Aquasana AQ-5300+ (replacement cartridge AQ-5300+R): PFAS certification

Certified claims, with their sources

PFAS compounds we do not score, and why

We do not score any filter for these three compounds. The 2022 editions of NSF/ANSI 53 and 58 set no reduction requirement for them, and no filter we track is certified for them.

• PFHxA, PFPeA and PFBA: NSF/ANSI 53 and 58, the standards EPA points to for PFAS reduction, set reduction requirements for seven PFAS in their 2022 editions: PFOA, PFOS, PFHxS, PFNA, PFHpA, PFBS and PFDA. None of these compounds is one of them, and no filter we track is certified for any of them, so we do not score them.

The filter this page is about

Brand and model: Aquasana AQ-5300+.

Replacement cartridge: AQ-5300+R.

Listed by WQA under Aquasana, Inc. as AQ-5300+.

Certifier listing checked by hand on 2026-10-20.

Rated life: 800 gallons (data sheet).

Manufacturer performance data sheet (PDF) Version date not printed on the data sheet; retrieved 2026-10-20.

Read before acting on these numbers

• Certified performance applies within the filter's rated capacity: 800 gallons.The certification applies to the first 800 gallons through each cartridge; past 800 gallons, it does not apply to that cartridge.
• A certification pass level is the maximum concentration allowed in the test's treated water. It is set by the standard, not by the legal limit, and may be above the limit.

Words on this page

PFAS

per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, a large group of manufactured chemicals.

Compound names

short names of individual PFAS chemicals, such as PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) and PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonic acid).

ppt

parts per trillion, the unit used here for PFAS results and limits. 1,000 ppt equals 1 part per billion (ppb).

Reporting level

the lowest amount EPA set for labs to report as a number in UCMR 5 testing (EPA calls it the minimum reporting level). A result below it is listed as not detected at or above the reporting level, which does not mean zero.

PWSID

Public Water System ID: the number EPA and the state use to identify a public water system.

UCMR 5

EPA's fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule, under which public water systems tested for PFAS and lithium starting in 2023. On this page, UCMR 5 data is used only to match a ZIP code to the water systems EPA lists as serving it; each water system's PFAS page shows its results with their sample dates.

EPA MCL

Maximum Contaminant Level: the federal legal limit for a public water system, judged on a running yearly average at each sampling point. "(2024)" is the year EPA issued the PFAS rule.

NSF/ANSI 53

NSF/ANSI 53 (Drinking Water Treatment Units – Health Effects): a standard for home drinking water filters. Its 2022 edition sets PFAS reduction requirements for seven compounds: PFOA, PFOS, PFHxS, PFNA, PFHpA, PFBS and PFDA.

NSF/ANSI 58

NSF/ANSI 58 (Reverse Osmosis Drinking Water Treatment Systems): a standard for home reverse osmosis systems. Its 2022 edition sets PFAS reduction requirements for the same seven compounds.

Pass level

the most of a compound the standard allows in the filter's treated water during the lab test (for PFOA and PFOS, the two combined). The standard sets it, not the legal limit.

Certified

a certifier lists this model as meeting a standard's requirements for that compound. It describes a lab test, not a measurement of your water.

Certification claim

a reduction claim a standard offers, with its own lab test and pass level. Most are for one compound; for PFOA and PFOS, the claim is for the two combined. A filter model is certified only for the claims its certifier lists it for.

WQA

the Water Quality Association, a trade association that also runs an accredited program certifying water treatment products.

Hazard Index

under EPA's April 2024 PFAS rule, the limit for mixtures of PFHxS, PFNA, HFPO-DA (GenX) and PFBS, which counts these compounds together rather than one at a time. EPA published a proposal to remove it on May 20, 2026 (91 FR 29413); the proposal is not final.

Proposed rule

a change EPA has published for public comment but has not adopted. A proposed rule does not change any current limit.

Federal Register (FR)

the U.S. government's official daily publication of federal rules, proposed rules and notices. "89 FR 32532" means volume 89, starting at page 32532.

Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)

the official collection of federal rules in effect, arranged by subject. As part of each status check we read the PFAS limits in its continuously updated online version, the eCFR (40 CFR 141.61(c)(2)).

HFPO-DA (GenX)

hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid, a PFAS compound often called GenX.

Filters we track

the filters whose manufacturer performance data sheets we have entered. A filter not on our list may still be certified; we do not have its data.

Score

to say which filters we track are certified to reduce a compound.

Performance data sheet

the manufacturer's document listing a filter's certified claims, pass levels and rated life; it is our source for every certified claim.

Rated life

how much water a cartridge is certified to treat, from its data sheet; certified performance applies only within it.

MUA

municipal utilities authority, a local public agency that provides water service, sewer service or both.

Sources

This page's data as JSON