Question 1

Are Samsung refrigerator water filters NSF certified?

Accepted Answer

Yes, and unusually they are listed in all three certifier directories rather than one. NSF's own drinking water treatment unit directory lists 'Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.' under NSF/ANSI 42 aesthetic effects, NSF/ANSI 53 health effects and NSF/ANSI 401 emerging compounds, checked 2026-09-18.

WQA lists the same brand — as 'Samsung Co., Ltd.', a different company spelling — under 42, 53, 401 and NSF/ANSI/CAN 372. IAPMO R&T holds two Active files, W-14267 under NSF/ANSI/CAN 61 and W-6572 for lead-free plumbing products.

What matters is which cartridge you have, because the listings are not identical across them. Once you know what yours is listed for, check your water quality by ZIP code to see which contaminants your own supply actually carries.

Question 2

Does a Samsung water filter remove lead?

Accepted Answer

The HAF-QIN/EXP and HAF-CIN/EXP elements are listed for lead reduction under NSF/ANSI 53, which is the performance standard that covers it. That is a real, tested claim. Be careful with the other three places 'lead' shows up on Samsung's records, because none of them means this. NSF marks rows [Pb] for weighted average lead CONTENT. WQA carries an NSF/ANSI/CAN 372 row reading 'Lead Free'. IAPMO file W-6572 is titled 'Lead Free Plumbing Products'. All three describe what the part is made of. Not every Samsung cartridge carries the reduction claim either — the HAF-QIN/XME variant is listed under NSF/ANSI 42 only, with no health-effects standard at all. If you are here because of lead in drinking water specifically, that page covers where it comes from and what reduces it.

Question 3

What is the difference between HAF-QIN/EXP and HAF-QIN/XME?

Accepted Answer

Their certifications, which is not what the names suggest. Both are Samsung cartridges and both appear in NSF's directory, but they are listed very differently. HAF-QIN/EXP (model DA97-17376B, element DA97-08006C) is listed under NSF/ANSI 42, NSF/ANSI 53 and NSF/ANSI 401, rated 316 gallons at 0.4 gpm. Its NSF/ANSI 53 list includes lead, cyst, asbestos and turbidity. HAF-QIN/XME (model DA97-17376A, element DA97-08006C-1) is listed under NSF/ANSI 42 only, for chlorine and Nominal Particulate Class III, at 300 gallons. It appears under no health-effects standard. So a shop that lists them as alternatives for the same refrigerator is describing fit. On certification they are not equivalent, and the difference is the entire health-effects tier.

Question 4

Is a Samsung filter certified to reduce PFAS?

Accepted Answer

Some Samsung elements are, and the ones most people buy are not — so the honest answer depends on the model. The RWP-series rows in NSF's directory list PFOA and PFOS among their NSF/ANSI 53 claims. Those are genuine, named PFAS claims. The HAF-QIN/EXP and HAF-CIN/EXP elements — the common refrigerator cartridges — do not carry PFOA or PFOS in their NSF/ANSI 53 lists. Their NSF/ANSI 401 listing covers pharmaceuticals and BPA, which is a different set of compounds. We will not generalise from one element to the brand. If you need PFAS reduction, look for a listing that names PFOA and PFOS on the specific model you are buying, and our page on PFAS in drinking water explains which standards carry those claims.

Question 5

Why does searching this site for HAF-QIN find nothing?

Accepted Answer

Because of how the certifier publishes the row, and it is a gap on our side rather than a gap in the certification. NSF's listing prints three separate columns: the element number (DA97-08006C), the trade name (HAF-QIN/EXP) and the model (DA97-17376B). Our certification corpus stores the element number as the record key and does not carry the trade name as an alias. So the cartridge is fully listed, and searching our data for the name printed on the box returns nothing. We have recorded this rather than quietly papered over it; the row above names the element, the trade name and the model together so the page answers the search either way.

Question 6

How long does a Samsung refrigerator filter last?

