Considering buying an Aquios water softener or filter system? Wondering how the Aquios brand compares to other brands in today’s market? In this Aquios water softener and filter review, we’ll be sharing an overview of the most popular Aquios systems available today.
📌 Key Takeaways:
- The best Aquios systems for regular-sized homes are the Aquios AQFS220, the AQFS220L, and the AQFS220C.
- The best Aquios systems for large homes are the Aquios AQFS234 Jumbo and the AQFS234L Jumbo.
- Pros of Aquios include eco-friendliness, low cost, easy installation, certifications, and a good warranty.
- Some of the setbacks of Aquios are no data-backed claims, no way to measure conditioning results, and iffy customer service.
| Product | Aquios AQFS220 | Aquios AQFS234 |
|---|---|---|
| Process | Polyphosphate Water Conditioning + Carbon Filtration | Polyphosphate Water Conditioning + Carbon Filtration |
| Capacity | 40,000 Gallons or 4-6 months | 60,000 Gallons or ~9 months |
| Water For | Up to 6 People | Up to 6+ People |
| Flow Rate | 12-15 GPM | 15-18 GPM |
| Warranty | 20 years (housing and valve) | 20 years (housing and valve) |
Best Water Conditioner and Filter Systems for Regular-Sized Homes: Aquios AQFS220L, AQFS220, and AQFS220C
Aquios AQFS220
| Process | Polyphosphate Water Conditioning + Carbon Filtration |
| Capacity | 40,000 Gallons or 4-6 months |
| Water For | Up to 6 People |
| Flow Rate | 12-15 GPM |
| Warranty | 20 years on housing and valve |
First, let’s start with the best Aquios water conditioner and filter system models for regular-sized homes (1-3 bathrooms).
The Aquios AQFS220L, AQFS220, and AQFS220C are salt-free water softener and filter systems designed for city and well water supplies.
The units have a 12-15 GPM flow rate that’s suitable for families of 1-6 with a maximum of 3 bathrooms. These systems work best with water that has a pH range of 8-10 and can treat a water hardness up to 22 GPG.
These conditioners use an scale-reduction additive (which is FDA-approved) called siliphos. This additive suspends minerals in water, preventing them from leaving scale deposits – and even causes existing limescale to dissolve.
Because the units use cartridges rather than resin and salt, they’re low-maintenance salt-free water softener systems. Different systems have different cartridge sizes. For instance, the cartridge in the Aquios AQFS220 lasts for 3-6 months, or 40,000 gallons.
These salt-free water softener and filter systems also remove particles as small as 5 microns, such as sediment, chlorine, and other contaminants affecting taste and smell, using a solid carbon block filter cartridge.
📌 The AQFS220L and the AQFS220 have one key difference: the AQFS220L has a filter with 1-micron pores, which removes a greater range of contaminants, including chloramines and VOCs, while the AQFS220 has a 5-micron cartridge
Best For: Families with 1-3 bathrooms and a water pH range of 8-10 who want a two-in-one salt-free water softener and filter system that uses easy-change cartridges.
👍 Pros:
- Don’t waste water or require a drain connection
- Don’t need salt or electricity
- Easy to DIY install
- Low-maintenance
- Good warranty
- Prevents new scale formation & removes existing scale deposits
👎 Cons:
- Claims about scale reduction aren’t validated by lab reports
- Difficult to measure conditioning results
- Some customers complained about clogged cartridges and low water pressure
Read the Full Review: Aquios AQFS220 Review
Best Water Conditioner and Filter Systems for Big Homes: Aquios AQFS234L Jumbo and AQFS234 Jumbo
Aquios AQFS234
| Process | Polyphosphate Water Conditioning + Carbon Filtration |
| Capacity | 60,000 Gallons or ~9 months |
| Water For | Up to 6+ People |
| Flow Rate | 15-18 GPM |
| Warranty | 20 years on housing and valve |
The AQFS234L Jumbo and the Aquios AQFS234 Jumbo are the best Aquios water systems for large homes.
These systems both use the same anti-scaling additive mentioned before to inhibit scale deposits and prevent new scale formation.
