Filter Changes and Maintenance
CF Plumbing maintains the filtration systems it installs for homes throughout La Jolla, Del Mar, Solana Beach, Encinitas, Cardiff-by-the-Sea, Carlsbad, and Rancho Santa Fe, as well as select areas of San Diego and Orange Counties.
The two systems are not maintained the same way. The under-sink reverse osmosis system is on a filter schedule. The whole-house system is not. It has no cartridge to change each year, and it does not backwash. Service on that equipment is determined by a water test, not by a calendar reminder.
Whole-house systems
The whole-house filter is typically expected to remain in service for thirteen years or longer. That figure depends on water use. It is not a date stamped on the tank.
CF Plumbing has been installing these systems for more than ten years, and some have now reached the point of service. The practical indicator is a water test, which is recommended after about ten years. The test shows how the water is reading and whether the media is still doing the work. That result, not the age of the tank alone, determines the next step.
When service is due, there are two options. The existing tank can be rebuilt. That requires a visit to disconnect it, a return to the shop to replace the media and the parts that deteriorate with age, including O-rings and gaskets, and a second visit to reinstall it. The media is the costly part of the filter, so the rebuild is real work and it takes two trips.
The other option is a new system, completed in one visit. The new filter is brought out, the old one is removed, and the old tank is taken for disposal. In many cases the cost is not far from a rebuild. Where the tank has lived outside and the housing is weathered, replacement is often the more sensible choice. Rebuilding the interior and leaving a worn exterior in service is not always worth doing.
Which option is right also depends on what is available at the time. A system installed today may not be the system that should be rebuilt in ten years. If the equipment has been superseded, replacement can be the better specification. Customers to date have chosen both. Some have rebuilt with new media. Others have replaced the system.
Reverse osmosis filters
The RO systems CF Plumbing installs are placed on a service calendar, and a courtesy reminder is sent when the filters are due. If flow, taste, or a drip shows up before that date, the system can be looked at sooner. The interval is an average, not a guarantee. It moves with water use.
On these systems, the standard filters are typically changed about every two years. The membrane is typically changed about every four years. The storage tank is typically changed about every six years, sometimes sooner and sometimes later. Many less expensive RO systems call for filter changes every six months or every year. The longer filter interval is one reason this equipment costs more to install and less to keep.
On a system CF Plumbing installed, the symptoms are consistent. Low flow usually indicates the filters or the bladder tank. A drip is often the filtered-water faucet rather than the membrane. Water that tastes off usually means the filters are due.
Systems not installed by CF Plumbing
CF Plumbing is selective about servicing other brands. Some can be identified and the filters changed. Others are more practical to replace. If the canisters and labels can be identified, a filter change is sometimes possible. With an older off-brand system, replacement is often the more practical recommendation, and we install a system we can stand behind.
A single carbon-block canister under the sink is not an RO system, and a filter change will not turn it into one. It is closer to a refrigerator filter. It can reduce chlorine taste. It does not provide the reduction of a membrane system.
Frequently asked questions
The same questions come up on almost every maintenance call. The short answers are below.
What does maintenance look like on the whole-house filter?
There is no yearly cartridge. The system is typically expected to last thirteen years or more, depending on water use. After about ten years, a water test shows whether the media is still performing. That test is the indicator for service.
If the whole-house filter needs service, do I have to replace it?
Not necessarily. The existing tank can be rebuilt with new media, O-rings, and gaskets. That takes two trips, because the tank comes back to the shop. A new system is often comparable in cost, takes one trip, and is the usual recommendation when the housing has been outside and is weathered. Both have been done.
How often do the RO filters need to be changed?
On the systems CF Plumbing installs, the standard filters are typically changed about every two years, the membrane about every four, and the storage tank about every six. Those are averages based on water use. A courtesy reminder is sent when service is due, and the system can be checked sooner if taste or flow changes.
The drinking water tastes off. Do I need a new system?
On a system CF Plumbing installed, off taste usually means the filters are due. Low flow points to the filters or the bladder tank. A drip is often the small faucet. Those are service items, not an automatic replacement.
Can you change filters on a system someone else installed?
Sometimes. If the equipment can be identified and the correct filters are available, a filter change may be possible. Some inexpensive systems are more practical to replace than to keep in service. Send photographs of the canisters and the labels. The recommendation is either a filter change or a replacement, based on what is already installed.
Is the single filter under my sink a reverse osmosis system?
Usually, no. One canister is a carbon block. It can improve chlorine taste. It is not RO water, and changing that cartridge does not make it one.
Related: Reverse osmosis, /reverse-osmosis-systems. Whole-house water filtration, /whole-house-water-filtration. Water filtration, /water-filtration-systems.