I was thinking about installing a water filter under my sink because the tap water at home has a weird taste and I sometimes see a bit of limescale. I've seen these Aqua Optima systems and similar ones on Amazon, but I'm not sure if they actually work or if it's just marketing. How much does it cost to maintain them?
it depends on how weird your water actually is, so it's worth getting it tested before you spend money.
water purifiers definitely work (especially with limescale) but it's the cost of replacement filters that kills you in the long run, the filter usually costs anywhere from 20 to 60 euros and you change it every 6-12 months, so before you buy one check if your area's water is actually problematic or maybe you just need to descale your faucet.
A water purifier under the sink actually works, especially for limescale and sediments you can see, but the critical point is that the filters need to be changed every 6-12 months and they cost about 20-50 euros each depending on the brand, so you need to factor in a pretty significant recurring expense before you jump in headfirst.
How many people in your house actually drink straight from the tap every day? I'd say getting your water tested is the first step (most municipalities do it for free), because if the only problem is taste and some visible limescale, a simple activated charcoal filter like Brita costs a fraction of an under-sink system and works great - the filters are super cheap and you swap them out every two months.
But if your water actually has hardness or contamination issues, then yeah, a water purifier makes sense, just factor in 40-60 euros a year minimum for filters, which isn't crazy money but it's not nothing either.
Don't throw money at a water purifier until you know exactly what's in your water!
What a lot of people don't tell you is that before you buy any filter, you can contact your local water utility directly (you'll find the number on your bill) and ask for the official test data - they usually send it to you for free and it's way more reliable than what you can see with your own eyes.
If hard water is really your main problem, a simple water softener works wonders and costs less than a full purifier, but then the replacement filters become the real recurring expense (around 25-40 euros every 6 months or so). Anyway yeah, water purifiers do work, but only if you've got an actual reason to install one!
The water at my place had this annoying limescale problem and I got an under-sink filter a couple of years ago, it actually works. The real cost though isn't the initial device but the replacements: you spend 30-40 euros every 6-8 months if you drink a lot, and if you forget about them the clogged filter becomes useless. What nobody tells you is that you also need to check whether the problem is really in your water or if it's coming from your old house pipes - most mayors or the local water company give you a free analysis, it's worth doing it before spending money. Then if you find out it's just some rust from your own pipes, a water filter won't fix a corroded pipe.
Limescale and strange taste are two different things, and that's the point others haven't really emphasized. An under-sink water filter helps you with sediment and limescale, but if the taste comes from residual chlorine or other substances dissolved in the water, then yes it works. The problem is you don't know which of the two factors is your real issue until you get it tested. Contact your water utility (it doesn't cost anything) and ask for the water quality report: there you'll see exactly what's in it, and from there you can figure out if a filter is really necessary or if you can solve it with simpler things.
If you find out that limescale is the real problem, then yes, a water filter with odor filter + one with activated charcoal works. On Amazon you'll find decent brands (not just Aqua Optima), but the maintenance cost is serious: filters cost 20-40 euros each and you really need to replace them every 6-12 months depending on how much water you use. If there are two of you at home and you drink little tap water, maybe it's not worth it; if you drink a lot, then you start saving compared to bottled water.
What I'd suggest is don't fall into the trap of someone selling you a water filter without first knowing what it actually filters. Some reverse osmosis systems are excellent but cost more and use water; simple under-sink ones are cheap to buy but require discipline with filter changes. Do the test first, everything else comes after.
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