Aquasana SimplySoft
- Whole-house
- Point of entry
- City water
- Well water
- Complete system
- Listed
$849.00as of 2026-08-31MSRP $1,998.00 as of 2026-08-31
Primary sourceVerified 2026-08-31Brand official
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Our verdict on the Aquasana SimplySoft
Aquasana SimplySoft WH-SF40 is a salt-using, whole-house ion-exchange softener with an IAPMO R&T NSF/ANSI 44 listing for “Hardness”; it needs a 120 V outlet and a drain for regeneration.[1][2][3][4]
Best for
- Municipal- or well-water homes that need point-of-entry hardness reduction and have a drain and 120 V outlet available.
Not for
- Water with more than 1 ppm ferrous iron, below pH 6.5, or above 200 grains/gal hardness.
- Microbiologically unsafe or unknown-quality water unless adequate disinfection is provided before or after the system.
Primary sourceVerified 2026-08-31IAPMO listingManufacturer datasheetBrand official
Certification check: Aquasana SimplySoft
Listed by IAPMO R&T under NSF/ANSI 44, checked in the certifier directories as of 2026-08-31.
- IAPMO R&T
- NSF/ANSI 44
IAPMO R&T and WQA certify products against the same NSF/ANSI standards as NSF, so a listing from either one is an equivalent third-party certification, not a lesser one.
| Directory | Result | Listing |
|---|---|---|
| NSF | No listing found (checked 2026-08-31) | View listing |
| IAPMO R&T | Listing found (checked 2026-08-31) | View listing |
| WQA | No listing found (checked 2026-08-31) | View listing |
Claimed vs. certified: Aquasana SimplySoft
| Contaminant | Status | Third-party listing | What the brand says |
|---|---|---|---|
| hard water minerals | Marketed only | No entry |
|
| hardness | Certified only |
| No entry |
What the Aquasana SimplySoft does not do
The softener is not intended to treat microbiologically unsafe water or water of unknown quality without adequate disinfection before or after the system. The Aquasana SimplySoft's recorded operating limits are compensated hardness up to 200 grains/gal, ferrous iron up to 1 ppm, feed-water pH at least 6.5 pH, verified 2026-08-31.
The softener is not intended to treat microbiologically unsafe water or water of unknown quality without adequate disinfection before or after the system.[1]
Primary sourceVerified 2026-08-31Manufacturer datasheet
Operating limits
| Parameter | Limit | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| compensated hardness | up to 200 grains/gal[1] | WH-SF40 maximum published compensated hardness Primary sourceVerified 2026-08-31Manufacturer datasheet |
| ferrous iron | up to 1 ppm[1] | WH-SF40 maximum published ferrous iron reduction Primary sourceVerified 2026-08-31Manufacturer datasheet |
| feed-water pH | at least 6.5 pH[1] | WH-SF40 minimum published pH Primary sourceVerified 2026-08-31Manufacturer datasheet |
Do not buy it for these situations
DrainDo not choose this installation location unless a sanitary drain connection with the manual's required air gap can be provided for regeneration discharge.[1]
Primary sourceVerified 2026-08-31Manufacturer datasheet
ElectricityDo not choose an installation location without a 120 V electrical outlet for the supplied 12 V transformer.[1]
Primary sourceVerified 2026-08-31Manufacturer datasheet
Water pressureThe performance data sheet specifies a 20–125 psi operating range; feed pressure outside that range is not supported by that sheet.[1]
Primary sourceVerified 2026-08-31Manufacturer datasheet
Well waterFor well water that is microbiologically unsafe or of unknown quality, adequate disinfection is required before or after the softener.[1]
Primary sourceVerified 2026-08-31Manufacturer datasheet
How the Aquasana SimplySoft works
The Aquasana SimplySoft treats water in one stage: Ion-exchange softening, verified 2026-08-31.[1]
| Stage | Method | Media | Micron rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ion-exchange softening | 8% Cross-Linked Cation Resin | Not recorded |
Primary sourceVerified 2026-08-31Manufacturer datasheet
Fit and sizing: Aquasana SimplySoft
The Aquasana SimplySoft is a whole-house unit installed at the point of entry, for city water and well water. It is rated for 11.02 gpm of service flow, verified 2026-08-31.
