When you need to replace your water filter cartridge regularly to ensure safe drinking water

To ensure a continuous stream of excellent quality water from your household taps, it’s extremely important to keep on top of when to replace water filter cartridges.

When you initially made the decision to invest in a water filter there was a reason behind it. You wanted to remove or reduce certain contaminants or treat pesky limescale. Part of that promise you made to yourself to have access to clean excellent quality water was to know when to change the water filter cartridge and carry out proper maintenance of your system.

Changing water filter cartridges isn’t an onerous or necessarily expensive task. You only need to think about it once or twice a year and we even remind you when to replace water filter cartridges. It can’t get easier than that!

Before we get into the simple process of when to change water filter cartridges let’s clarify the terms we’re going to use throughout this article.

• Water filter – refers to the whole unit including the housing, components, and fittings.
• Water filter cartridge/s – refers to the cartridge or media that gets inserted into the housing. This is the part that requires changing to ensure that your water filter operates efficiently and effectively.

We often have some very funny conversations with people who get confused between the two. Can you imagine the cost, not to mention the waste, if you changed the water filter all the time!

Now that we’ve cleared that up, let’s move on.

Signs to look out for of when to change the water filter cartridge

‘How do I know when my water filter needs replacing?’ This is a question we get asked multiple times. And yes, we know they mean water filter cartridge!

There are some very clear signs to look out for that will tell you when you need to change your water filter cartridge. Ignoring these common signs will mean that your water filter won’t be effectively filtering your water the way you want it to.

Water flow rate drops

Invisible microscopic particles block water filter cartridges up over time and this impacts on the flow rate that you get coming out of your taps. It is much harder for water to pass through a clogged up cartridge. It would be like you trying to swim through treacle.

This is one of the tell-tale signs of when you need to replace your water filter cartridge. Your water will go from having a good flow rate to a poor flow rate and it will probably annoy you intensely. It will annoy you so much that you’ll be prompted to buy a new water filter cartridge.

The taste and smell of your water changes

A clear indication that your water is reverting to tasting and smelling like it did before you installed your water filter. It’s amazing what you get used to and when the taste and smell change you notice it immediately. This is a clear indication that you need to change the water filter cartridge of your system.

Your water looks different

Is your water discoloured, or is there sediment present? If so, you need to replace your water filter cartridge. Or perhaps you’re noticing that there is scale building up again around the ends of your household taps, in the bottom of your kettle, floating on your cup of tea, or scaly deposits on your shower screen door.

Water filter system requirements

You can often eek a few extra weeks out of water filter cartridges with one exception.

The exception is UV water filter systems. UV lamps must be replaced every 12 months to ensure that your water is effectively disinfected and remains free from harmful contaminants. The control panel or ballast on the UV will start alarming and this is how to tell when the water filter needs replacing. You’ll normally have a pre-filter before the UV unit and the pleated sediment water filter cartridges in these will also need to be changed to ensure the UV system works at its best.

What happens if you don't replace water filter cartridges?

If you choose not to properly maintain your water filter, then you leave yourself and your family wide open to drinking all the contaminants that you initially wanted to remove.

Over time the water filter cartridges will cease to work effectively as they’ll be too much of a build-up of impurities and contaminants. To be blunt, your water filter won’t be doing anything useful, and you’ll notice the deterioration in your household water.

Being aware of when to change your water filter cartridge is key to you getting the best out of your system and enjoying clean, fresh filtered water each day.

Remember, what we said earlier. Replacing a water filter cartridge is not an onerous or necessarily expensive task. You only need to think about it once or twice a year and we even remind you when to replace water filter cartridges. There, we’ve said it again!

When to replace the water filter cartridge

Most of the information you’ll come across will tell you that you should replace your water filter cartridge every 6-12 months. It’s important to remember that this is a guideline and that you should always bear in mind the signs we’ve talked about above when it comes to changing your water filter cartridge.

We think it’s worth getting into the habit of changing water filter cartridges a minimum of every 12 months.

But it all depends on the type of water filter cartridge you have. Let’s highlight a few different types of cartridge.

Carbon block

We recommend replacing a carbon block based cartridge, such as our 2.5 x 10'' replacement cartridge, our 4.5 x 10'' carbon block water filter cartridge, or the 4.5 x 20'' carbon block cartridge a minimum of every 12 months to minimise the risk of possible bacteria colonies forming on the cartridge.

Another carbon block based cartridge is the Doulton ultracarb range of water filter cartridges. These ceramic cartridges are impregnated with silver which does reduce bacteria colonies, but as they are carbon block, the manufacturer says they should be changed every 6 months.

