WHEN TO CHANGE YOUR POOL CARTRIDGE FILTER

When To Change The Cartridge Filter Of Your Pool?

Filters are important for keeping your swimming pool clean and clear. This will ensure that your pool gets all the water it needs for proper circulation and make cleaning and maintaining your swimming pool much more manageable.

Proper maintenance is necessary even for the best filter systems. Ensuring that your pool heat pump is serviced is equally important. A pool is more than just swimming, and it's not just about swimming. It's about creating an environment that's safe for your whole family.

A fabric cylinder with (typically) blue plastic ends is the first thing you should make sure you have in your emergency kit. Pool cleaner keeps all of the dirt and hair from getting back into your pool water. And it’s one of the most essential parts of your pool filter system.

Cartridges usually don’t last very long, yet luckily, there are some brands that can give you more than a few years out of your product. Of course, you can just keep them going with a little routine cleaning here and there. But even the best ones need to be replaced after some time. The question is when it’s time to replace your pool cartridge filter.

Pool Cartridge Filter Lifespan

When To Replace Your Pool Cartridge Filter?

The quality of the cartridge, how often it’s cleaned, and how much you use your pool will determine the answer to this question. Yes, the average lifespan is approximately 2 years. That said, that does not mean that lifespan cannot be longer (or shorter). This leads to another question.

How do you know when your cartridge filter only needs to be cleaned?

Note: The larger the cartridge, the longer it’ll last. And the more debris it can clean before it needs to be cleaned. If you're going to use the best filter cartridges for your pool, you should go for the biggest filters that your pool will allow.

When To Clean Your Pool Cartridge Filter?

It's a good idea to clean your cartridges every two months. The first step in preventing a build-up is to do a visual inspection and make sure you see any dirt or debris. You don't have to get too fancy with it either. Just a simple rinse with the garden hose or filter flosser will do the trick.

But we need to revisit the lifespan question.

There are a few warning signs to look for when deciding when to replace your pool cartridge filter. If you notice a lot of these symptoms, then your cartridges might be on their way to failure.

If cleaning and replacing the cartridges still not doing the trick, it might be a time to contact a pool repair service and get your pool fixed.

Signs That You Need To Change Your Pool Cartridge Filter 

Pool's Water Pressure

Your pool’s filter system has a number of indicators you can check for when determining if there’s an issue with water flow. An example indicator would be to look for the pool’s pressure gauge to read 10 to 12 PSI higher than your clean reading.

First, check to make sure your skimmer and pump baskets are clean. If they are, then your cartridge may need replacing. When the cleaning cartridges have reached their capacity they no longer make a difference in pressure.

With normal use and normal cleaning methods, dirt and debris will embed themselves into the cartridge fiber over time.

This is when your filters begin to get much more difficult to clean and still look dirty after multiple cleanings.

Cleaning Cycles

When you replace your air filters, be sure to pay attention to how frequently you have to clean them. A sign that you need to have your filter replaced is how often you need to clean it. As your cartridge filters get older, they’ll probably only need to be cleaned out every 2 months or so. If you notice that you’re cleaning your pool cartridge filters out nearly every month (or more often), then you should start thinking about replacing them.

You should also pay attention to your PSI when you are cleaning your equipment. Note how long it takes your filter to reach its cleaning point, according to PSI. If the pressure is dropping at a rapid rate, the cartridges have probably stopped functioning correctly and need to be replaced.

Quality Of Water

The most obvious sign that your filter system is having trouble is your water.

It's a pool and your pool chemicals are meant to be a part of that, but you can't neglect what the water looks like. What about the color of the water? Is it crystal clear? Do you need to add chlorine to the pool?

The clear water in your swimming pool is just the beginning of what you need to do to keep it looking its best. The cartridges should be changed once they become cloudy or muddy.