| Form factor | Whole-house |
|---|---|
| Installed at | Point of entry (whole house) |
| Water source | City water and Well water |
| Service flow | 11.02 gpm[1] Primary sourceVerified 2026-08-31Manufacturer datasheet |
| Operating pressure | 20–125 psi[1] Primary sourceVerified 2026-08-31Manufacturer datasheet |
| Operating temperature | 40–100 °F[1] Primary sourceVerified 2026-08-31Manufacturer datasheet |
| Connection size | 1 in male (MNPT)[1] Primary sourceVerified 2026-08-31Manufacturer datasheet |
| Needs electricity | Yes[1] Primary sourceVerified 2026-08-31Manufacturer datasheet |
| Needs a drain | Yes[1] Primary sourceVerified 2026-08-31Manufacturer datasheet |
What the Aquasana SimplySoft really costs
The Aquasana SimplySoft costs $849.00 as of 2026-08-31.
Plumber recommended[1]
Primary sourceVerified 2026-08-31Manufacturer datasheet
Ten-year cost of ownership
| Purchase price (as of 2026-08-31) | $849.00 |
|---|---|
| Sum of the lines above (as of 2026-08-31) | $849.00 |
Warranty: Control valve: 5 years; pressure vessel and brine tank: 10 years; included installation kit and pre-/post-filter housings: 12 months. Coverage is restricted to the original single-family residential installation and excludes labor. (5 years)[1]
Primary sourceVerified 2026-08-31Brand official
Money-back guarantee: 90-day trial for products purchased directly from Aquasana; the customer pays return shipping and the return must be received within 21 days after the return authorization code is generated. (90 days)[1]
Primary sourceVerified 2026-08-31Brand official
Installing the Aquasana SimplySoft
Plumber recommended, verified 2026-08-31.
Tools required
- Two adjustable wrenches
- Drill
- Channel locks
- Pipe cutter
- NSF-certified PVC primer and glue
- NSF-certified plumber's tape
- 5-gallon bucket
Primary sourceVerified 2026-08-31Manufacturer datasheet
Manufacturer documentation
- Install manual: https://www.aquasana.com/on/demandware.static/-/Sites-aquasana-Library/default/dw60f658b0/PDF/WH-SF40-SF60_Install.pdf (accessed 2026-08-31)
Ongoing maintenance
- Check the salt level regularly and keep salt above the brine water level.
- For indoor installations, use Aquasana water-softener cleaner; for outdoor installations, sanitize the softener. — every 3 months
- Clean the brine tank every 2-3 years to remove undissolved salt sludge.
Primary sourceVerified 2026-08-31Manufacturer datasheet
The Aquasana SimplySoft against its family and its rivals
The Aquasana SimplySoft has one sibling in its family: WH-SF60.
IAPMO R&T file WP-16886 lists both SimplySoft WH-SF40 and WH-SF60 under NSF/ANSI 44 with the reduction claim “Hardness.”[1]
Primary sourceVerified 2026-08-31IAPMO listing
The rest of the family
| Model | What differs |
|---|---|
| WH-SF60 | The larger SimplySoft sibling uses 1.5 cu ft of resin and has an 11.1 gpm service flow rate, compared with 1 cu ft and 11.02 gpm for WH-SF40. |
Aquasana SimplySoft questions, answered
Is the current Aquasana SimplySoft 40,000 a salt-free conditioner?
What is Aquasana SimplySoft WH-SF40 certified for?
Can Aquasana SimplySoft WH-SF40 be used on well water?
Does Aquasana SimplySoft need electricity and a drain?
Yes. The WH-SF40 needs a 120 V outlet for its 12 V transformer and a sanitary drain connection with an air gap for regeneration discharge.
Sources: [1]
How much does the Aquasana SimplySoft 40,000 cost?
Aquasana listed the in-stock WH-SF40-LM configuration at $849, against a displayed $1,998 MSRP, on 2026-08-31. Other configurations and retailers can carry different prices.
Sources: [1]
Sources and data report: Aquasana SimplySoft
Every figure above is taken from the highest-trust source that carries it and re-derived from that source by a separate check. How we verify product data.
