APEC RO-90 Ultimate 5-Stage Under-Sink Reverse Osmosis System

1. Proven reduction 35% of the rating 4 of 5

   WQA lists this exact model for lead, fluoride, arsenic (V) up to 300 ppb, barium, cadmium, copper, chromium, radium, selenium and TDS. No PFAS, VOC or nitrate claim, so those are unproven.

2. What touches the water 20% of the rating 3 of 5

   Plastic housings, tubing and a bladder tank, with a lead-free chrome faucet. WQA covers material safety under NSF/ANSI 58 and 372, but APEC does not name its plastics. No antimicrobial is mentioned.

3. Independent testing 15% of the rating 3 of 5

   A paid certification, from a trade group of water-treatment companies, covers lead, fluoride and arsenic (V). No independent test of the RO-90 itself. A lab run on a cheaper APEC tank model removed contaminants but wasted a lot of water.

4. Trust 10% of the rating 2 of 5

   No recall, lawsuit or Prop 65 notice found, though its manual carries a generic Prop 65 warning. But its Amazon page says “NSF Certified” and claims bacteria and virus removal, and its own site claims arsenic +3. WQA lists none of these. It also runs affiliate and referral programs.

5. Running cost & value 20% of the rating 3 of 5

   About $265, the lowest of the reverse osmosis systems we list, with filters near $70 a year. But APEC publishes no waste ratio, and a lab run on a sister tank model sent 5 to 10 gallons to the drain per gallon made.

The rating, 3.3 of 5, is the weighted average of these scores. See how we rank water filters and our standard.

• Amazon (opens in a new tab) approx. $210. Ships from Amazon and is sold by “Advanced Water”, whose seller profile lists APEC’s own support phone number, so it looks like APEC’s account. Amazon itself also sells it, at about $219. The title says “NSF Certified”; the certifier we could confirm is WQA (see below).
• The Home Depot (opens in a new tab) approx. $219. Home Depot’s own listing for model RO-90, with free delivery or store pickup. Its product copy says the system removes VOCs and nitrates, which WQA does not list.

Prices as we saw them on October 23, 2026. They change often. These links carry no tracking code and earn us nothing.

1. Stage 1: polypropylene sediment filter
2. Stages 2 and 3: two extruded activated carbon block filters
3. Stage 4: FilmTec reverse osmosis membrane (APEC names Dow FilmTec)
4. Stage 5: coconut-shell activated carbon post-filter
5. 4-gallon pressurized storage tank, with a bladder inside; shell and bladder materials not stated
6. Tubing and quick-connect fittings sold as John Guest food grade (APEC’s Amazon page); the plastic of the filter housings is not stated
7. Chrome designer faucet sold as 100% lead-free; WQA also lists the system under NSF/ANSI/CAN 372 for lead content of wetted parts
8. No silver or other antimicrobial is mentioned anywhere in APEC’s materials

• Paid certification Water Quality Association (WQA)

  Lists the RO-90 (and the RO-Hi and RO-PH90) under NSF/ANSI 58 for lead, fluoride, arsenic (V) at 300 ppb in, barium, cadmium, copper, hexavalent and trivalent chromium, radium 226/228, selenium, TDS and turbidity, with a tested production rate of 33.3 gallons a day. No PFAS, VOC or germ claim. WQA is a trade association of water-treatment makers and dealers, and the maker pays for the program. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)

• Paid certification Water Quality Association (WQA)

  Lists the RO-90 under NSF/ANSI/CAN 372, the standard for the lead content of parts that touch drinking water. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)

• Independent Duke University researchers (Herkert and colleagues), as summarized by Mamavation, which earns affiliate income 2020

  In homes in North Carolina with PFAS in the tap water, every under-sink reverse osmosis and dual-stage filter tested removed PFAS almost completely. Mamavation’s reading of the data lists an APEC RO-45, an older and different model, among units with no PFAS detected after filtering. We could not open the paper’s tables, so we cannot say whether the RO-90 was tested. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)

• Independent Water Filter Guru, with lab analysis by Tap Score (the site earns affiliate income) August 2026

  Tested the APEC ROES-PH75, a cheaper tank model with a remineralizing stage, not the RO-90. Before and after samples went to Tap Score’s lab. Everything above health guideline levels was removed and TDS fell 93%, with a trace rise in manganese. The system sent 5.1 to 10.6 gallons to the drain per gallon of water made (3.8 with a booster pump), the least efficient RO the reviewer had tested. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Is it NSF certified, as the Amazon title says?

WQA lists it, to NSF/ANSI standards, and we could not search NSF’s own directory. NSF’s public notice of 18 January 2024 says “APEC Waters” is not NSF certified, but it names apec-water.com, an Amazon-affiliate site, not APEC’s own apecwater.com (archived notice (opens in a new tab)). The Amazon page (opens in a new tab) still uses “NSF Certified 372 & 58” in the title.

Does it remove bacteria, viruses and “1000+ contaminants”?

Not on any certificate we found. WQA’s listing names ten contaminants plus TDS and turbidity. APEC’s own page also claims arsenic +3, and WQA lists arsenic (V) only. Home Depot’s copy for the same model adds VOCs and nitrates, which WQA does not list either. EPA (opens in a new tab) says RO can “potentially” remove bacteria and viruses, but no listing backs that for this system, so do not use it to make unsafe water safe.

