Customer Reviews

Drinkwell Platinum High Capacity Replacement Filter Cartridges, 3 Filters

5 star:		(81)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I disagree with M&M's review about the filters lasting no more than 1 day. That hasn't been my experience at all. Make sure they get loaded with the black side facing the front of the fountain, and the narrower edge goes in first. Also, it's important to rinse the filter with cold water before inserting. This will get rid of any loose carbon dust. The manual explains all this.

According to the manual, 1 filter should last 6-8 weeks, depending on your pump speed and how quickly your animal(s) go through the water. I change mine every 2 months, sometimes longer. Now, I *clean* the whole fountain every 5-6 days, taking apart the whole thing, dumping out the old water, giving it a good scrubbing with soap and hot water. I take the lid off first, clean it, and rest the filter on the lid while I clean the rest of the fountain. Then I put the same filter back in, unless it's due for a change.

$10 for a 3-pack that lasts 6 months is a good deal to me. Don't know how the other user had such problems with grime and slime. It's important to clean the fountain regularly is all I can think of.

Great product!!

Since I already posted a review for the Drinkwell Platinum Pet Fountain, I am going to keep this review focused on the product itself, which is the new and improved filter.

I can't say that I was all that thrilled with the previous filter for use with the older version of the Drinkwell Pet Fountain. It was always producing a lot of charcoal in my cats water and although it didn't hurt him, I still didn't like the site of all that "garbage" in the bottom of his water dish. Also, the old filters didn't seem to do that good of job of filtering out the water. I don't know if it was just me, but I didn't like them all that much.

Now we jump forward to the other day when I got the Drinkwell Platinum Pet Fountain for my cat's eighth birthday, which he was simply overjoyed with and stuck his entire face in the stream to get the first drink.

These new filters seem to do a much better job at filtering out the water as it circulates throughout the system. I have yet to see any charcoal in the bottom of his dish, nor anywhere else for that matter. I would definitely recommend that you buy several of these three-packs of replacement filters and be sure and change them frequently depending upon the condition of your local water. Some places have a harder water than others and therefore should replace the filters more often.

Shawn Kovacich
100% Cat Lover

The premium version of the Drinkwell filter keeps the charcoal spread out, allowing it to be more effective than the standard model.

Fantastic Fountain; not only do my four(4) cats love it, the water stays cleaner and fresher twice as long as the earlier model without the built-in reservoir. As for some of the other reviews that state the reservoir is difficult to put in when filled, I totALLY DISAGREE!! The newer 6-sectioned filters are the key to the fresher cleaner water and are a MUST BUY ITEM!!!! Thanks from my kitties.

When I was in the store buying this, someone stopped by and mentioned that it was loud. I was more concerned with not having to fill it every day like I did with the small Petmate version.
It is definately large enough. I fill the water every 4 days now instead of every day. However, the pump does have a larger vibration to it which is slightly annoying but not terrible.

These filters are quality Drinkwell products and this package of three is a good buy. These filters do the job for which they are intended. I love my Drinkwell watering fountain.

For our two cats we have a Platinum Drinkwell Fountain. We also live in a VERY hard water area.. There is nothing about the fountain or the filters that will "soften" the water, that is not what they're for. The idea is to get cats--descended from North African Desert animals---to drink more water. Its better for their kidneys; they'll likely live longer. ( A high percentage of older cats die from kidney failure, it is very common. Many veterenarians now are encouraging the use of some canned or "wet" cat food in a cat's diet to provide more moisture, since most cats aren't big on drinking....thats in part what all this is about.)

As other posters have commented, my former cats always wanted the tap water on a "thin" drip or flow of water. It had to be "just so"...not too much, not too little...but they preferred drinking that water over their water in bowls, no matter how often the bowls were changed/cleaned. (Yes, I tried glass, ceramic, stainless steel, every recommendation about what type of bowls cats are said to prefer...)

When the cat water fountains first came out I was skeptical at first...but it made sense, obviously this re-created what the cats preferred. The running water, the sound....so I got one.

The critical element after buying the fountain is maintaining it. READ the directions! Change the filters "every 2-4 weeks depending on the size and number of pets using the fountain". Thats from the back of the Drinkwell filter package. And please use Drinkwell filters if you have a Drinkwell fountain! They are made to work together.

Also follow the directions regarding rinsing off the excess charcoal off the filters with cold water before insertion into the Drinkwell machine. It is a good filter, but you must follow the directions.

CLEAN the fountain...including the little parts around the motor. We take it apart about every other week and put the entire fountain, minus motor, in the upper section of the dishwasher, and run it, with the usual dishwashing detergent, which works great. The motor area can be cleaned with q-tips or the special brushes sold by Drinkwell. If the fountain is not kept clean and the fiilters are not replaced, the whole thing will stop working, though long before that your cats will be drinking recycled dirty water.

This isn't hard, just a bit of reminding yourself. Just like with your car, there is basic cleaning and maintenance required.

Also, reading some other posters: please don't use BLEACH to clean the fountain...plastic of all kind (think Tupperware) absorbs odors, I can't imagine a cat with his/her sensitive nose drinking water after the unit the cleaned w/ bleach, no matter how dilute. Also the vinegar and water thing....thats better than bleach but are you really cleaning the unit? Not that it has to be sterilized....just cleansed the way you would your family's dishes and glasses.

BTW we also keep a bowl of water available too, "just in case".

These Filters Work Great, Catching all cat hair that may have gone through the pump Dirt, dry food, Everything.

These Filters Recommend changing every two weeks. I let a filter go for a month take it out rinse it and let it go for another month, if it still looks Great. I'm giving the cats filtered water as it is and only use these to catch debri. So save some money and check your filters and see if they can be used again.

I know this is not a review of the merchant but wanted to alert that I rec'd the regular not premium filters. Since this is because Amazon had affixed the wrong barcode to the package I assume this could happen to others. Rather than exchange them I asked amazon to credit me the price difference which is not a standard return choice and they did so promptly! The standard filters are good but I was looking forward to trying the premium since they seem to get icky fast. I have 2 big dogs (1 slobbery!) using the big dog fountain so this filter gets put to the test. I clean the whole fountain weekly and the standard filter lasted ~1mo before it got to the point that cleaning it did not get rig of icky smell. When I did not have clean filters handy I left it out (instructions say it can be used without a filter just fine) and noticed the water got nasty mid-week.
I know this is not a review of these filters but figured it might be helpful. I chose the number of stars that was currently the average rating so as not to skew things. Next order in a few months and I will update this if I am still using the fountain,

in several of the packages of filters I've bought one of the filters was not sewn all the way around and the charcoal spilled out and I could not use the filter because the charcoal would have spilled into the water in the fountain. I didn't return filters because filters are not available in my area and I have to order them and I would have to mail them back each time.