Is Aquasana NSF certified?

AQ-5300

Claryum 3-Stage Under-Sink Water Filter (AQ-5300; AQ-5300+ Max Flow variant) — the brand's flagship cert-listed under-sink unit

Standards held

What’s certified

• Chlorine (Taste and Odor)
• Lead
• Mercury
• Cysts (Cryptosporidium, Giardia)
• Asbestos
• Microplastics
• PFOA
• PFOS
• VOCs
• Atrazine
• Lindane
• Atenolol
• Bisphenol A
• Ibuprofen
• Naproxen

Brand claims but NOT certified

• Fluoride (Claryum line does NOT remove fluoride — the brand's own SmartFlow RO and OptimH2O lines are the fluoride-targeted SKUs)
• Arsenic (Claryum line does NOT cover arsenic — same point as fluoride)
• Nitrate / Nitrite
• Total Dissolved Solids (Claryum line preserves dissolved minerals — this is a brand marketing differentiator vs ZeroWater, not a removal claim)
• Chloramines (the under-sink AQ-5300 carries chlorine NSF/ANSI 42 cert but NOT specifically chloramines — the Rhino Chloramines whole-house variant WH-1011 is the chloramine-targeted SKU)
• Hexavalent Chromium
• Uranium
• Bacteria / Viruses

The Claryum 3-Stage (AQ-5300) is the brand's strongest cert story — WQA tested and certified to NSF/ANSI Standards 42, 53, and 401 is a legitimate third-party certification equivalent in evidentiary standing to NSF International certification under the same standards. WQA is ANSI-accredited. The C2 (tested-to vs certified-to) confusion arises only at the framing level — the brand consistently uses 'tested and certified' for this SKU, which is technically correct (WQA did test, and then certified). The risk is a buyer collapsing this language with the 'independently tested' (NOT certified) Rhino whole-house SKUs and forming a single 'all Aquasana is NSF-tier' mental model that overstates the cert footprint of the broader lineup. The C10 ('reduces' vs 'removes') framing also applies on the marketing claim of 'Remove up to 99% of 78 contaminants' — the 78-contaminant count is the WQA-certified PLUS the surrogate-tested compounds from the performance data sheet, not 78 individually-certified line items. Marketing copy of '99% lead removal' is a single-pass laboratory reduction at the certified NSF/ANSI 53 influent concentration (150 ppb for lead), not a guarantee of 99% removal at arbitrary influent lead exposures.

NSF listing

AQ-5200

Claryum 2-Stage Under-Sink Water Filter (AQ-5200) — same Claryum filtration with 2 stages instead of 3

Standards held

What’s certified

• Chlorine (Taste and Odor)
• Lead
• Mercury
• Cysts (Cryptosporidium, Giardia)
• Asbestos
• Microplastics
• PFOA
• PFOS
• VOCs
• Atrazine
• Lindane
• Atenolol
• Bisphenol A
• Ibuprofen
• Naproxen

Brand claims but NOT certified

• Fluoride
• Arsenic
• Nitrate / Nitrite
• Total Dissolved Solids
• Chloramines
• Hexavalent Chromium
• Uranium
• Bacteria / Viruses

The Claryum 2-Stage (AQ-5200) sits in the C11 sister-SKU position relative to the AQ-5300 3-Stage: same WQA NSF/ANSI 42 + 53 + 401 cert scope, narrower physical filter stack. The brand markets both with the same '78 contaminants' language and the same 99% lead / 96% PFOA-PFOS / 97% chlorine reduction percentages — because they share the same Claryum filter media and the same WQA certification. The 2-Stage variant is the cost-conscious entry point ($220 vs $260) sharing the cert profile; the 3-Stage adds an extra mechanical pre-filtration stage for sediment-heavy water sources but does not extend the certified contaminant set. Same C10 ('reduces' vs 'removes') framing applies to the 78-contaminant marketing copy.