How much water does it waste?

APEC does not say for the RO-90, and the system is not on EPA’s WaterSense list. EPA calls five gallons or more of drain water per gallon made typical for point-of-use RO; a labeled system must send 2.3 or less (EPA (opens in a new tab)). Water Filter Guru measured 5 to 10 gallons per gallon on APEC’s ROES-PH75, a sister tank model, and APEC’s own chat tool told the reviewer 3 gallons (review (opens in a new tab)). WQA records 33.3 gallons a day for the RO-90; the 90 on the box is the membrane rating.

Does reverse osmosis strip the minerals out?

Yes, most of them, along with the contaminants, and this model has no remineralizing stage. See our note on RO water and minerals.

Has it been recalled, sued over or flagged under Prop 65?

We found no CPSC or FDA recall and no class action. California’s Prop 65 notice search (opens in a new tab) shows nothing against APEC Water Systems. The owner’s manual (opens in a new tab) does carry a generic Prop 65 warning that names no chemical.

Who gets paid when people recommend it?

APEC’s site links an affiliate program through Impact, and its product page (opens in a new tab) advertises a referral program that promises “free drinking water” forever. Reviews that recommend APEC may earn a commission. We could not open the program’s terms.

• Reverse osmosis sends water down the drain, and APEC publishes no waste ratio for the RO-90. An independent run on its sister model ROES-PH75 measured 5 to 10 gallons of waste per gallon made. WQA records a tested production rate of 33.3 gallons a day, not the 90 on the box.
• APEC’s page says “Arsenic +3” is certified. WQA lists only pentavalent arsenic, at up to 300 ppb in the feed water. If arsenic is in your water, test it first, because this system does not handle other forms.
• The listing has no PFAS, VOC, nitrate or pharmaceutical claim, and there is no remineralizing stage. It also needs drilling for the drain saddle and a faucet hole.
• APEC’s Amazon listing claims NSF certification, bacteria and virus removal, and 1,000+ contaminants. None is on WQA’s listing. The claims we trust are the ones on the directory page.

Third-party tested

Yes

Tested by

WQA (Water Quality Association), paid for by the maker

1. APEC RO-90 product page: price, claims. Maker’s page. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
2. APEC RO-90 installation and owner’s manual (V7.2). Maker’s page. Filter schedule, operating limits, tank capacity, and a generic Prop 65 warning on the last page. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
3. WQA directory: APEC Water Systems, NSF/ANSI 58 (reverse osmosis). Certifier or regulator listing. Lists RO-90 with its contaminant claims and a 33.3 GPD production rate; ROES-50 and ROES-100 are TDS only. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
4. WQA directory: APEC Water Systems, NSF/ANSI/CAN 372 (lead-free). Certifier or regulator listing. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
5. APEC RO-90 on Amazon: listing as seen 2026-10-23. Independent source. Source of the “NSF Certified 372 & 58” title, the bacteria and virus claims (in the bullets behind “Show more”) and the seller name. Not an independent source. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
6. Amazon seller profile: Advanced Water. Independent source. Lists the support phone number 1-800-880-4808, the same number apecwater.com gives for APEC. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
7. Home Depot listing: APEC RO-90 (Internet #206314521). Independent source. Price as seen 2026-10-23, and the source of the VOC and nitrate claims in its copy. Not an independent source. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
8. California Attorney General: Prop 65 60-day notice search for “APEC”. Certifier or regulator listing. Five notices, none against APEC Water Systems. Searched 2026-10-23. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
9. NSF public notice: APEC Water (dated January 18, 2024). Independent source. Archived copy of nsf.org (2 August 2025), because nsf.org blocks our tools. Says “APEC Waters” is not certified by NSF and may not claim it. It names apec-water.com, not APEC’s own site. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
10. apec-water.com, archived 19 April 2024. Independent source. Titled “APEC Water Systems - Official Website”. It links to Amazon and carries an Amazon Associates disclosure. It is not apecwater.com. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
11. Assessing the Effectiveness of Point-of-Use Residential Drinking Water Filters for Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs) (Duke University, 2020). Test report. Abstract read via Crossref. The publisher blocks automated access, so we could not read the data tables. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
12. Mamavation: best water filters for PFAS. Independent source. Summarizes the Duke data by model and names an APEC RO-45. The site earns affiliate income. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
13. Water Filter Guru: APEC ROES-PH75 review (updated 4 Aug 2026). Test report. Lab results from Tap Score and measured waste ratios for a different APEC tank model. The site earns affiliate income. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
14. EPA WaterSense: point-of-use reverse osmosis systems. Certifier or regulator listing. Typical waste for point-of-use RO and the WaterSense limit. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
15. APEC replacement filter prices (site search, 2026-10-23). Maker’s page. Complete set $127.95. The pre-filter set is $44.95 and the membrane $78.95. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)

• Delta Clarifi tankless reverse osmosis system Listed for total PFAS, lead and fluoride, with a 78% efficiency rating on EPA’s WaterSense record. About $800 on Amazon and needs an outlet under the sink.
• Waterdrop G3P600 tankless reverse osmosis system Tankless, about $430. IAPMO lists lead, fluoride and PFOA/PFOS for it, but Waterdrop’s own data sheet is older than the listing.

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