📌 Again, the key difference between the models is that the AQFS234L removes contaminants as small as 1 micron (including chloroform and VOCs), while the AQFS234 removes contaminants as small as 5 microns. If you buy a pre-filter for the AQFS234L (recommended), it lasts about 3 months longer than the AQFS234 – 9 months instead of 3-6 months – but you’ll need to buy and install a separate pre-filter upstream of the system for this benefit.
You get a faster water flow rate (5-18 GPM) with both models, and the maximum hardness level these systems can treat is 30 GPG.
Best For: People in large homes (3+ bathrooms) with a pH level of 8-10 who want a combined salt-free water softener and filter system that can keep up with their water flow rate even at peak demand.
👍 Pros:
- Don’t use salt or waste water
- Don’t need to be hooked up to a power source or a drain line
- Easy to install and maintain
- Backed by a good warranty
- Suitable for both well and city water
👎 Cons:
- Scale reduction claims aren’t supported by test data
- Some customers didn’t notice obvious results
- Cartridges clog quickly, especially when used to treat well water
Read the Full Review: Aquios AQFS234 Jumbo Review
⚖️ Pros and Cons of Aquios Water Softener Systems
Still wondering whether Aquios water softeners are worth your money? Weigh up these pros and cons to decide whether the systems are a good choice for you.
Pros:
- Easy to install – All Aquios water systems are designed to be easy to install, taking less than 2 hours. You don’t have to be a DIY expert to install an Aquios unit, and the instructions in the user manual are genuinely useful. That knocks off the extra $200 or so spent on a plumber.
- No programming – None of the conditioners sold by Aquios need to be programmed. This means there’s no chance of somehow setting the system up incorrectly.
- Low maintenance – Aquios’ salt-free water softener systems operate without a brine tank and don’t need regular salt top-ups. You’ll just need to buy replacement cartridges.
- Low cost – with low maintenance comes low cost. You won’t need to spend money on salt, and Aquios systems don’t regenerate or waste water like salt-based systems do, so you’ll save tens of dollars every year.
- Better for the environment – Another benefit that ties into the low running costs of the Aquios salt-free conditioner systems: the units don’t leach salt into the environment or waste water, so they’re a good choice for the environmentally conscious.
- For city and well water – You can use all Aquios systems whether you have well water or city water. Just keep in mind that several systems – the AQFS220L or the AQFS234L Jumbo – have a 1-micron pre-filter that’s likely to clog without a pre-filter.
- Retain healthy minerals – A major perk of salt-free softening? Healthy calcium and magnesium minerals are retained in drinking water.
- Great warranty – All Aquios water treatment systems are backed by a 20-year warranty on the valve and housing. This warranty entitles you to free replacement parts for defective units for 20 years after the purchase.
Cons:
- No test data – Aquios doesn’t provide test results or any other data to back up its performance claims. That means we have to take Aquios’ word for it when it comes to scale reduction.
- Claims to be certified by the NSF – The AQFS220, AQFS220L, and AQFS220C all claim to hold official NSF certifications to Standard 42 for the reduction of chlorine, taste and odor, but we can’t find these products listed in the NSF database.
- No way to measure results – Like all salt-free water softener systems, Aquios systems don’t actually remove water hardness minerals. This means that a water hardness test would say that the water was just as hard after using the system as before – there’s no change to water quality. This makes it difficult to measure results.
- Varied customer service reviews – We’ve read reports from some customers who said Aquios’ customer service team took too long to respond.
- Clogging and leaking issues – Some customers noted that their filter cartridges clogged faster than anticipated, and others had problems with leaking. Luckily, these issues were few and far between.
🤔 Should You Spend Your Money on an Aquios Softener and Filter System?
👨⚖️ Here’s the thing: we think Aquios is pretty good, but we also know there are better whole house water softener and whole house water filtration system brands out there.
If you specifically want a softener and filter system in one, then Aquios might tick all your boxes. But if you want more options, or you haven’t ruled out salt-based water softener systems, broaden your search. 👉 Check out our current favorite water softeners in this guide.