What we could not establish, and why
| Field | Why it is blank |
|---|---|
| certified.certIndexKey | A repo search for SimplySoft and WH-SF40 found no matching entry in the local certification index. This is only a statement about the local corpus; the live IAPMO R&T lookup found a listing. |
| fit.bathroomsServed | Aquasana publishes only an upper claim of up to 4 bathrooms. The schema requires a positive minimum for a count range, and no minimum was published, so one was not inferred. |
| fit.householdSize | Aquasana publishes only an upper claim of up to 5 people. The schema requires a positive minimum for a count range, and no minimum was published, so one was not inferred. |
| fit.roOutputGpd | Not applicable to this ion-exchange whole-house softener; the schema requires this non-RO field to be present as nullable. |
| fit.roTankCapacity | Not applicable to this ion-exchange whole-house softener; it has no RO storage tank, while the schema requires the field as nullable. |
| fit.dimensions | The manufacturer performance sheet gives 43-inch height and a 30-by-15-inch footprint without mapping footprint sides to schema width and depth; the product page separately shows 20-inch depth and a retailer gives different overall dimensions. Mapping or reconciling these would require inference. |
| cost.replacementSchedule | Aquasana publishes alternative pre-filter schedules by configuration: every 2 months for the standard 20-inch pre-filter and every 6 months for the low-maintenance pre-filter. This record covers multiple WH-SF40 configurations, and the schema cannot attach a replacement row to a variant, so a single schedule would misstate at least one configuration. |
| cost.tenYearTotalUsd | A reproducible total could not be calculated because the applicable pre-filter configuration, current cartridge cost, household-specific salt consumption, and a cited installation price are not all established. |
| cost.wasteRatio | The performance sheet publishes a 2.4 gpm drain flow during WH-SF40 regeneration but no wastewater-to-treated-water ratio; a ratio was not derived without regeneration volume and treated-water throughput. |
| install.difficulty | The manual recommends a licensed plumber or certified installer and says general plumbing knowledge is required, but it does not assign the schema's easy, moderate, or hard label; no categorical label was inferred. |
| install.estimatedHours | The manual publishes a 1-4 hour range, while the schema accepts only one quantity rather than a range. Choosing either endpoint or an average would be an unsupported transformation. |
| install.video | The manual contains clickable installation-video text, but the PDF text extraction did not expose the target URL and no exact official WH-SF40 video landing page was independently opened. |
| seo.verification | The independent verification loop has not run; it stamps this field after verification. |
Every source behind this page
- Brand officialaccessed: 2026-08-31https://www.aquasana.com/water-softeners/simplysoft-40000-grain-water-softener/lm-pre-filter-100381851.html
- Aquasana's live WH-SF40-LM product page showed the SimplySoft 40,000-grain model as in stock.
- Aquasana publishes the WH-SF40 for use with city or well water and describes it as a whole-home ion-exchange softener.
- The exact WH-SF40-LM product page displayed a $1,998.00 MSRP.
- The exact WH-SF40-LM product page displayed an in-stock sale price of $849.00.
- Aquasana identifies WH-SF40 as a SimplySoft 40,000-grain ion-exchange softener.
- Aquasana's WH-SF40 page says it is for city or well water.
- The exact WH-SF40-LM page displayed an in-stock $849 sale price and $1,998 MSRP on 2026-08-31.
- IAPMO listingaccessed: 2026-08-31https://myplc.iapmo.org/certificate#/19058
- IAPMO R&T file WP-16886 lists SimplySoft model WH-SF40 under NSF/ANSI 44 with the reduction claim Hardness.
- The live IAPMO R&T listing names WH-SF40 and WH-SF60, brand name SimplySoft, and gives Hardness as the reduction claim for each.
- IAPMO R&T file WP-16886 lists WH-SF40 under NSF/ANSI 44 with the reduction claim Hardness.
- Manufacturer datasheetaccessed: 2026-08-31https://www.aquasana.com/on/demandware.static/-/Sites-aquasana-Library/default/dw6374b465/PDF/WH-SF40-SF60_Performance_Data.pdf
- WH-SF40 uses cation-exchange resin and is bounded at 200 grains/gal hardness, 1 ppm ferrous iron, and minimum pH 6.5.
- The WH-SF40 performance data sheet specifies 1 cu ft of 8% Cross-Linked Cation Resin.
- The WH-SF40 data table gives a maximum compensated hardness of 200 grains/gal.
