Two rules. One of them is a "no".
Most returns pages open with the generous rule and hide the exception in paragraph nine. We lead with the exception, because it’s the one that decides whether you open the box today.
Opened filters cannot be returned
Once a filter has met water or airflow, it cannot go back into stock or to another customer. Refrigerator filters touch your drinking water; HVAC filters load with whatever is in your air. This is a hygiene line, and no return fee changes it.
Unopened: 365 days to return
Sealed in its original packaging? Return it for a full refund within one full year of delivery — even if you simply ordered the wrong one in April and found the box in November. No restocking fee, no interrogation.
Why Opened Filters Can't Come Back
- ✗Drinking-water contact is one-way. A refrigerator filter that has run water cannot be resold — not “won’t be”, cannot be. We don’t make exceptions and we don’t want the phone call that follows one.
- ✗“Lightly used” is not a category. There is no honest way to grade how much water or air has passed through a returned filter, so there is no honest way to restock it.
- ✓Wrong fit? That’s not a return. If we said it fits and it doesn’t, the fit guarantee handles it: correct replacement shipped free, both ways — no refund loop, no label fee, no waiting.
- ✓Not sure before opening? The Filter Finder checks your model number against the tested fit list in 20 seconds. Opening the box is a decision, and we’d rather you make it with the right data.
Returning an Unopened Filter: Three Steps
No phone tree, no printed form, no account login required. The whole thing runs over email.
Email Us with Your Order Number
Write to support from any address with the CF- order number and "return" in the subject. One business day for the reply — usually less.
Include how many filters you're returning; partial returns are fine.
Get Your RMA Number and Label
We reply with a return authorization number and a shipping label. Change-of-mind returns have the label cost deducted from the refund — we state it now so the refund amount is never a surprise.
Damaged or wrong-item returns never pay the label — see the next section.
Refund After Warehouse Scan
Drop the sealed box with the carrier. Refund goes to the original payment method within 3–5 business days of the Indianapolis warehouse scanning it in — sealed-and-resalable, as promised.
Damaged, Defective or Wrong Item? Not a Return
Our mistakes and carrier mistakes are handled as free replacements or refunds — never routed through the return rules above, and never at your expense.
| Situation | What happens | What it costs you |
|---|---|---|
| Damaged in transit | Photo of the damage by email → replacement ships same day, damaged unit stays with you for disposal | $0 ✓ |
| Wrong item shipped (our error) | Correct filter ships immediately + prepaid label for the wrong one | $0 ✓ |
| Doesn't fit (our fit data wrong) | Fit guarantee: correct replacement free, both directions, 1 year | $0 ✓ |
| Ordered the wrong filter (unopened) | Standard return: refund minus label cost, 365-day window | Label cost only |
| Opened, any reason | ✗ Not returnable — hygiene rule above | — |
| Restocking fees | ✗ None, ever — on any returnable item | $0 ✓ |
Defective after installation? That’s a warranty question, not a returns question — manufacturing and performance defects are covered for 2 years on the warranty page.
Returns FAQ
QI Opened the Box But Didn’t Install It — Returnable?
Only if the filter itself is still sealed. Box opened, shrink-wrap intact: yes. Filter unwrapped or run: no, for the hygiene reasons above — the box was never the issue.
QWho Pays Return Shipping?
Our errors and transit damage: we do, both directions. Change-of-mind returns: the prepaid label’s cost comes out of the refund, and we say so before you commit, not after.
QHow Long Do Refunds Take?
3–5 business days after the warehouse scans your return in. The confirmation email with the refund amount goes out the day it’s issued.
QCan I Exchange Instead of Refund?
Yes — and it’s faster. Tell us the correct part number or appliance model in step 1; we treat it as an exchange and ship the right filter as soon as the RMA scans, without waiting for the refund-repurchase cycle. Shipping rules apply.
Not Sure It's the Right Filter?
Check before you open the box. The Filter Finder matches your appliance model against the tested fit list — the same data our guarantee stands on.