Accepted Answer

The certifier records give a rated capacity in gallons rather than a time interval, and the figures differ by cartridge. NSF lists HAF-QIN/EXP at 316 gallons and 0.4 gpm, HAF-CIN/EXP at 300 gallons and 0.5 gpm, HAF-QIN/XME at 300 gallons, and the HAF-HIN series at 660 gallons and 0.47 gpm. Those are the volumes the cartridge was tested to perform across. Samsung's own packaging and the appliance manual state a six-month style interval; we would rather point you there than repeat a duration we have not opened a source for. The capacity figure is the one that matters, because a cartridge past its rated volume can stop performing to the standard it is listed under.

Question 7

Is Samsung listed under a different name at WQA?

Accepted Answer

Yes, and it is worth knowing if you check the directories yourself. NSF and IAPMO R&T both list 'Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.'. WQA lists 'Samsung Co., Ltd.'. They are the same consumer brand, and the difference is just how each certifier recorded the company. It matters because a search — ours or yours — keyed to one spelling will miss the other's rows entirely. This page claims both names so the certification scope above covers all of them. This is a common pattern rather than a Samsung quirk: Frigidaire's files are under Electrolux Home Products, EveryDrop's under Whirlpool Corporation, and Kenmore's under three different spellings of Sears Brands Management.

Question 8

What is the NSF/ANSI 50 listing on Samsung's record?

Accepted Answer

It appears via NSF Component Certification Specification 11804, which is a different programme from the drinking-water performance claims on this page. NSF/ANSI 50 covers equipment for recreational water facilities — pools and spas. It is not one of the standards our certification scope carries for this brand, so it does not appear in the standards list above, which is drawn from our indexed corpus. We mention it because you will see it if you run the company search yourself, and a page showing four standards where the directory shows five would look like it was hiding one. It should not be read as a drinking-water claim.

Question 9

Are Samsung's own filters better than aftermarket cartridges?

Accepted Answer

On the thing this site can check — what a third party has tested and listed — Samsung's own elements have a documented answer and most aftermarket cartridges do not. Samsung's HAF-QIN/EXP element is listed by NSF under NSF/ANSI 42, 53 and 401, with lead, cyst and asbestos named individually in its health-effects list. That is a specific, checkable scope. Aftermarket cartridges sold as 'fits Samsung DA29-00020B' vary enormously. Some hold their own listings, often under NSF/ANSI 42 only, for chlorine and taste and odour; some hold nothing. 'Fits' is a statement about the housing, not about performance. We are not telling you to buy OEM. We are telling you that the two are only comparable once you have found the aftermarket cartridge's own listing, under its own manufacturer's name — and that if you cannot find one, the comparison has already answered itself.

Question 10

Where are Samsung water filters made?

Accepted Answer

In the Republic of Korea, at several sites, and NSF's listing is specific enough to name them. The facility field on Samsung's rows reads Daejeon, Gwansan-gu in Gwangju, and Gyeonggi-Do — all Korea, Republic of — with one row carrying an unnamed '# 1 Republic of Korea' facility. What the directory does not do is map a facility to a cartridge, so we cannot tell you which site made the HAF-QIN/EXP in your refrigerator. We are reporting the facilities of record on the listing rather than inferring a country of origin from the company's corporate address, which is a different and much weaker thing.

