Here's How Often You Should Replace Your Fridge's Water Filter

Keeping your home in tip-top shape often requires giving a bit of maintenance to more than one or two household appliances, and unfortunately, some of those appliances might often get completely overlooked. Let's face it, if there isn't a flashing red light or an annoying noise telling us something needs to be replaced, it's easy to forget all about the things that need some TLC. One of those important appliances that we might fail to notice is in fact one of the largest appliances in our kitchen — the refrigerator. 

While we're not attempting to replace the fridge in its entirety, it is absolutely crucial to have an important component of it replaced, and often. If your fridge uses a water filter, you might want to think about when you last replaced this vital piece as this can lead to a few problems down the road, such as poor tasting drinking water, an awful smell, and a clogged filter, which can cause mechanical issues for your fridge, according to Dependable Repair Services. When in doubt, change it out — here's how often you should replace your fridge's filter.

Although some filtration systems are known to last up to a year, according to Martha Stewart, they can easily be pushed aside and left for years without replacement. Depending on your filter's expiration date, which can range from needing to be replaced as often as six months to twice a year (via Martha Stewart) this can largely depend on how frequently the fridge's water filtration system is used in your household.

For instance, if you live in a home that's constantly depending on the fridge for drinking water and ice, you might want to look into replacing the water filter a lot sooner than the recommended time frame, per Sloan Appliance Service. While it's no lie that filters don't come cheap, and can cost as much as $60, according to Consumer Reports, it's not worth skimping on a new filter, as a high-quality water filter can make all the difference, especially when it comes to keeping your water clean of contaminants.