Keurig water filter: where it goes, when to change it
Every 2 months or 60 tank refills, inside the reservoir on the filter handle. How to fit one, when to take it out, and what it does and does not do.
Oohunt Deal Desk · Buying guides · October 23, 2026 · 6 min read
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Every 2 months, or 60 tank refills.That figure is on Keurig’s maintenance table in every Use and Care guide and on the cartridge packaging itself, so six cartridges is a year. The filter lives inside the water reservoir, clipped into a plastic handle that stands in the tank.
It is also the part people forget exists until they are told to take it out before descaling.
Where the filter actually is
Lift the reservoir straight up and out. Inside it is a stem, the filter handle, which pulls apart into two halves with the cartridge in between. On brewers with a fixed tank the handle sits in the same place; on a K-Mini there is a filter kit sized for the small reservoir. Not every Keurig takes one: the guides all phrase it as “if you have a Keurig Water Filter, install it now”, which is their way of saying it is an optional accessory rather than standard equipment.
Changing it
- Lift the reservoir out of the brewer and pour away any water in it.
- Pull out the filter handle and open it. Discard the old cartridge.
- Prepare the new cartridge the way the starter kit leaflet says. It involves soaking and rinsing it before first use, and the leaflet that came with your kit has the timings. Keurig deliberately keeps those out of the brewer guides, which say only to “refer to your Water Filter Starter Kit for instructions”, so follow the leaflet rather than anyone’s remembered version of it.
- Snap the cartridge into the handle and push the handle back into the reservoir.
- Set the dial on top of the handle to the month the next change is due, which is two months out.
- Refill with fresh water and put the reservoir back.
That dial is the whole reminder system on most models. There is no filter light the way there is a descale light, which is why the two-month job is the one that slips.
Take it out before descaling
This matters more than anything else on this page. Keurig’s guides say to remove the filter and set it aside before descaling, and the K-Supreme Plus guide repeats it inside the descale procedure. The same goes for washing the reservoir: the K-Duo guide says to remove the filter before cleaning. Descaling solution is meant to travel through the brewer’s plumbing, not through a cartridge of filter media.
Put it back once the fresh-water rinses are done. The full procedure, including which button combination starts the cycle on your model, is in Keurig descale mode by model.
The three intervals, side by side
| Job | How often | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Rinse pods | Weekly | Flavor carryover between brews |
| Water filter cartridge | Every 2 months, or 60 tank refills | Reduces chlorine and other impurities |
| Descaling solution | Every 3 months, or when the light comes on | Removes mineral scale inside the brewer |
What a filter does and does not do
It reduces chlorine and other impurities, which is a taste job rather than a scale job. It helps with scale indirectly, by taking some mineral content out before the water reaches the heating element, and that is worth having in hard water. It does not replace descaling, and Keurig has never suggested it does: both lines sit on the same table at different intervals.
If your water tastes of chlorine or minerals, Keurig also suggests bottled or filtered water, and is specific that distilled water is not an option.
Filters and the descaler
Prices change often, so check the current one on Amazon.
What we would buy (4)
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- Check price on Amazon
KeurigWater Filter Refill Cartridges
Opens Amazon in a new tab.The refills themselves. Six cartridges is a year at Keurig's 2-month interval, and they fit all Keurig filter handles.
- Check price on Amazon
KeurigBrewer Care Kit: descaling solution and 2 water filter cartridges
Opens Amazon in a new tab.Four months of filters plus the descale the filter has to come out for.
- Check price on Amazon
Keurig3-Month Brewer Care Maintenance Kit
Opens Amazon in a new tab.Filters, solution and rinse pods together, on the schedule the guides set.
- Check price on Amazon
KeurigDescaling Solution, 28 oz
Opens Amazon in a new tab.The other half of the maintenance table: every 3 months, filter removed.
No prices or star ratings here. Prices change daily and we do not track them, so Amazon shows you the current one. Nothing on this list has been tested.
Common questions
How often should you change a Keurig water filter?
Every 2 months, or 60 tank refills, which is what both Keurig's maintenance tables and the cartridge packaging say. Six cartridges is a year.
Where is the water filter in a Keurig?
Inside the water reservoir, clipped into a filter handle that sits in the tank. On brewers with a removable reservoir, lift the tank out and the handle assembly is the plastic stem inside it. Not every model takes one.
How do you change a Keurig water filter?
Lift out the reservoir, pull the filter handle out, open it and discard the old cartridge, prepare the new one as the starter kit leaflet says, snap it in, and set the dial on top to the month it is next due.
Do you remove the water filter before descaling?
Yes, and before washing the reservoir. Keurig's guides say to set it aside first, and the K-Supreme Plus guide states it as part of the descale procedure. Descaling solution is meant to go through the plumbing, not through the filter.
Does a water filter mean you can skip descaling?
No. A filter reduces what reaches the heating element, which is why Keurig's own table has both jobs on it at different intervals, but descaling is still every 3 months.
Can you use a Keurig without a water filter?
Yes. The guides treat the filter as optional, saying to install it only if you have one. Keurig does say not to use distilled water, and to use bottled or filtered water if yours tastes of chlorine or minerals.
How often to descale is in how often to descale a Keurig, and the pitcher version of the same chore is in how often to change a Brita filter. More for the kitchen sits in home & kitchen.