I have a hot water dispenser for my kitchen sink that needs to be replaced (dispenses 200°F water on demand). The Insinkerator brand offers a water filter “system” for over $120. The system is just a cap with the hose fittings, and you screw the filter cartridge into the cap. Replacement filters are ~$50.
WTF? The filter will extend the life of the tank (I’ve gone through two of them). But it doesn’t seem like it should be so expensive.
Filters for my refrigerator are similarly expensive. It’s just a filter smaller than a can of tennis balls.
I think King Gillette invented the approach; sell the razors cheap but charge dearly for the proprietary replacement blades. If possible, switch to a whole-house water filter that uses generic filter cartridges.
We have a 15 year old Whirlpool refrigerator that insists we replace the water filter every six months…or maybe something terrible will happen? I don’t know. The filters have gone up in price over the years and now cost around $60. I have now spent more on those filters than the cost of the refrigerator itself.
I have a Kenmore fridge that is still chugging along, so I replace the filter whenever the light turns red. (I failed to do this once, and I’ve always blamed that for an ice plug that formed in one of the lines in the freezer.) I have given up on buying Kenmore-branded filters; the last few I bought leaked horribly. I’ve had decent luck with aftermarket filters on Amazon; don’t buy the cheapest thing, and read the reviews.
Well, in OP’s cae, it’s a water boiler, so not connecting the water line is not very helpful.
But a refrigerator filter is not needed if the fridge isn’t connected to a water line (or doesn’t have an icemaker and/or water dispenser to connect). But obviously, some people value having those amenities even if the filters add to the cost, and “just don’t do that” isn’t a very insightful contribution.
I have an older Brondell under-the-sink water filter that uses a single cartridge that costs about $50. My wife and I like it a lot, but the cartridges do begin to “slow down” after about 8 months. Due to some recent kitchen repairs, I figured we should just go ahead and replace the entire unit. We found that we could get a three-cartridge unit that should extend the life of the cartridges to more like two years. (It has two stages of pre-filter.) The cost of a set of three replacement cartridges is $75, even though one of the cartridges (the final one) is the exact same cartridge used in our previous single cartridge system. Go figure.
“Whole house” filters (string, paper, or activated charcoal) are much less expensive per unit and have much better flow capacity. They use larger, sturdier filter holders with less robust filter inserts. If I could fit a couple under my kitchen sink (string and then charcoal), I would probably go that direction instead.
Having a water filter that is completely sealed and has the special valve and seal so it can just insert and twist is obviously a major factor in the high cost of some filters.
When getting anything that has consumables like this, I make sure it’s a reputable brand that will likely be around in the future and preferably even has some off-brand part support (with no features that detect if you’re using the cheaper version). There are few reputable refrigerator brands today, Samsung is especially bad and saw the news this morning that a firmware update bricked their fridges.
Printers are often cheaper than the replacement cartridges, but note that buying a new printer is not an economic hack, they come with underfilled cartridges. Brother is the best brand especially for basic black and white laser jets. Epson EcoTank if you need color. I’ve used enough HPs at work to know better than to get one for personal use.
I have not investigated house water filters, fridge (POS Samsung that came with house and is limping along) just gets municipal water which is good enough, we have a Brita pitcher for regular consumption.
I have a fridge with similarly expensive filters. Instead of replacing the cartridges, I buy inline filters (linked below), that use “push to connect” fittings. If your ice/water line is plastic – as most newer ones are these days – it is super simple to turn off the supply, cut it in the middle somewhere and then push the supply end into this filter. Then turn the water on and flush 3 or 4 gallons into a 5-gallon bucket to get the loose carbon dust out (you can use this water to water your plants with, but it will not taste good if you drink it). Then turn the water off and hook the other end into the loose end of your water connection. It lasts for 10k gallons or a year (after a year, even if you didn’t use 10k gallons, the water starts to taste a little funny) and costs < $20. I write the date I installed it on the filter so I remember when to change it, and also put a reminder in my phone. I suspect you could do something very similar for your hot water dispenser. In fact, I have a similar unit I bought for my upstairs sink for $36 (replacement filter cartidges are < $20, this kit came with hoses).
HP is charging upwards of $400 for new toner on their color lasers. The one I have (Laserjet 451DN) will still take aftermarket toners, which is the only way I can afford to run it. The 3rd-party toners are around 1/10 the price of HP.
Well at some point it quits being effective at filtering because the activated charcoal is spent and has retained all the stuff it’s going to retain. But also my understanding is they could harbor bacteria or mold at that point since it also removes the chlorine which helps prevent that. I am a little light on facts there.
