How To Fix A Leaking Whole House Water Filter In 7 Easy Steps?

A whole house water filter is an essential appliance almost everyone has in their homes. It provides water that is free from impurities like sand, mud dirt, or other sediments of a specific size (e.g., 5micron, etc.) The primary purpose of having this appliance is to ensure that water quality is good, and the water can be used for drinking, cleaning, washing, and other purposes.

The house water filters are great appliances, but every device malfunctions after some time. Take it as a typical problem everyone has in their homes. If you have already noticed that the product parts have expired, so must have got an idea to replace them with a new one; but if there is some minor defect, like leakage(the most common), then you don’t need to call a plumber because you can also do it on your own.

Leakage is a common issue in these filters, and it can happen for several reasons. For example, it can be due to regular wear and tear, faulty o-ring, a crack in the fitting, etc.

If you face this problem, one thing that will always come to your mind is to simply call a plumber who can do this job within seconds. But there is a whole lot of issues. Firstly, many of them will not answer the phone. Secondly, they will promise to come and visit the house at a particular date or time, but they will never be consistent. Thirdly, you will have to call them repeatedly, which will make you angry and frustrated.

But do you know that fixing the leakage issue does not require any kind of specific skills or qualifications? Even you can simply solve this issue, with a minimum effort, and even without proper parts knowledge.

It’s not even hard to understand an essential day-to-day fundamental part of living. So to protect yourself from this hectic procedure of depending on someone else, it’s better to learn how to do it. It will help you now, but it will also help you whenever you face this issue in the future.

7 Easy Steps To Fix A Whole House Water Filter System

Learning how to fix the issue can help you with money, and also it will save a considerable amount of time.

Follow the below-mentioned steps in this article, and eventually, you will learn the process in a very simple and effective way.

Step 1: Find Out The Area/Location

A leaking whole-house filtration system could be a real pain, but don’t worry. We will lead you through the process step by step.

Firstly, you need to identify what is the actual problem, or from where the leak is occurring. If you have a manual, observe the details of the filter (in the book) very carefully and match them with the parts that your water filter has. If you have gone through the manual before buying the product, it will make your job much easier.

At this point, you can also check the most common areas where you believe the leak would occur as compared to the other parts of the filter. This will save you time and energy because the probability of leaking at weak origins is always more, and luckily if you find one, your job has become much more manageable.

• If you can see the visible fissure from where the water is pouring/leaking, your job is already half done. Locating the leakage location is the most crucial task, as you cannot start to solve the problem if you don’t even know the area.
• If the leading cause is breakage (not a tiny hole or visible fissure), replace the filter with a new one because now it’s of no use. The breakage can also be an indication of product expiration. Keep in mind that you need to change the parts after their end-life, as not replacing them can result in more significant problems.
• If you see a mild crack, though you believe it will not break, then it’s better to replace it with a new one. This indicates that the product has lost its strength to hold the water pressure. Don’t increase your workload for upcoming days, as there is a high probability that it can result in further damage to other parts.
• If the water appears to be leaking through threads or from an unknown source, you should look into it. The thread may be broken. There’s also a chance that one of the O-rings in the filter is damaged.

If still, you are not able to locate the reason and you can also check the below-listed factors:

• Pipes and Fittings: Leaks can start through your whole filter system’s pipes and fittings, particularly at a continuously changing temperature.
• Filter Cartridge: Clean filters allow water to flow freely. On the other hand, a blocked cartridge can put too much pressure on the filter housing, causing it to shatter, break or leak.
• Filter Housing: It is also known as a filter sump and is usually built of rigid, impact-resistant plastic. The filter can lose or leak due to a combination of hydraulic pressure and vibrations.
• Gaskets and O-Rings: These are the protective gaskets controlling the pressure and bypass valves. But, they can deteriorate with time, mainly when composed of rubber or synthetic fibers. The rings are needed to be cleaned, replaced, or relubricated with an FDA-approved silicone coating.

Now, we hope that you have found the leakage reason. If yes, then move to another step, and if you haven’t found any, keep looking. You can even try to find it by continuously allowing the flow of water and stopping the water supply.

Step 2: Collecting The Material

While you are working on fixing your whole house water filter, it’s essential to collect all the materials that you need before starting the work. Continuously getting up from your place to find equipment will result in a lack of concentration, eventually leading to an increase in committing mistakes and confusion.

Collecting all the equipment and placing them in a single place will help you focus on improving rather than remembering where you kept the tool last time or figuring out what equipment is required for the next step.

So First, we will look into the materials you must have to fix your Whole House Water Filter leakage.

• The availability of a manual: This will help you to understand what part of the whole house water filter needs to get checked or is not working correctly. This will help a lot while dealing with the different parts of the water filter.
• Access to the whole house water filter: You shall have all the knowledge of your house’s faucets and water sources.
• Availability of torch or flashlight: A ubiquitous but valuable object is a flashlight. This will simply help you if you do not have a good vision while seeing the inside parts of the water filter.
• Screwdriver or a housing wrench: This equipment will help you to disassemble the water filter parts.
• Cleaning equipment: If the water filter is filled with dust, you just need a cleaning solution and a soft cloth to clean it.

Step 3: Turning Off The Water Supply

We hope that the leakage in your whole home water filter isn’t too severe yet. However, you can do a few things to detect the problem and prevent it from happening again in the future, but we will discuss them further in this article.

Now we will move step by step and follow the instruction very carefully.

• After locating the leaking spot, turn off the water supply so that water flow doesn’t create a problem.
• Look for the valve located nearly 5 to 6 feet from the central passage or main water supply region. Turn off this valve by using its handle. This will disconnect the water supply in your home.
• After turning off the valve for the water supply, open all the faucets in the house.
• Now, wait for a few minutes to drain the remaining air and water from the plumbing system.

