Quick summary
- The guide date comes first, body filter about every 2 to 4 weeks and head filter about every 2 months.
- Change sooner if the filter looks dark or the water pressure drops noticeably.
- A leak straight after a change is a fitting check first, not a sign that a filter is due.
- Note the date, use My refills and reminders, or let the Refill Plan bring refills on a rhythm.
A shower filter rarely announces that it is finished. The water still runs, the shower still looks the same from across the room, and the weeks slip by. So the first sign that a filter is due is simply the calendar: the sediment body filter about every 2 to 4 weeks, the five-layer head filter about every 2 months.
Between those dates, two things tell you a filter is due sooner: it looks dark, or the water pressure drops noticeably. This guide is about reading those signs and keeping track. For the full schedule and how the two filters work together, start with How often should you change your shower filter?.
Why timing varies
The intervals are guides because no two showers run at the same pace. Timing varies with local water conditions and with how often the shower is used. Two flats in the same block can reach the guide date at different speeds, and the same shower can change pace when a guest stays for a fortnight or the household goes away for a week.
That is why the signs matter. The guide date tells you when to look. What you see tells you whether to change now or a little later within the range.
The two signs that count
The filter looks dark
When a filter looks dark or discoloured, it is time for a fresh one, even if the guide date has not arrived yet.
You do not have to open anything to keep an eye on the body filter. On both the Basic and Premium kits you can see the body filter through the handle, so a glance in the morning tells you how it is getting on. The head filter sits behind the spray plate, so you see it when you open the shower head to change it. If a head filter comes out darker than you expected at the 2-month mark, take that as a cue to look again a little sooner next time.
A good habit is to keep the spare in its box until the day you need it. Then you have a fresh filter to compare against when you are unsure.
The water pressure drops noticeably
The second sign is in your hand rather than in the handle. If the shower feels noticeably weaker than it did after the last change, with the mixer set the same way, a filter may be due. Compare with how it ran in the first days after a fresh filter went in, not with how it ran last night.
When the pressure drops, look at the body filter first. It has the shorter interval, so it is the one more likely to be due. If it also looks dark, change it.
What is not a sign
A leak straight after a change
If the shower head drips or leaks right after you change the head filter, check the fitting first. Check that it is the right way round, with the black side facing the water outlet and the white side facing up, and that its rubber ring has not shifted. Then twist the shower head closed until it is tight.
A filter that still looks light at the guide date
A light-coloured filter at the 4-week or 2-month mark does not mean it can stay in indefinitely. The colour is one sign among several. Keep roughly to the guide, and use what you see to move within the range rather than past it.
A quick check
| What you notice | What it usually means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| The guide date has arrived | The filter is due | Change it and note the date |
| The filter looks dark or discoloured | It is due, even if early | Change it now |
| Water pressure drops noticeably | A filter may be due | Check the body filter first, then the head filter |
| The head leaks right after a change | A fitting issue, not a due filter | Check the black side faces the outlet and the ring |
| You cannot remember the last change | The date is unknown | Change it and start a fresh record |
How to keep track
Note the date
The simplest record is the date you changed each filter. A note on your phone works. So does a pencil mark inside the bathroom cabinet.
Use My refills
With a SEASEE account, My refills lists your devices and when each filter is due. Press "I changed it today" after a swap, and the next due date moves on from there. You can also switch on "Email me when a filter is due" to get an email when a filter is due. Switching reminders on also subscribes you to SEASEE emails, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Let the Refill Plan bring the refills
Single refills can go on the Refill Plan instead, and its deliveries replace these emails; when the box arrives, treat it as your cue to look at the filter. Every refill is in the refill filters collection.
The signs in one line
Change on the guide date, sooner if the filter looks dark or the pressure drops noticeably, and treat a leak after a change as a fitting check. Write down the date each time, and let a reminder do the remembering.