- The WH-SF40 data table gives a maximum ferrous iron reduction of 1 ppm.
- The WH-SF40 data table gives a minimum pH of 6.5.
- The WH-SF40 performance data table specifies 20-125 psi.
- The WH-SF40 performance data table lists an 11.02 gpm service flow rate.
- The WH-SF40 performance data table lists an operating pressure range of 20-125 psi.
- The WH-SF40 performance data table lists an operating and ambient temperature range of 40-100°F.
- The WH-SF40 performance data table lists 1-inch male MNPT plumbing connections.
- The WH-SF40 sheet specifies cation-exchange resin, salt dosage, and demand-initiated regeneration.
- The performance sheet gives 1 ppm maximum ferrous iron reduction and minimum pH 6.5 for WH-SF40.
- Manufacturer datasheetaccessed: 2026-08-31https://www.aquasana.com/on/demandware.static/-/Sites-aquasana-Library/default/dw60f658b0/PDF/WH-SF40-SF60_Install.pdf
- The WH-SF40 manual requires electrical power and a sanitary drain connection and warns against treating microbiologically unsafe or unknown-quality water without adequate disinfection.
- The owner manual states that the system is not intended for microbiologically unsafe water or water of unknown quality without adequate disinfection before or after it.
- The manual requires the drain outlet to connect to the sanitary waste system through an air gap of two pipe diameters or 1 inch, whichever is larger.
- The manual calls for an existing 120 V outlet and shows the supplied 12 V transformer connection.
- The owner manual requires adequate disinfection for microbiologically unsafe water or water of unknown quality.
- The manual requires a 120 V outlet for the system's 12 V transformer.
- The manual provides a required drain-line installation and sanitary-waste air-gap requirement for regeneration discharge.
- The owner manual says general plumbing knowledge is required and installation by a licensed plumber or certified installer is recommended.
- The owner manual's installation checklist names these tools and supplies.
- Official SimplySoft WH-SF40 and WH-SF60 owner's manual, opened and text-extracted for installation, safeguards, and maintenance.
- The maintenance section instructs regular salt checks, cleaner or sanitization every three months, and brine-tank cleaning every two to three years.
- The manual requires adequate disinfection for microbiologically unsafe water or water of unknown quality.
- The manual requires a 120 V outlet and gives the sanitary drain-line and air-gap installation requirements.
- Brand officialaccessed: 2026-08-31https://www.aquasana.com/on/demandware.static/-/Sites-aquasana-Library/default/dw73bbb16b/PDF/WH-SF40_Warranty.pdf
- The SimplySoft warranty table gives 5 years for the control valve, 10 years for the pressure vessel and brine tank, and 12 months for included installation-kit and filter housings; the terms restrict coverage to the original single-family residential installation and exclude labor costs.
- Brand officialaccessed: 2026-08-31https://www.aquasana.com/on/demandware.static/-/Sites-aquasana-Library/default/dwba731534/PDF/guarantee_one.pdf
- Aquasana's guarantee provides a 90-day trial for direct purchases, requires the customer to pay return shipping, and requires receipt within 21 days of return authorization.
- Government agencyaccessed: 2026-08-31https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/recall-data/recalls_recall_listing.csv
- A search of the CPSC complete recall listing found no rows matching Aquasana, SimplySoft, or WH-SF40.
- Unverifiedaccessed: 2026-08-31https://www.google.com/search?q=%22WH-SF40%22+lawsuit+OR+litigation+OR+recall
- A live exact-model news/web search returned no recall or litigation result involving WH-SF40; unrelated Aquasana matters were excluded.
- NSF listingaccessed: 2026-08-31https://info.nsf.org/Certified/DWTU/Listings.asp?TradeName=WH-SF40&submit2=Search
- The live NSF exact-model lookup returned No Matching Products Found on 2026-08-31.
- WQA listingaccessed: 2026-08-31https://find.wqa.org/find-products#/keyword/WH-SF40
- The live WQA exact-model search returned no WH-SF40 product result on 2026-08-31.
Cite this page
TapWaterData Editorial. "Aquasana Water Softener Review: WH-SF40 Cert Check." TapWaterData, verified 2026-08-31. https://www.tapwaterdata.com/filters/brand/aquasana/simplysoft
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