pressure-induced fractures: for reasons not related to the water filter, I recently had to have the water pressure coming into the house (measured originally at about 90 psi) reduced to about 65 psi. That may buy me some extra time against unit aging, although I think it would be foolish and a false economy to not do a replacement as recommended by Aquasana.It should be noted that the Aquasana product literature (but not the web description of the products!) includes these cautions: (1) "Do not install this system where the line pressure may exceed 80 psi." (2) "The filter housing must be replaced every five years. Failure to do so could result in potential leaks ...". A phone number is provided to order the replacement; but the price of the replacement and cost of shipping are not mentioned.Some extra precautions I've taken to protect my under-sink cabinetry (see photo): 1. I had a shut-off valve installed in the shunt (C) going to the Aquasana unit (A) from the main cold water line to the main faucet (B). Now, if there ever is a leak, I can isolate the Aquasana and still have use of the main faucet. The other advantage is when it comes time to change the filters, I can use this added valve to isolate the Aquasana, open the tap on the countertop Aquasana faucet, and thus relieve the internal pressure, which should make it easier to safely remove the old filters. 2. I added a silicone mat with a raised edge under the sink (D), so that if there is a leak it will first collect into this silicone basin; I've also added a wireless water detector (E) inside the mat area which will alarm and also email me if a leak is detected. The YoLink unit I used can detect not only water pooling underneath it, but also water dripping on top of it, which is why it is positioned directly under the Aquasana system.Of course the mat and water detector will guard against any leaks, including from the disposal or the main kitchen sink, so are definitely worth doing anyway. Note that the mat I purchased skirts the main water lines and drainpipe at the back (if you order a mat that includes this area, you not only have to carefully cut holes in the mat, but also - by doing so - you compromise the mat's ability to contain leaks).One note about the taste of the filtered water. I followed instructions and ran the filter unit for 10 minutes before trying to drink the water. The first taste at that point was extremely disappointing. There was a distinct sulfur-like taste to the water that is not present in my unfiltered tap water! I ran another gallon or so of water through the system and the taste was still there, but perhaps somewhat less noticeable. I probably ran another couple of gallons through and the taste was barely detectable, and after another gallon or so I can no longer detect the sulfur taste. So clearly it is a matter of properly and completely flushing the system (and new filter units in the future), and the Aquasana recommendation of 10 minutes is just not enough to do the job.First Filter Replacement, January 13, 2025. The Aquasana performed admirably since the installation described above, and at six months I ordered the authentic Aquasana replacement, AQ-5200R, from Amazon, with a standing order for a new filter every six months. I should note that on removal of the old filters they were gray, compared with the white new ones, suggesting that in fact they are removing something from my city water! The replacement filters arrive with a succinct, but adequate, description of how to swap out the old and replace with the new, and a new button battery to drive the replacement time indicator.The replacement went smoothly, although several of the steps required more strength and effort than I expected. That said, I was finally able to get it done. My wrists are beginning to show a little arthritis, which may have contributed to my struggles. The first challenge was in separating the top and bottom halves of the outer unit that contains the filter; finally I went to one of those thin rubber, cloth-like "grippers", which gave me a grip on the top half, and allowed me to twist and separate. The second challenge was to pull the filter out of the separated top. I'm wondering whether part of my problem was the factory source of the unit ... the fact that the filters had never been replaced before and may have been especially firmly attached. I'll be eager to see whether the next filter change goes any better.I noted in my original review above that I needed to run water through the Aquasana longer than suggested before the water lost a sulfurous aftertaste clearly due to the filter unit. This turned out to be true for the newly installed filters as well. I believe the longer time may be due to the fact that - as described above - my house water pressure was previously adjusted down significantly from the 90 psi that comes in from the city system. Likely this slows the flow rate of the water through the filter system so that more time is required to deliver the necessary volume of water. This time I carefully did some measurements: First, I found that the flow through my Aquasana, at the current, reduced, water pressure of my house, is about 1.5 quarts per minute. Second, I found that I needed to run about 6 gallons of water through the system before I lost the aftertaste. (At the 10 minutes suggested by Aquasana, I had run 15 quarts, or just short of 4 gallons, through the system.)Overall, I remain very positive about the Aquasana. Stay tuned for another update after the next filter change.

Sept 26, 2024This is my 2nd edit of my original review. I must be fair to Aquasana and report that it was OUR ERROR that water stopped flowing from my Aquasana unit. Though we managed to replace the cartridges, we FAILED to line them up perfectly with those little plugs (because the tops spin around). THAT'S why water wasn't flowing!We finally took the unit off the bracket and looked at it upside-down and went, "OHHHH!" NOW we can see what we're supposed to do. So now everything is working great again and I'm once again drinking fresh, delicious water.It makes me wonder now if my niece had dumped her Aquasana (previous post) in haste because she believed it no longer worked, but perhaps she hadn't properly seated the cartridges. We'll never know now.I'm giving my Aquasana 5 stars again!****************************I first wrote my original review on August 15, 2024, after being in love with my Aquasana unit for 3 years.NOW, TODAY – no water will come out!!My niece – the one mentioned in my original review – came over to change cartridges that I had just purchased, and she did some troubleshooting. She can't figure it out. By the way, she also just recently dumped her Aquasana unit because HERS stopped working! What's with these things? Is 3 years all you get out of them? I'm terribly disappointed but really I'm just downright angry! Now I DO know why they're only coming in at 3.8 stars.****************************August 15, 2024I've had my Aquasana unit working for me now for 3 years. I've replaced the cartridges just once so far.I don't know why reviews come in at only 3.8 for this thing. I love mine and give it 5 stars! I would never drink tap water and man I hated buying water. $$$!My niece lives around the corner from me and every couple of weeks she would fill gallon jugs for me using HER Aquasana. I finally bought my own unit and I'm so glad I did. This purified water keeps my Keurig from malfunctioning as I only put Aquasana water in it. My first Keurig took a dump in less than a year because I used tap water in it. So I got a new one and put only Crystal Geyser water in it until my niece started refilling my jugs. I've had this Keurig now for 8 years (same exact model as the first one but I removed that little filter thing) and it's still working great cuz I've never used tap water in it. Heavy metals and deposits are probably why Keurigs are always breaking down.Anyhoo, I drink a lot more water now and it's great having good tasting water at my fingertips anytime I want. No more buying water and having plastic bottles and jugs everywhere! Doesn't matter how much replacement cartridges are because it's still cheaper than constantly buying water. Anyone sitting on the fence about this should reconsider because this makes very good drinking water!