This page is a translation of the Italian version, which remains the reference text. The service is installed in Italy, in Lazio and Emilia-Romagna. Read the Italian original
The guide to water purifiers
Everything worth knowing before putting a purifier in your home in Italy, written to answer rather than to sell: what it really costs, how it works, what the installation needs, what is in the tap water and how it compares with filter jugs, bottles and water softeners.
If you are short of time, the three short answers are just below. If you are deciding, start from the chapter that concerns you.
Try it free for 30 days €29,90 a month if you stay. Nothing up front, no penalty.
The three short answers
Can you drink the tap water?
Yes. In Italy it is drinkable by law, tested both by the network operator and by the local health authority. A purifier does not make it drinkable: it changes the taste and the composition, and it saves you buying bottles. Anyone trying to frighten you about mains water in order to sell you a system is doing something the Italian competition authority has already penalised in this sector. In full.
What does it cost?
Buying one: €350–2,500 up front, plus filters and servicing every year. Renting: €20–45 a month, almost always with a minimum term. On subscription with AcquaStream: €29.90 a month, nothing up front, €120 for installation once only and only if you stay after the 30-day trial. The sum over three years.
Is it worth it?
If you drink a lot or buy branded mineral water, the sum adds up. If you drink little and buy whatever is on offer, in euros it does not — what you gain is never carrying the crates again. When it is not worth it.
How to use this guide
The pages are grouped into chapters and can be read in any order. Each answers one question and points to the others where it helps.
- Still deciding whether to do it: start from *What it costs* and *How to choose*.
- Already decided and want to know what it involves: go to *The installation* and *How it works*.
- Want to understand your water first: open *The water you drink*.
- Comparing it with something else: *The comparisons*.
What it costs
The full sum: buying, renting, subscribing, and what you really spend in a year.
How to choose
Whether it is worth it, what the reviews say, and how to read a contract before you sign it.
The water you drink
Italian tap water, what is in it, why it tastes of chlorine and how to read an analysis.
The comparisons
Purifier versus filter jug, water softener, water-cooler bottles, bottled water and public water points.
- Tap water or bottled water?Tap water or bottled water: what they really cost a year, how each is regulated and how much they weigh. The comparison without scaremongering.
- Water purifier or cooler bottles?Water-cooler bottles or an under-sink purifier: what they cost a year, what they weigh, how much space they take, and the hygiene point nobody mentions.
- Water purifier or filter jug?Filter jug or reverse-osmosis purifier: what each actually does, what they cost a year, and the cases where a jug is enough.
- Water purifier or water softener: the differenceA purifier and a softener do two different jobs: one treats the water you drink, the other the limescale in the whole house. Which you need, and when you need both.
30 days of free water. You only pay if you stay.
We install the system without you paying a single euro up front. If it does not convince you, write to us by day 30: we come and collect it at our own expense, with no penalty.
If you stay, from day 31 it is €29,90 a month plus a one-off €120 installation fee. Cancel whenever you like. The terms
Would you rather talk it through? 347 769 2795.
Request received.
We will call you to check coverage and feasibility. No subscription has been started.
The questions that come up most often
Does a purifier change whether the water is drinkable?
Mains water in Italy is already drinkable and tested: a purifier does not make it drinkable. What it does is lower the dry residue, remove the chlorine and with it the taste of chlorine, and let you have sparkling water at home.
How much does a water purifier cost per month?
On subscription with AcquaStream the fee is €29.90 a month, with filters, servicing and support included and no minimum term. Rentals on the market are roughly between €20 and €45 a month, often with a 36–60 month commitment. If you buy, there is no monthly fee but filters and servicing remain yours, roughly €150–350 a year.
What is the difference between a purifier and a water softener?
A purifier treats only the water you drink and changes its taste and composition. A softener treats all the water in the home and works against limescale in the boiler, the washing machine and the shower. They are two tools for two different jobs, and where the water is hard you sometimes need both.
How much space is needed under the sink?
Roughly half a metre by half a metre of clear wall, with about ten centimetres of depth. The kitchen tap does not have to be replaced: the purified water comes out of a second, dedicated tap, which sometimes needs a hole.
How often is servicing needed?
Pre-filters and post-filters roughly every 6–12 months, the membrane every 2–4 years, sanitisation once a year. With a subscription service the dates are scheduled and included in the fee; if you buy the system they stay on you.