The standard interval

For most plumbed-in water coolers and filtered taps in a typical workplace, filters should be changed every six months. This is the interval recommended by most manufacturers and the schedule we work to for the majority of the systems we maintain. Some filters are rated for twelve months in lighter use, and some high-usage or hard-water sites need changes more often.

What affects how long a filter lasts

Three things determine the real-world life of a filter:

  • Usage volume. Filters are rated in litres as well as months. A cooler serving fifty people reaches its litre capacity far sooner than one serving ten.
  • Local water hardness. In hard-water areas, including much of the Midlands and the South East, scale builds up faster and filters work harder. Sites in these areas often benefit from scale-inhibiting filters and shorter change intervals.
  • Filter type. Carbon taste-and-odour filters, sediment filters and multi-stage cartridges each have different capacities. Your service schedule should reflect what is actually fitted.

Signs a filter is overdue

Filters degrade gradually, so problems creep in rather than announcing themselves. Watch for water that starts to taste or smell of chlorine again, a noticeable drop in flow rate, cloudiness that does not clear after a few seconds, or visible scale forming around the dispense point. Any of these suggests the filter is past its useful life.

Worth knowing: an exhausted carbon filter does not just stop improving the water. Because carbon traps organic material, a long-expired filter can become a breeding ground for bacteria, making the water worse than unfiltered mains.

Why scheduled servicing beats reminders

In theory, someone in the office diary-notes the filter change and it happens on time. In practice, it slips, because it is nobody's actual job. This is why every Vida Water system comes with scheduled servicing: our engineers arrive with the correct filters, replace them, sanitise the system and check everything over, without anyone on your team needing to remember.

Not sure when yours was last changed?

If you have inherited a system with no service history, treat the filter as overdue and have it replaced. It is a quick job and the safest starting point for a fresh servicing schedule.