Filter Replacement
Cartridges swapped, housings cleaned, O-rings inspected and greased. The single most common fix for pressure, taste, and clarity complaints.
The short answer
Sediment and carbon cartridges on a rainwater system are typically changed about every six months. Heavy tree cover, a turbid spell after hard rain, or an undersized first flush will shorten that. The usual sign is house pressure fading gradually over weeks rather than dropping suddenly.
Micron rating matters as much as interval. A cartridge that's too fine loads up in weeks and strangles house pressure; too coarse and it passes sediment through to the UV, where it shadows the lamp and cuts the effective dose.
Before you call
Two minutes of looking can tell you whether this is a cartridge swap or something further upstream.
If you can't remember, that's the answer. Write the date on the housing in marker after every change — it's the single most useful habit on a rainwater system.
Cloudy water plus fading pressure points squarely at a loaded sediment stage. Cloudy water with normal pressure points further upstream, at the tank or the diverter.
A turbidity spike loads cartridges fast. That's usually a first-flush sizing issue rather than a filter issue, and swapping cartridges alone won't stop it recurring.
How we diagnose it
What the water is doing usually tells us which stage has loaded up.
| What you're seeing | Usual cause | What it takes to fix |
|---|---|---|
| Pressure fading over weeks | Loaded sediment cartridge | Cartridge swap. The routine case. |
| Cloudy water or visible grit | Sediment stage bypassed or failed | Check housing seal and O-ring, replace cartridge. |
| Taste or odor returning | Carbon exhausted | Carbon cartridge replacement. Carbon fails before it looks spent. |
| Cartridges loading within weeks | Micron rating too fine, or first flush undersized | Re-spec the stage, then look upstream at the diverter. |
| Water weeping at the housing | Dried or pinched O-ring | Clean the groove, grease and reseat, replace if cracked. |
| Turbidity spikes after storms | First flush not diverting enough | Filters now, diverter sizing afterward so it stops recurring. |
The visit
Upstream and downstream readings show exactly how much restriction each stage is adding, which tells us whether the cartridge is genuinely spent.
Sediment settles in the sump and defeats a new cartridge within weeks if it isn't cleaned out. Housings get washed, not just emptied.
Dried O-rings are the most common cause of a weeping housing after a filter change. They get cleaned, greased, and replaced when cracked.
Correct micron rating for your water, installed and dated so the next interval is obvious to anyone who looks.
Equipment
We stock the common cartridge sizes and service any standard housing. If yours is an unusual size, tell us the dimensions when you book.
Related
FAQ
Sediment and carbon cartridges are typically changed about every six months, though heavy tree cover or a turbid spell after hard rain will shorten that. Pressure fading gradually over weeks is the usual sign a cartridge has loaded up.
A standalone service visit is billed as a trip charge plus parts and labor. Annual plan customers pay a flat yearly rate with consumables included, which works out lower than paying per visit if you need service more than twice a year.
Usually yes, at least for part of it. Filter housings and UV units are almost always mounted inside a utility room or garage, so we need interior access. Tank, gutter, and first-flush work can be done without you there.
Yes. We service rainwater systems regardless of age, brand, or who built them — concrete cisterns, poly tanks, twenty-year-old fiberglass, all of it. If the original installer is out of business or unresponsive, that is the most common reason people call us.
