How to install your AQVO Tap Filter
How to install your AQVO Tap Filter
One small tool, six adapters included, nothing permanent — so it works just as well in a rental.
Your AQVO Tap Filter replaces the aerator on the end of your kitchen mixer. The aerator is the small screw-in screen your water already passes through — it comes out, the filter goes on in its place, and you keep the tap you have.
Six adapters are included because kitchen taps aren’t standardised. Getting the right one is the only part of this job that takes any thought, and the section below walks you through it.
Nothing is cut, drilled or permanently altered. If you rent, keep the aerator you removed in the AQVO box — refit it on the day you move out and the tap is exactly as you found it.
What’s in the box
- The filter unit, with the cartridge already fitted
- Six adapters: A1, A2, B1, B2, B3 and a universal joint (the white sleeve with the stainless clamp)
- Silicone sealing washers
- The adapter key
Before you start
| Tap spout diameter | 19.5–23.5 mm |
|---|---|
| Water pressure | 100–400 kPa |
| Water temperature | 5–50 °C |
| Filtered flow | 1 L/min |
The filter fits the large majority of standard Australian kitchen mixers. It won’t fit taps with unusual or non-standard spouts — pull-out spray heads, some designer mixers, and taps with no removable aerator at all.
Use it on cold water. The filter is rated to 50 °C, but activated carbon does its work on cold water, and hot water shortens the cartridge’s life without improving anything. Switch to unfiltered for hot.
Step 1 — Work out which adapter you need
This is the step worth slowing down for. Everything else is straightforward.
Unscrew your existing aerator. Use the adapter key from the box. Anticlockwise, looking up at the tap from below. Keep the aerator somewhere safe — you’ll want it back if you ever move.
Now look at the thread you’ve exposed.
If the thread is up inside the spout (internal thread)
The aerator screwed up into it. You need a Type A adapter. Measure across the inside of the thread:
| Thread measures | Use adapter |
|---|---|
| 21.5 mm | A1 |
| 23.5 mm | A2 |
If the thread is on the outside of the spout (external thread)
The aerator screwed on over the top of it. You need a Type B adapter. Measure across the outside of the thread:
| Thread measures | Use adapter |
|---|---|
| 20.5 mm | B1 |
| 21.0 mm | B2 |
| 22.5 mm | B3 |
A ruler held across the thread is close enough to tell these apart. If you’re between two sizes, try the smaller one first — an adapter that’s slightly too small simply won’t start threading, whereas forcing an oversized one damages your tap.
If none of the five fit, your tap is non-standard — use the universal joint, the white sleeve with the stainless clamp. It slides over the spout and the clamp tightens onto it, so it doesn’t rely on a thread at all.
Step 2 — Fit the adapter
- Take the installation nut off the filter unit.It unscrews from the top of the filter’s connection port.
- Slide the installation nut onto your tap spout first, threaded side facing up.This is the step people skip, and if you skip it you’ll have to undo the adapter and start again.
- Screw your chosen adapter onto the tap.Firm, by hand. Make sure the matching silicone sealing ring is seated in the adapter before you do — this is the single most common cause of a drip.
Step 3 — Fit the filter
Position the filter against the adapter and tighten the installation nut by hand.
Hand tight only — no tools, no multigrips, no spanner. The nut is designed to seal under hand pressure, and tools will crack it long before they stop a leak.
Make sure the nut starts turning freely. If it binds on the first turn, back it right off and start again. Cross-threading is the one mistake here that’s genuinely hard to undo.
Step 4 — First run
Turn the outlet switch knob to Filtered. The knob on the side of the unit switches between Filtered and Original — filtered water for drinking and cooking, unfiltered for washing up and anything hot.
Run the tap for 60 seconds before you drink any of it.
You may see a little fine black powder in the first flush. That’s activated carbon from manufacture — it’s harmless, it’s expected, and it clears. Don’t skip this flush. Do it again any time the filter has sat unused for more than two days.
Check for drips at the tap-to-adapter joint and around the installation nut.
Understanding the display
The screen has no battery. It’s powered by the water flowing through it.
That means the screen is dark unless filtered water is actually running. It is not broken, and it is not flat. This is the question we get asked most, and now you won’t have to ask it.
When water is running through on Filtered, the screen shows:
- The ring around the outside — how much cartridge life is left, from 0% to 100%. It turns red when the cartridge is due for replacement.
- The number in the middle — the real-time temperature of the water in °C.
If the cartridge is badly blocked and almost no water is getting through, the screen may flicker or stay dark even on Filtered. That’s the display telling you something useful: there isn’t enough flow to power it, which means it’s cartridge time.
Replacing the cartridge
The cartridge is rated at 1,000 litres. Used for drinking and cooking in a typical household, that’s often around two to three months — faster if you use a lot, slower if you don’t. Your timing depends on your household and your local water.
The signs it’s due: the life ring on the display showing red, chlorine taste returning, or noticeably slower filtered flow.
- Unscrew the cartridge housingfrom the bottom of the unit.
- Swap the cartridge.Old one out, new one in.
- Check the silicone gasket is seated correctlybefore you close it up. If it isn’t, the housing will leak.
- Screw the housing back onfirmly.
-
Reset the counter.Run the tap on
Filtered, and while the water is running press and hold the Reset button for 5 seconds. The life ring resets to 100%.
The reset only works while filtered water is flowing — the screen needs the flow to power it.
The cartridge can’t be cleaned or reused. If flow has dropped off, it’s spent. Cleaning it isn’t possible and washing it won’t restore it.
Shop replacement cartridgesAsk us a question
Troubleshooting
The screen won’t light up
Almost always normal — it only lights when filtered water is running. Check the outlet knob is on Filtered and the tap is on. If it still won’t light with good flow, contact us.
It drips where the adapter meets the tap
Check the silicone sealing ring is seated in the adapter. If you’re using an adapter, there should be an additional sealing ring above it. Tighten the installation nut by hand — never with tools. If your tap thread is non-standard and the nut won’t pull up tight, switch to the universal joint.
It drips at the universal joint
The stainless clamp isn’t tight enough, or the gasket is sitting proud. Tighten the clamp; if it still weeps, try it without the gasket.
It drips where the cartridge housing meets the body
Housing isn’t done up firmly enough, the silicone gasket isn’t seated, or there’s grit on the thread. Undo it, wipe the thread clean, reseat the gasket, do it back up.
Filtered water keeps dripping after I close the tap
Normal. That’s water still under pressure inside the unit clearing itself, and it stops after a few seconds.
Filtered flow has slowed right down
The cartridge is nearing the end of its life. Replace it — it can’t be cleaned.
The installation nut won’t start
Stop, don’t force it. Back it right off, check the thread for grit and check the adapter is sitting square, then start again with light finger pressure.
Looking after it
Don’t clean the unit with steel wool, abrasive cleaners, or solvents like petrol or acetone — they’ll craze, discolour and deform the housing. A damp cloth is all it needs.
Don’t let it freeze. Below 5 °C the unit can be damaged.
Still stuck? Reply to your order email and you’ll get me, not a chatbot.
Sam Mendez, Founder — AQVO Australia. Chartered Process Engineer.