NSF listing

AQ-SFRO2

SmartFlow Reverse Osmosis System (AQ-SFRO2) — the brand's broadest single-SKU cert footprint

Standards held

What’s certified

• Chlorine (Taste and Odor)
• Chloramines
• Lead
• Mercury
• Fluoride
• Arsenic
• Nitrate / Nitrite
• Total Dissolved Solids
• Cysts (Cryptosporidium, Giardia)
• Asbestos
• Microplastics
• PFOA
• PFOS
• Pesticides
• Herbicides
• Cadmium
• Copper
• Atrazine
• Lindane
• Hexavalent Chromium
• Atenolol
• Bisphenol A
• Ibuprofen
• Naproxen

Brand claims but NOT certified

• Bacteria / Viruses (RO membranes do reject bacteria mechanically but the AQ-SFRO2 is not certified to NSF/ANSI 55 UV disinfection)
• Uranium (not in the standard NSF/ANSI 58 certified list for this SKU)
• Radium 226/228 (some RO systems cover this; the AQ-SFRO2 does not list it on the WQA cert scope)

The SmartFlow Reverse Osmosis (AQ-SFRO2) is the brand's strongest cert SKU — WQA tested and certified to NSF/ANSI 42 + 53 + 58 + 401 + CSA B483.1, the only Aquasana SKU certified to NSF/ANSI 58 (the standard that covers RO-format-specific contaminants: arsenic, fluoride, nitrate, TDS). At $199.99 retail (sale price; $449.99 regular) the SmartFlow RO is meaningfully cheaper than competitor RO systems with comparable cert scope (iSpring RCC7AK, APEC ROES-PH75) at similar quality tiers. The remineralization stage downstream of the RO membrane is the brand's marketing differentiator vs deionized-only RO competitors — the output water retains calcium, magnesium, and potassium so it does NOT taste 'flat' the way pure-deionized RO output does. The cert scope on this SKU genuinely is the broadest in Aquasana's lineup; the C2 / C10 confusion patterns DO NOT apply to this specific SKU in any meaningful way (the brand markets 'tested and certified' with reduction percentages that match the performance data sheet).

NSF listing

WH-1000

Rhino Whole-House Water Filtration System (WH-1000 / EQ-1000) — the most-reviewed Aquasana product line; the centerpiece C2 (tested-to vs certified-to) SKU

Standards held

What’s certified

Brand claims but NOT certified

• Chlorine (brand claims 'up to 97% removal' but the 'tested to NSF/ANSI 42' language is brand-published lab data, NOT an NSF performance listing under NSF/ANSI 42)
• Sediment / Particulate
• Pesticides (the Rhino's KDF media is documented to reduce some pesticides, but the SKU is not on the NSF/ANSI 53 performance listing)
• Industrial Solvents
• Lead (brand does NOT claim Rhino lead removal — the OptimH2O whole-house line is the brand's lead-targeted whole-house SKU)
• PFOA / PFOS (same point as lead)
• Cysts (Cryptosporidium, Giardia)
• Microplastics

The Rhino WH-1000 is the canonical SKU for the C2 (tested-to vs certified-to) confusion pattern in the Aquasana lineup. The brand's own certified-products page uses TWO distinct cert-language patterns on this single SKU: (a) 'INDEPENDENTLY TESTED to NSF/ANSI Standard 42 to remove up to 97% of chlorine' for the performance claim — the word 'tested' is doing the work; (b) 'Rhino tank tested and certified by WQA to NSF/ANSI/CAN 61 for Materials Safety Requirements and Structural Integrity Requirements' for the tank itself. The NSF/ANSI/CAN 61 certification is REAL — WQA (third-party ANSI-accredited certifier) has certified the tank materials don't leach lead or other contaminants into the water. But NSF/ANSI/CAN 61 is the MATERIAL-SAFETY standard, NOT the performance standard that says 'this filter removes X contaminants at Y reduction percentage.' The performance claim under NSF/ANSI 42 is brand-published lab data ('tested to'), not a certification listing. Buyers reading 'NSF/ANSI 42' and 'NSF/ANSI/CAN 61' on the same Rhino product page may collapse them into a single 'NSF certified' mental model — that mental model overstates the performance-cert footprint of the Rhino. The honest version: the Rhino's tank is third-party-certified for material safety; the Rhino's chlorine-reduction performance is brand-tested but not third-party-listed. The brand DOES NOT claim Rhino lead reduction, PFAS reduction, or microplastic reduction — those claims belong to the OptimH2O and Claryum lines, not the Rhino. The Rhino is a high-flow chlorine + sediment + KDF system at the 600,000-gallon service interval, sized for whole-house comfort filtration rather than targeted health-contaminant reduction.

