If you’re a coffee enthusiast with a Keurig coffee maker, then you know that despite its excellent brewing capabilities, other factors can still affect the quality of your beverage. One of these is an old charcoal water filter that’s full of dirt particles and debris.
Timely filter replacement is mandatory if you wish to continue enjoying fine-brewed Keurig coffee.
How often do i change Keurig filter?
Ideally, you should change your Keurig water filter after every 40 gallons of use, which is about 60 brew cycles. Assuming that you brew coffee at a high rate, then you should replace the water filter after every two months (60 days). If you’re a barista who brews multiple times per day, you may need to replace the filter even sooner than that as you’ll reach 40 gallons of use way faster.
Note: If you only use your coffee maker occasionally and can’t tell whether the charcoal water filter on your Keurig needs to be replaced, consider a change in the taste of your coffee as a strong pointer.
You can also use a simple calculation guide to determine when to replace the Keurig water filter. A single cup of coffee contains about 16 ounces of water on average. Thus, a gallon of coffee (1 gallon = 128 ounces) translates to 8 cups, while 40 gallons translates to 320 cups.
Finally, divide this number (320) by the number of coffee cups you brew per day. For instance, if you brew four cups each day, you should replace the filter after 80 days (2 and ½ months) as 320/4 = 80.
When to replace a Keurig charcoal filter?
It could be that you only use your coffee maker occasionally and can’t use the above calculation method since you don’t know how many cups you brew per day on average. If this is the case, pay close attention to the taste of your coffee. If the taste changes, it’s likely that the filter needs replacement.
To understand how a used-up Keurig water filter affects the taste of your coffee, let’s take a brief look at how this filter works. Your Keurig charcoal water filter removes dirt and debris from the tap water that you’re using to brew, resulting in high-quality water that gives the coffee a distinctive taste.
However, as the dirt and debris pile up and the filter fills up, it becomes less efficient at cleaning the water. The end result is coffee that tastes different from earlier brews due to the use of poorly-filtered water. This means that a replacement filter is needed.
Take note that some of the more recent Keurig coffee maker models feature a water filter reminder. If your brewer has this handy feature, there’s no need to go through the trouble of trying to determine the best time to change the charcoal filter.
How to replace a Keurig charcoal filter?
To correctly replace the charcoal filter on your Keurig coffee maker, follow the procedure detailed below:
- Soak up the replacement water filter in a cupful of water for about five minutes. This is called filter priming, and is done to get rid of residual charcoal on the filter.
- Meanwhile, as the new filter soaks, remove the old filter by releasing the filter holders. To do this, press on both sides of the filter clip before finally removing and discarding the old, debris-filled filter.
Note: the lower filter holder and upper filter holder form the filtration casing.
- With the old filter removed, rinse the already-soaked replacement filter. Also, clean up the lower filter holder since it has a mesh that tends to collect dirt and debris.
- Next, put the new Keurig charcoal water filter inside the filtration housing before snapping it in place using the filter clip.
- Now, tune the filter dial to the next filter replacement date. Note that newer Keurig models will even showcase the exact date that you replaced the filter and the next replacement date.
- Finally, press and lock the filter holder back into position inside the coffee maker’s water reservoir.
What happens if you don’t change the filter?
An overused charcoal filter does more than simply downgrade the taste of your Keurig-brewed coffee. Tap water usually contains chlorine residues that can corrode the internal components of your coffee brewing machine. A charcoal water filter removes such chlorine residue.
However, an overused filter doesn’t efficiently get rid of chlorine residue. Thus, if you don’t change the filter when it’s necessary, you may end up with a coffee maker that’s faulty due to corrosion. Coffee maker machine repair costs can be high, depending on the damaged part. Thus, the best approach is to replace the filter on time and avoid unnecessary expenses.
References
- Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Free Chlorine Testing
- Berkey Water Purifiers: User Instructions