UV lamps

We’ve already touched on this above, but UV lamps must be replaced every 12 months to ensure that your water is effectively disinfected and remains free from harmful contaminants. The control panel or ballast on the UV will start alarming and this is how to tell when the water filter needs replacing. You’ll normally have a pre-filter before the UV unit and the pleated sediment water filter cartridges in these will also need to be changed to ensure the UV system works at its best.

A lot of manufacturers will state that you must change your cartridges every 6 months, but we feel it’s somewhere between 6 and 12 months. You are the best judge as you’re drinking the water that you’re filtering and using the information that we’ve shared so far, you’ll know when it’s time. Just try not to go past 12 months.

The size of cartridge is also a determining factor. The larger cartridges such as the 2.5 x 10” Pearl H water filter cartridge will last twice as long as a smaller inline water filter cartridge because they’ve got a larger surface area and a greater volume of media.

Where can I find the right cartridge for my water filter?

It can be a bit daunting, trying to find the correct cartridge to go into your water filter. We hear from many people who didn’t buy their original water filter from us and have gone back to the company they bought it from, or the plumber they bought it through and just like a puff of smoke those companies or people disappear, can’t be contacted, or won’t return calls or emails.

That leaves people in a right pickle and in need of a bit of help.

We also have people who have moved into a property that has an existing water filter and haven’t a clue where to start because the previous owner has left no clue as to what the water filter is supposed to be filtering out or where to buy replacement water filter cartridges.

If you were fortunate enough to deal with us from the start, we make the whole ‘when to replace water filter cartridges’ scenario as simple as it can be. We send you a 6 monthly reminder email with links directly to the products that you need to ensure your water filter remains operating efficiently and effectively. This email doesn’t mean you HAVE to buy replacements, it just jogs your memory to think about when to change the water filter cartridge.

Our customers find this email incredibly useful, and it takes the guess work out of them trying to remember what they have.

If at any point you want to re-purpose your existing water filter you can. Because of the versatility of our water filters, you can change your mind about what you want to filter out of your water. For example, you may start off just wanting to remove chlorine and chemicals but then feel that fluoride is becoming a concern to you.

Changing your mind is never a problem for us. It’s about what you want to change about your water, not what we think we can sell you.   

How to replace a water filter cartridge

Changing a water filter cartridge should never be difficult and there is really no need to call a plumber to do it for you unless you have difficulty with mobility or strength in your hands.

We covered how to easily change your water filter cartridge in a blog post so take a look at it and don’t become nervous about giving it a go. Water filters are sturdy pieces of kit and not easy to break.

O-rings

It’s important here to talk about o-rings. This is the little rubber seal that sits at the top of the housing. The profile of the o-ring changes over time and can become flattened because of prolonged time under compression. If they become too out of shape it may be more difficult to get a good seal between the housing bowl and the housing cap. This is when you’ll get leaks. People then become tempted to tighten the housing bowl excessively to try and get it to seal. And then when it comes to replacing the water filter cartridge they can’t unscrew the housing.

So, to save the headaches for the sake of a few quid we recommend that you replace the o-rings every two to three years just to be on the safe side.

Don’t forget to recycle your water filter cartridges

Recycling is always at the forefront of people’s minds and when it comes to water filter cartridges, if you can recycle them, we encourage you to do this. This was a topic we recently covered in a blog post called ‘How to recycle water filter cartridges correctly’. It’s a good read with lots of valuable information on how you can contribute to reducing your carbon footprint.

A reminder of the service we offer at Fountain Filters

If you need help on any aspect of water filtration or when to replace your water filter cartridge in your existing water filter, then we are here to help you.

We offer free UK delivery on all water filter cartridges.

Your items will be sent by either a Royal Mail tracked service or Parcelforce.

We have trusted and long lasting relationships with our suppliers and have done since we started in 2011.

You can be assured that if anything goes wrong, we are be contacted either by calling 01352838281or sending us a message on our helpdesk. 

FAQ

How to replace a water filter cartridge?

Replacing a water filter cartridge is easy. It's a task you can do yourself unless you have mobility or strength limitations. Turn off the water supply, open the tap to release pressure, unscrew the bowl from the cap, empty any water and remove the old cartridge, rinse and wipe the bowl, check the o-ring, unwrap the new cartridge and drop into the bowl, screw the bowl back onto the cap, turn the water back on and allow the system to refill, close the tap, check for leaks, open the tap, run the water for 5-10 minutes.

Where can I recycle water filters near me?

Determine where you can recycle water filters near you by finding out what your local council's recycling guidelines are. Please do not wish-cycle by throwing water filter cartridges into your kerbside recycling bin and hoping for the best.

How long do water filter cartridges last?

The life of a water filter cartridge is determined by how much water runs through it. This is normally 6-12 months. Fountain Filters recommends changing water filter cartridge a minimum of every 12 months to minimise the risk of bacteria building up on the cartridge.