Reverse Osmosis Systems In The U.S.
There's a huge selection of reverse osmosis systems in the U.S.
Buying a water filter is like buying food, you have to be careful where it comes from, because you'll be drinking the water that comes out of it. That's why I don't recommend ever buying a water filter that is both owned by a Chinese company and is made in China. A filter that's owned by a U.S. or European company and made in China is better, but still not ideal. Ideally you want a filter that's owned by a U.S. or European company, and made in the U.S. or Europe.
Unfortunately, many of the reverse osmosis systems on Amazon are owned by Chinese companies and made in China, many are owned by U.S. companies and made in China, some are made in China and assembled in the U.S. Very few are made in the U.S.
It's easy to spot the Chinese brands, they have weird names, like “Frizzlife” and “SimPure” – these are both highly rated reverse osmosis system brands that you should avoid on Amazon, due to lack of NSF certification and being Chinese brands.
U.S. Reverse Osmosis Systems I Recommend
APEC Water Systems
This is one of my favourite reverse osmosis system brands in the U.S. They are based in the U.S., and their reverse osmosis systems are made in the U.S.
They have multiple different models on Amazon, the ROES-50 and ROES-PH75 are WQA certified (according to the WQA website), against NSF/ANSI standards 58 and 372.
NSF/ANSI 372 ensures the system doesn't add high levels of lead to your water.
Under NSF/ANSI 58, they are only certified to reduce total dissolved solids (TDS).
Much better are models RO-90 and RO-Hi, which are certified against NSF/ANSI standard 58 to reduce the following:
Arsenic
Barium
Cadmium
Chromium (Hexavalent)
Copper
Fluoride
Lead
Radium 226/228
Selenium
TDS
Trivalent Chromium
Turbidity
You can get the APEC Water Systems RO-90 here.
You can get the APEC Water Systems RO-Hi here.
Whirlpool
This is another U.S. brand with reverse osmosis systems made in the U.S.A.
I checked the NSF website, and their Whirlpool WHER25 reverse osmosis system is NSF certified to NSF/ANSI standard 58 to reduce the following:
Arsenic
Barium
Cadmium
Chromium (Hexavalent)
Chromium (Trivalent)
Copper
Cyst
Fluoride
Lead
Nitrate/Nitrite
Radium 226/228
Selenium
TDS
Turbidity
That's a pretty impressive list compared to most other NSF certified reverse osmosis systems, which are only really certified to reduce TDS.
You can get the Whirlpool WHER25 reverse osmosis system here.
Highly Rated U.S. Reverse Osmosis System Brands I Don't Recommend
Express Water
These guys are based in the U.S., their reverse osmosis system is assembled in the US., but the components are made in Taiwan.
Their RO5DX reverse osmosis system is NSF certified to NSF/ANSI standard 58, but only for reducing TDS.
Not the worst or reverse osmosis systems, but not worth considering when you've got the likes of APEC and Whirlpool above.
Home Master
Their TMAFC-ERP reverse osmosis system has NSF certified components, which isn't as good as when the entire system is certified the way APEC, Whirlpool, and even Express Water systems are.
These guys are based in the U.S., but their storage tanks, filter cartridges, and filter housings are made in Taiwan. The filters are only certified to NSF standard 42, which merely for aesthetics like chlorine and taste and odour.
iSpring
These guys are based in the U.S., but their various different reverse osmosis systems are all made in Taiwan, and certified against NSF/ANSI 58, but only for reducing TDS. Not very impressive.
Waterdrop
Based in China, made in China, so best avoided. 3 of their reverse osmosis systems are certified against NSF/ANSI standard 58, but only for reducing TDS.
Reverse Osmosis Systems In The U.K.
I hate to say this, but I couldn't find anything great here in the U.K. I'll do a more extensive search in future, but for now, here's the best I could find.
iSpring
These guys are based in the U.S., but their reverse osmosis systems are made in Taiwan, and certified against NSF/ANSI standard 58, but only for reducing TDS.
You can get the iSpring RCC7AK here.
Waterdrop
I would definitely prefer the iSpring from Waterdrop, at least those guyse are based in the U.S. Waterdrop is both based in China and made in China.
Their reverse osmosis system model WD-G3-W is NSF certified against NSF/ANSI standard 58, but only for TDS reduction.
You can get the Waterdrop WD-G3-W here.
Highly Rated U.K. Reverse Osmosis System Brands You Should Definitely Avoid
At least iSpring and Waterdrop systems have some credibility, in that they are NSF certified, but the marketplace is flooded with Chinese brands that have no certification whatsoever. You can spot them quite easily on Amazon, because they have weird names like “HiKiNS”, “Geekpure”, “VYAIR”, and “Frizzlife” – I would not waste my money on these.