How often do I need to change cartridges in water filters and how does this happen

Even in apartment buildings, it is advisable to clean the tap water. To do this, use either compact pitcher jigs or full flow systems. For high-quality full-fledged cleaning, timely replacement of the cartridge in the water filter is required.

How often do I need to change tapes

The frequency of filter replacement depends on the intensity of water use.

Replacement of cleaning cartridges in filter systems is carried out in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations for each type of installation. They are regulated by the amount of water consumed over a period of time. To understand how often you need to change filters for water treatment, you should familiarize yourself with the general recommendations:

• Classic jug cartridges are changed once a month (for a family of 3-4 people) and once every two months (for 2 people in a house).
• When using a flow reverse osmosis system, it is necessary to change the filter elements at least once every six months. It is important to consider that even with low-intensity operation of the water supply system, passive pollution of sorption bookmarks occurs. This is also facilitated by room temperature. If the room is always very warm, organics can settle in the cartridges. With regular replacement of sorption bookmarks, the membrane of the filter system works for a long time and without failures.
• In a multi-stage cleaning system, there are several separate flasks. Each of them performs its filtering function. The most important is a polypropylene cartridge for rough mechanical cleaning of liquids from suspensions. It is advisable to change it every 2-3 months. For cassettes of the 2nd and 3rd stages of filtering (iron removers, softeners) a change is shown once every 3-5 months.
• Membrane elements can be changed every 1-2 years.
• It is advisable to install new mineralizers that saturate water every 6-8 months.

Sometimes it is permissible to deviate from the recommended rules and shorten the installation time for new sorption and other cleaning elements.

Signs of a need to replace a cartridge

If the filters are dirty, the water pressure decreases

There are several important signs by which an ordinary user can understand that it is time to update the filter elements of the system.

• The water pressure in the tap has become much less. This also applies to flow systems and nozzles. A decrease in the volume of the supplied liquid indicates a dense clogging of the cleaning substances / elements.
• Unpleasant or unusual taste of water. If the owner of the apartment has been using purified liquid for a long time, he knows his taste attributes well and will notice the slightest changes. If the water again takes on the shades of the main water supply, it is time to change the treatment elements of the installation.
• The changed color of the resource supplied to the crane. This is especially true for borehole or well water, which is deferred or otherwise mechanically filtered. If the liquid has again acquired a characteristic shade of yellowness, turbidity, it is time to change the cartridge.
• The appearance of a whitish film on the surface of hot drinks or the formation of scale in the dishes. These signs indicate increased mineralization of the resource. It's time to take care of updating the filter installation.

The importance of timely change of treatment elements is due to the following:

• The more water passes through one cassette, the worse it performs its functions. Particles of filtered impurities clog the pores of the sorption bookmarks, membranes. Over time, the water will either push them into the common system, or simply cannot pass through the clogged barrier.The user will receive the most dirty liquid or not see it at all.
• Continuous use of one cleaning element without replacement can eventually lead to the breakdown of an expensive system (rupture of the membrane). Have to buy and install a new complex.

To replace the cartridges in reverse osmosis plants, it is better to invite specialists who installed filters.

The process of installing a new cartridge yourself

Replace the cartridge in the pitcher filter easily with your own hands. They act in the following order:

• The new packaging is opened. Try not to shake the new cartridge.
• Unscrew the old cassette counterclockwise.
• The new element is washed with running water, holding it vertically.
• Screw the cartridge clockwise until it stops.
• The receiving compartment of the jug is filled with tap water and allowed to pass through the cassette completely. The purified liquid is drained into the sink. It is necessary to carry out 3-4 such preliminary cleanings so that dust and air residues are washed out of the carbon layers of the filter.

In a flow system installed on the apartment highway under the sink, the replacement of the cleaning element is performed as follows:

• Limit fluid flow to the unit. You can shut off the water completely to the apartment.
• You need to open the water tap in the kitchen to reduce the pressure in the system. So the filter is removed easier.
• The next step is unscrewing the flask. This is done with a special key, which initially should be included with the installation.
• The old filter is carefully removed from the flask. At the same time, it is important to substitute a container under it so that the remaining water drains there.
• The empty flask is washed with running or purified water.
• It is important to check the integrity of all rubberized elements. They are also recommended to be washed and installed in the reverse order.
• Insert a new cartridge into a clean flask and fill it with prepared water. This is done so that the oxygen bubbles in the liquid and cartridge cannot damage the membrane.
• It remains to tighten the flask in place with the key until it stops.

At this stage, you can open the water supply to the taps and monitor the cleaning process. It is important that there are no leaks between the bulb and the filter head.

What to do with the used filter

Used replacement cartridges are recycled

Spent cartridges, enclosed in polymer casings, it is advisable not to simply throw it in the trash. At a minimum, it pollutes the environment with slowly decaying plastic. The situation is worsened by all the pollution in the flask. It is advisable to return the cartridges to special collection points. For example, stores specializing in the sale of treatment plants accept for disposal:

• cartridges from jugs Aquaphor or Barrier;
• waste filters for washing OSMO-Crystal, Aquaphor, etc.

These elements use recycled plastic labeled PP Moplen HP500N. In special plants, any other household items will be made of it. Handing over such cartridges for recycling, the consumer saves the planet from global pollution.

To send the spent elements into the hands of professionals, you need to do the following:

• Verify that the polymer or cartridge packaging is labeled with PP Moplen HP500N.
• Find the Akvafor company store nearest to the house and pass a filter there.

For responsible users, the store offers a 10-15% discount on the available price for the purchase of the next new module.