Pro Tip

For easy work, try to open the tap set of the ground floor (instead of the top floor) because it’s the ending point of all the water supply. Remember that you need to place a container or a bucket for drained water and avoid wasting it.

Step 4: Opening Up The Whole House Water Filter

Now you are all set to move to a further step, but this is the main task, as you will disassemble the water filter parts. So, be very careful and observe everything as, because after this step, you will also have to assemble the pieces.

With the help of a screwdriver and wrench, try to remove a filter housing. You can also match the parts by using the manual/guide. Use the flashlight if you cannot see the details clearly or the internal parts are not clearly visible to you. Be careful and avoid simply stripping off the screws and bolts in the filter without even thinking, because you need to assemble them after some time.

If you feel a lot of dust in the water filter, take a cloth and try to remove it. After cleaning, leave the filter to air dry for a few minutes. You can even use a mild soap, water, or soft brush with a losing hand after dusting. Avoid scratching harshly as it can create other problems in the filter.

After a few minutes, check appropriately whether you have removed all the dust and blemishes or not.

Now properly check the filters to find any clog or jammed issues because the majority of the time, your problem can be solved in this step itself. Due to these clocked or jammed issues, the flowing water doesn’t get any path to flow in forwarding direction, due to which sometimes it gets cracked because of water pressure or starts leaking.

Also, check for any filter cartridge which has crossed its service life. Try to replace them with a new one but if you don’t have a new one, then make a note of it, and buy it afterward as this can also create a problem in the future.

Ensure that the cartridge doesn’t tilt or is away from the center. It should adequately sit at the center and not damage the filter top. Be very careful because if it hurts the top of the filter, there will be leakage from the top after a certain period.

Step 5: Inspecting The Rubber O-Ring

These O-rings are tiny and dispensable, but they have a vital role in the plumbing unit. These rings are responsible for creating a seal where the housing sump comes in contact with the housing cap.

These rings should constantly be lubricated with FDA-approved silicone grease. And it should be FDA approved because the water moving through these rings will be used in the kitchen also. So, check properly before using any lubricant.

If you find this ring dirty, replace it with a new one or clean it up. Correctly check if these rings are properly seated or not. If you think that there is no problem, simply lubricate it with the help of silicone.

Avoid using any other lubricant like petroleum jelly because this can create swelling in the rubber rings (a significant component of these rings), resulting in various issues in the future with the water filter.

The interiors and exteriors of the water filter might crack sometime due to overpressure. In this case, you must change the water filter to a new one.

Now, check for the threads, as the over-tightening of these threads can cause cuts in the filter. The plumber’s tape (thread seal tape) is readily available in the market. This flexible white tape is generally used to seal the pipe threads, ensuring a tight seal.

While assembling the parts, avoid under-tightening or over-tightening; this can also lead to leakages in the future. Properly use the strap wrench or housing wrench.

Step 6: Checking For Leakages

If you are sure that you have done the task and are ready to check for the final result, then turn on the water supply.

Be very careful, don’t release the water into full force; this can result in a bigger mess.

Slightly open the valve and carefully check for any leakages. If you didn’t notice any leakage, slightly increase the pressure by extending the valve further.

Check again for any leakage, and if you didn’t find anything, gradually increase the pressure and provide the entire force.

If there is still no leakage, congratulations on accomplishing the task and learning something new!

Step 7: Preventing The Future Leaks

Once you have fixed the whole house water filter, it’s time to ensure and protect your appliance from future risks.

While fixing your whole house water filter, you must have observed several things and be aware of what not to do and what to do to take good care of the water filter. Several steps or factors can help you to prevent future leaks. A few of them are listed down below:

1. Clean The Appliance

You must always have a proper timeline to check for cleanliness around the device and its body parts. This doesn’t take much time and does not require any fancy or pricey equipment. Just a routine checkup on cleanliness can help in the proper functioning of the appliance.

2. Filter Replacements

Every product has its lifetime, and after a time, it becomes useless. In the same way, the filters work fine for a certain period and need to be replaced by the new one. You just need to keep in mind the date of installing it and when you need to replace it. The majority of the filters have about 1 to 6 months. But if you don’t want to return it within such a short duration, you can use carbon filters that have about 14 to 15 months life-span.

3. O-Rings

As mentioned earlier, they play a significant role in providing an uninterrupted clean water supply. It is essential to lubricate them with silicone so that they don’t become hard or break due to high water pressure. Keep in mind that the lubricant has a vital role, and you cannot use any available lubricant like oil or petroleum jelly.

FAQ’s

With these FAQs, you will come to know more about how to fix a leaking whole house water filter that may not have been covered above. 

Conclusion

Whole-house water filters are specialized water filtration systems that purify the waters from all homes’ faucets. Such systems are put within the primary water source, enabling clean water to be dispensed from every faucet present at home. It’s simple, and it’s essential to change a whole-house water filter after a certain time because it lowers the risk of water-borne illnesses in the household.

Any fault in these filters could cause leaks all around the house and lead to unsafe water flow. Regularly examining the filter to verify that it is clear of cracks or holes is critical. Contaminants can begin to seep through into the recesses of a broken filtration system, resulting in leaks.

If the destruction has progressed too far, a puddle will form around your home’s filtration system, and you’ll have to replace it with the new one. Poor quality water can pose health risks, which can be prevented by implementing these simple, low-cost, and efficient water filter methods.

If you’re even unsure how to perform this simple task, then you can hire an expert. You can also call a professional if you do not wish to replace the cartridge alone.