Aquasana OptimH2O Reverse Osmosis + Claryum Under-Sink System

The Aquasana OptimH2O is a hybrid filtration system that combines a standard RO membrane with Aquasana's patented Claryum selective filtration technology. The Claryum distinction matters: where standard RO removes everything including beneficial calcium and magnesium along with contaminants, the OptimH2O's post-membrane Claryum stage selectively retains calcium and magnesium while continuing to remove lead, arsenic, fluoride, and synthetic contaminants. The result is output water that sits around 50-100 ppm TDS -- more mineralized than standard RO permeate but still dramatically lower TDS than source water -- with better taste than ultra-pure RO output without needing a separate remineralization stage.

NSF certifications are broader than most RO competitors: NSF 42 (aesthetic effects -- chlorine, taste, odor), NSF 58 (RO membrane performance -- lead, arsenic, TDS reduction), and NSF 401 (emerging contaminants -- pharmaceuticals, estrone, ibuprofen, DEET, BPA, and others). The 401 certification is the specific differentiator for households with concern about trace pharmaceutical contamination of municipal water supplies -- a real and documented issue in water systems served by rivers downstream of population centers.

The OptimH2O removes PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) at 99%+ -- one of the cleanest PFAS removal performances in the residential market. For households in communities with known PFAS contamination (military base communities, industrial sites, fire-station-adjacent areas with AFFF foam history), this is the critical spec.

Aquasana includes a lead-free brushed nickel faucet and 3.5-gallon tank. The system pairs naturally with Aquasana's whole-home carbon filtration (Rhino series) for households that want both point-of-entry chlorine removal and point-of-use RO purity at the kitchen tap. Annual filter cost is $100-$140 (Claryum stage costs more than standard carbon post-filters).