NSF listing

EQ-OPTM

OptimH2O Whole-House Water Filtration System (EQ-OPTM) — the brand's lead-and-PFAS-targeted whole-house SKU; the centerpiece C5 (single-contaminant cert generalized) SKU

Standards held

What’s certified

Brand claims but NOT certified

• Lead (brand claims 'IAPMO tested to NSF/ANSI 53 for up to 99% lead reduction' — testing is third-party data but is NOT equivalent to an IAPMO LISTING under NSF/ANSI 53)
• PFOA / PFOS (brand claims 'up to 98% reduction' via IAPMO testing — same point as lead)
• Cysts (Cryptosporidium, Giardia)
• Chlorine (brand claims 'independently tested to NSF/ANSI 42 for up to 90% chlorine + chloramine reduction')
• Chloramines
• Microplastics
• Hexavalent Chromium

The OptimH2O EQ-OPTM is the canonical SKU for the C5 (single-contaminant cert generalized) confusion pattern in the Aquasana lineup, with the C2 pattern also active. The brand's marketing claim is 'IAPMO tested to NSF/ANSI Standard 53 to remove up to 99% of lead and cysts, and up to 98% of PFOA/PFOS.' The word 'tested' is doing critical work: IAPMO is a recognized third-party ANSI-accredited testing body, and the testing record is real. But 'IAPMO tested to NSF/ANSI 53' is NOT the same as 'IAPMO LISTED under NSF/ANSI 53.' A LISTING means IAPMO has independently verified the SKU meets the FULL standard's contaminant scope under the standard's specific testing protocols and continues to require annual recertification. A TESTING RECORD means IAPMO ran a specific test for specific contaminants and produced a performance data sheet. The under-sink Claryum Direct Connect (AQ-MF-1) carries a full IAPMO LISTING under NSF/ANSI 42 + 53 + 401; the OptimH2O whole-house carries an IAPMO TESTING record. Same certifier (IAPMO), different evidentiary tier. The C5 pattern: marketing copy implies broad health-cert coverage under NSF/ANSI 53 (lead, cysts, PFOA/PFOS — those are real NSF/ANSI 53 contaminants); the actual third-party listing footprint is the Claryum line, not the whole-house EQ-OPTM. Buyers shopping for 'a whole-house lead and PFAS reduction system with third-party cert' should understand that the OptimH2O has third-party TESTING but not third-party LISTING — those are different categories of evidence even though both come from IAPMO.

NSF listing

AQ-MF-1

Claryum Direct Connect Under-Sink Filter (AQ-MF-1) — the IAPMO-LISTED counterpart to the WQA-listed AQ-5300

Standards held

What’s certified

• Chlorine (Taste and Odor)
• Chloramines
• Lead
• Mercury
• Cysts (Cryptosporidium, Giardia)
• Asbestos
• Microplastics
• PFOA
• PFOS
• VOCs
• Atrazine
• Lindane
• Atenolol
• Bisphenol A
• Ibuprofen
• Naproxen

Brand claims but NOT certified

• Fluoride (Claryum line does NOT remove fluoride — same as the under-sink AQ-5300)
• Arsenic
• Nitrate / Nitrite
• Total Dissolved Solids
• Hexavalent Chromium
• Uranium
• Bacteria / Viruses

The Claryum Direct Connect (AQ-MF-1) is the C11 sister-SKU instructive case: same Claryum filtration technology as the AQ-5300 / AQ-5200 under-sink line, certified to the same NSF/ANSI 42 + 53 + 401 standards, but by IAPMO instead of WQA — and with the added chloramines coverage that the under-sink AQ-5300 does not explicitly carry. Same brand, same filtration, same cert scope on paper, different ANSI-accredited certifier. The functional implication: a buyer comparing 'Aquasana under-sink' SKUs sees both at similar retail price tiers ($170-$260) with similar marketing — but the AQ-MF-1 adds chloramines cert that the AQ-5300 lacks. Both are legitimate third-party certifications equivalent in evidentiary standing; the only practical difference for the buyer is which certifier's directory you'd search to independently verify (find.wqa.org for AQ-5300 vs pld.iapmo.org for AQ-MF-1).

NSF listing