SKU / Model	Standards held	What’s certified	Brand claims but NOT certified	Listing
HAF-QIN/EXP HAF-QIN/EXP — model DA97-17376B, NSF element DA97-08006C, 316 gal at 0.4 gpm	Performance NSF/ANSI 401 NSF/ANSI 42 NSF/ANSI 53	Chlorine Nominal Particulate Reduction, Class I Taste and Odor 2,4-D Asbestos Atrazine Benzene Carbofuran Chlorobenzene Cyst Endrin Ethylbenzene Lead Lindane Mercury O-Dichlorobenzene P-Dichlorobenzene Tetrachloroethylene Toxaphene Turbidity Atenolol Bisphenol A Carbamazepine DEET Estrone Linuron Meprobamate Metolachlor Naproxen Nonylphenol Phenytoin TCEP TCPP Trimethoprim Ibuprofen	No discrepancy NSF lists this cartridge by its element number, DA97-08006C, with HAF-QIN/EXP as the trade name. Our own corpus stores only the element number and carries no HAF-QIN alias — so searching this site for 'HAF-QIN' finds nothing even though the listing is held. The trade name is what appears on the box. Read more	View NSF listing
HAF-CIN/EXP HAF-CIN/EXP — model DA29-00020B, NSF element DA97-08006A-1, 300 gal at 0.5 gpm	Performance NSF/ANSI 401 NSF/ANSI 42 NSF/ANSI 53	Chlorine Nominal Particulate Reduction, Class I Taste and Odor 2,4-D Asbestos Atrazine Benzene Carbofuran Chlorobenzene Cyst Endrin Ethylbenzene Lead Lindane Mercury O-Dichlorobenzene P-Dichlorobenzene Tetrachloroethylene Toxaphene Turbidity Atenolol Bisphenol A Carbamazepine DEET Estrone Linuron Meprobamate Metolachlor Naproxen Nonylphenol Phenytoin TCEP TCPP Trimethoprim	No discrepancy	View NSF listing
HAF-QIN/XME HAF-QIN/XME — model DA97-17376A, NSF element DA97-08006C-1, 300 gal	Performance NSF/ANSI 42	Chlorine Nominal Particulate Reduction, Class III	No discrepancy The two HAF-QIN variants are not equivalent. HAF-QIN/EXP holds NSF/ANSI 42, 53 and 401. HAF-QIN/XME holds NSF/ANSI 42 only, for chlorine and a coarser particulate class, with no health-effects listing at all. A retail page that shows them as interchangeable is describing fit, not certification. Read more	View NSF listing
HAF-HIN-1 HAF-HIN-1 — 660 gal at 0.47 gpm, plumbed-in to separate tap	Performance NSF/ANSI 401 NSF/ANSI 42 NSF/ANSI 53	Chlorine Nominal Particulate Reduction, Class I Taste and Odor Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Asbestos Chlordane Chromium Cyst Lead MTBE Mercury Microcystin PCB Toxaphene Turbidity VOC Arsenic (Pentavalent) Atenolol Bisphenol A Carbamazepine DEET Estrone Ibuprofen Linuron Meprobamate Metolachlor Microplastics Naproxen Nonylphenol Phenytoin TCEP TCPP Trimethoprim	No discrepancy This element's NSF/ANSI 53 list names 'Chromium' without a valence. The RWP-series rows in the same directory say 'Chromium (Trivalent)' explicitly. Trivalent and hexavalent chromium are different species with different health significance, and an unqualified entry should not be read as covering Chromium-6. Read more	View NSF listing

Feature	Samsung	LG
Directories holding a listing	All three — NSF, IAPMO R&T and WQA	NSF only; IAPMO and WQA both return nothing
Listee name(s)	Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (NSF, IAPMO) and Samsung Co., Ltd. (WQA)	LG Electronics Inc.
Cartridges currently listed at NSF	HAF-QIN/EXP, HAF-CIN/EXP, HAF-QIN/XME, HAF-HIN series and RWP series	LT600P, LT800P and LT500P
Emerging-compounds standard (NSF/ANSI 401)	Held — on the HAF-QIN/EXP, HAF-CIN/EXP and HAF-HIN elements	Not returned by the live directory for any LG element

Feature	Samsung	Kenmore
Does the brand name find the listing?	Yes — an NSF company search for Samsung returns its rows directly	No — 'Kenmore' returns nothing; the listings are under Sears Brands Management
Who the cartridges are listed to	Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (NSF, IAPMO) and Samsung Co., Ltd. (WQA)	Three spellings of Sears Brands Management, at 3333 Beverly Road, Hoffman Estates IL
Who actually makes the element	Samsung's own elements, facilities in the Republic of Korea	Mixed — Kenmore 469490 and 469990 are LG elements (ADQ73613402, 5231JA2006A-S) rebadged
Emerging compounds (NSF/ANSI 401) scope	HAF-QIN/EXP carries the 15-compound list	9081 and 9082 carry three compounds; 9083 carries the full fifteen

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