How long does a water filter last?

Canadian Rainbirds wrote:

Filters should not be stored wet or damp. Especially carbon filters. They trap the contaminates in tiny pores in the charcoal. Left damp these can become breeding grounds for bacteria.

Carbon filters typically have KDF or silver in them which is designed to kill bacteria on the exterior of the filter cartridge, not inside it. KDF or silver won't kill 100 percent of biological contaminants and it takes only one single bacterial cell sitting inside a filter or water lines to multiply. Some think the KDF or silver will prevent bacteria and organisms from getting through, but not so.

High temps. in the summer are not good for filters. Some filters are breeding grounds for bacteria like paper element sediment cartdridges.

Not sure what the recommended practice is for RV-ers that go camping 1,2 or 3 weeks apart and have filters. Taking them out after each trip out to dry or put in the fridge can be a pain. We have 3 x 10" filter cartridges inside and taking them out is a nuisance. One of these days I'm to take a water sample into a lab to see how our filter setup is doing in the summertime.

That Camco filter above has a micron rating of 100 as shown here.. The screen strainer on a city water inlet has a #50 mesh sieve size that is equivalent to approx. 300 microns. They do make inline filters with a much smaller micron rating. At 100 microns it isn't doing much but will last longer. Our sediment filter is 5 microns. Also, that Camco filter isn't NSF certified and isn't complying with any standards (other than lead content) and you won't know how it really performs.