Picture your usual week. The big shop, the school runs, the washing that never ends. And somewhere in there, the water run. The trip down the bottled water aisle, the heavy multipacks into the trolley, the lugging from car to kitchen, and the boot slowly filling up with empty plastic again. Then comes the other half of the job that nobody mentions: bagging up all those empties, hauling them back to the shop, and standing in the queue at the return machine, feeding bottles in one by one to claim back a few cent of deposit. It is one of those little chores that quietly eats your time and your money, and most of us just accept it.
It does not have to be that way. So let us talk about water filters for your drinking water, how much looking after they really need, and why the right one can take that whole chore off your plate for good.
The two worries homeowners always have
When people think about fitting a water filter for home, two questions come up every time. How much hassle is the filter maintenance, and how long will it actually last? Both worries are fair, and both have reassuringly simple answers once you see how a modern water filter works.
Filter maintenance. A good water filter is not a needy thing. With our ArkkZ system, the filters use a twist and pull design and are changed once a year, so you can swap one yourself in seconds, no tools and no plumber needed. Across a whole year, keeping it serviced takes barely a minute. The system even sends you a reminder when a change is due, and we email you too, so you never have to keep track of dates yourself.
Lifespan. The filters are built to go the distance. The pre filter is usually changed about once a year, and the reverse osmosis membrane can last up to two years. With that light bit of upkeep, your water filter keeps delivering pure water day after day, quietly, in the background.
So the filter maintenance is tiny and the system lasts. That clears the path to the real question: which type of water is actually worth having at home?
Bottles, jugs, or reverse osmosis?
If you have ever stood in the kitchen weighing these up, here is the honest comparison.
Bottled water. It feels safe and easy, but it is the dearest option by a distance, and the chore never ends. Over four years, a family on bottled water gets through the equivalent of around 2,000 large bottles. That is a lot of shopping, lifting and recycling. And it is not even as clean as people assume. A 2024 study published in the journal PNAS found that an average litre of bottled water carries around 240,000 tiny plastic particles, most of them nanoplastics small enough to pass into the bloodstream. You are paying a premium to drink plastic.
Filter jugs. Cheap to buy and handy, and a step up from nothing. But they are slow, they live in the fridge taking up space, the cartridges need swapping constantly, and they only reduce a limited range of things. You are still topping up, still waiting, still buying refills.
Reverse osmosis. This is the water filter that actually solves the problem. It pushes water through a fine membrane that removes up to 99.99% of contaminants, then delivers clean water straight from a dedicated tap. After a one off filter installation, there are no bottles, no jug, no waiting and nothing taking up space on the sink. Just pure water on demand.
How switching to reverse osmosis changes the day to day
This is the bit our customers tell us they did not fully expect. It is not just cleaner water. It is the small daily friction that disappears.
No more planning the water run or carrying multipacks. No more boot full of empties. Unlimited fresh water straight from the tap, any time. Tea and coffee that taste better, because the chlorine and off flavours are gone. Water that is gentle enough to use for making up a baby's bottle. And after the first year, it works out cheaper than the bottled habit it replaces, while freeing up the cupboard space all that plastic used to take.
It is the difference between managing your water and simply having it.
Why the ArkkZ is the one we fit
For drinking water, this is our most popular system, and it is built to be easy to live with from day one.
- It is genuinely low maintenance. The twist and pull filters change in seconds, and servicing takes barely a minute across the whole year.
- The filters last. The pre filter is changed about once a year and the membrane can last up to two years, with smart reminders so you never miss a change.
- It is small. The tankless design saves up to 70% of the space under your sink, so you keep your storage.
- It removes the things that matter. Chlorine, lead, mercury, fluoride, microplastics and PFAS, along with the tastes and odours that put people off tap water in the first place.
- It is fast and unlimited. Pure water straight from a dedicated tap, with no tank to wait on.
- We install it free across Ireland and Northern Ireland, so you have nothing to organise.
As I like to put it, "Buy the filter, don't be the filter." Your body should not be doing the job your tap could do for you.
What the installation actually looks like
This is the other thing people quietly worry about, so let us put it to rest. Fitting the system is far simpler than most expect.
Once you have ordered, our team gets in touch to book a day and time that suits you. On the day itself, the whole job takes around two hours. One of our technicians connects the system to your mains supply and the drain under the sink, sets everything up, and makes sure it is working before they leave.
There are no holes to drill and no big changes to your kitchen. All we need is a power socket nearby and a bit of space under the sink. That is it. You go from ordering to pouring pure water from your tap without lifting a finger, and the whole thing is included free across Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Why homeowners trust Renewell Water
We have spent more than 24 years bringing better water to over 20,000 homes across Ireland and Northern Ireland, and we are proud to be the number one rated water company in the country. You can read what our customers actually say over at renewellwater.com/reviews.
So if you are tired of the bottled water routine, this is the easy win. A filter that asks almost nothing of you, lasts for years, and gives your family water you never have to think about again.
Ready to ditch the bottles for good? Take a look at the ArkkZ Reverse Osmosis system, or book a quick chat with one of our water experts and we will help you pick the right setup for your home.