The Greatest Below-Sink Water Filter for 2022

The Aquasana AQ-5200 is ANSI/NSF-certified to just about remove a wide selection of contaminants, together with lead, mercury, unstable natural compounds, prescribed drugs, and different supplies that few of its rivals catch. It’s considered one of a handful of filters licensed for PFOA and PFOS, compounds concerned within the manufacture of nonstick supplies that obtained an EPA Well being Advisory in February 2019. In 2022, it was additionally licensed to take away microplastics, elevating its whole certifications from 77 to 78.

Substitute filters price about $60 for a set, or $120 per 12 months on Aquasana’s really helpful six-month substitute cycle. And, being barely bigger than a few cans of soda, the system doesn’t take up loads of beneficial room beneath your sink. This broadly out there system makes use of high-quality metallic {hardware}, and its faucet is available in a number of finishes.

The A.O. Smith AO-US-200 is similar to the Aquasana AQ-5200 in each essential respect. (That’s as a result of A.O. Smith purchased Aquasana in 2016.) It has the identical distinctive certifications, all-metal {hardware}, and compact type, however as a result of it’s offered solely at Lowe’s it’s not as broadly out there, and its faucet is available in just one end: brushed nickel. If that fits your type, we suggest procuring between the 2 fashions by worth: one or the opposite is ceaselessly on sale. Filter-replacement prices are comparable: about $60 for a set, or $120 a 12 months on A.O. Smith’s really helpful six-month cycle.

The Aquasana AQ-5300+ Max Circulate has the identical distinctive 77 ANSI/NSF certifications as our different prime picks however affords increased move (0.72 versus 0.5 gallons per minute) and filter capability (800 versus 500 gallons). That makes it our choose for households that want loads of filtered water and need it as quick as doable. It provides a sediment prefilter, too, which the AQ-5200 lacks; this may occasionally lengthen the contaminant-filters’ increased move in properties with sediment-rich water. That stated, the AQ-5300+ mannequin—with three liter-bottle-size filters—is way bigger than the AQ-5200 and the A.O. Smith AO-US-200 however has the identical really helpful filter lifespan of six months. And it prices a bit extra up entrance and for substitute filters (about $80 a set or $160 a 12 months). So weigh its advantages in opposition to its increased price.

Aquasana’s Claryum Direct Join plumbs proper into your current faucet, making it a very enticing alternative for renters (who could also be forbidden from altering their place) and for individuals who can’t set up a separate filter-faucet. It doesn’t even should be mounted on the sink-cabinet wall—it will possibly merely lie on its aspect. It affords the identical 77 ANSI/NSF certifications as our different Aquasana and A. O. Smith picks do, and it will possibly ship as much as 1.5 gallons per minute of filtered water, greater than the others. The filter is rated for 784 gallons, or about six months of use. Nevertheless it lacks a sediment prefilter, so if in case you have a sediment problem, it’s not a sensible choice, as it will possibly clog. And it’s large—20½ by 4½ inches—so in case your sink cupboard is small or crowded, it might not match.