USWF Water Filters: What They Are & Genuine

USWF water filters show up in almost every search for a cheaper fridge cartridge, usually in multi-packs with a price well below the genuine part. Start with the disclosure, because it shapes everything below: Discounted Filter Store does not sell USWF products. USWF is the compatible-filter house brand of US Water Filters — it makes cartridges shaped to fit other manufacturers’ refrigerator housings, at a lower price than the genuine part. This page explains, honestly, what USWF is, which genuine filters its models copy, the checks to run before buying one, and what the genuine parts cost here. We publish no USWF prices, because we do not sell or test those cartridges.

What USWF Is

USWF is the house brand of US Water Filters, a US filtration company whose range runs from whole-home cartridges and ultraviolet systems to reverse-osmosis units — but when someone searches “uswf water filters”, they almost always mean the refrigerator cartridges. US Water Filters’ own FAQ describes its USWF replacement refrigerator filters as compatible with “a wide range of various brands, refrigerator model numbers, and water filter part numbers”. That is the whole business model: one brand, many housings, sold mainly through marketplaces such as Amazon, eBay and Walmart and through partner retailers. Its models carry their own USWF numbers — USWF-4011 and the rest are USWF’s numbering, not the fridge maker’s. Like most fridge cartridges, they work on an activated carbon block, and their service life follows the same six-month rhythm as the genuine parts they copy. That “for the exact model” point matters more than the brand name: certification attaches to a specific cartridge, not to a logo, so a USWF claim is only as good as the model number it is tied to.

The USWF Models Readers Ask About

The table below matches the USWF models readers ask us about to the genuine part they copy, and to the genuine part we sell for the same housing. The genuine column is the point of the table: in most cases the genuine cartridge is already close in price, and it is the part the fridge maker tested for that housing.

Two notes on that table. First, the USWF-4011 cross-reference is not our claim alone: our own genuine DA29-00020B product page lists USWF-4011 among its compatible part numbers. Second, where the table says “match the OEM number”, that is the honest answer — we will not invent a USWF model number for a housing we have not verified. Read the part number off your old cartridge and match it, never order by fridge model alone. Our Samsung DA29 water filter guide and LG fridge water filter replacement guide cover the two most-asked housings in full, and our Tier1 refrigerator filters guide covers the other compatible brand readers ask about most.

What Do Carbon Filters Remove From Water?

The working part of a USWF cartridge — and of most fridge cartridges — is activated carbon filtration: carbon processed to be full of microscopic pores, giving a small cartridge an enormous internal surface area. As water is pushed through, chlorine and the organic compounds behind tap water’s treated taste and smell are adsorbed onto that surface, and sediment — rust, sand and scale fines — is strained out. That is what do carbon filters remove from water in practice: taste, odour and visible particles. What they do not do matters just as much: activated carbon does not soften hard water, does not remove dissolved minerals, and does not sterilise. A cartridge certified to NSF/ANSI 53 for a specific model adds health-related contaminant reduction — lead and the rest — but only for that exact model, which is why the model number, not the brand, is the thing to check.

How to Judge a USWF Cartridge Before Buying

Three checks decide whether any compatible cartridge is a sound buy, USWF included. First, certification tied to the exact model: find which named standards are claimed for that specific USWF number, and confirm the claim in the certifying body’s listings or the maker’s formal documentation — not just in marketplace bullet points. Second, the replacement rhythm and the real yearly cost: every cartridge wears out on a gallons-and-months clock, so work out the per-cartridge price of the multi-pack and compare it with the genuine part over the same 18 months — a multi-pack only saves money if the per-cartridge price genuinely beats the genuine part. A genuine DA29-00020B from $36.97, a genuine LT700P from $41.99, a genuine MWF from $38.99 and a genuine EveryDrop Filter 1 at $39.99 are the numbers to beat. Third, availability in two years: a bargain cartridge whose line is discontinued leaves you shopping again, while the genuine part number stays orderable. Our guide to how to spot a fake EveryDrop filter walks through the packaging, pricing and paperwork tells in detail, and the same tells apply to any compatible.

Genuine vs Compatible — The Standing Guidance

A compatible cartridge is a third-party product shaped to fit a housing it was not originally made for. Some compatibles are responsibly made and carry real certification for that specific cartridge; others trade on resemblance. The genuine OEM cartridge is the part the fridge’s manufacturer specified and tested for that housing — fit, seals and certified performance validated as one system. That is what the genuine premium buys, and it is why we sell genuine cartridges: a genuine EveryDrop Filter 1 is $39.99 here with free US shipping on any amount, against $59.99 at the official store or $48 on its subscription. For the full comparison, see our genuine vs compatible fridge filters guide — and for the same honest treatment of another brand readers ask about, see our Electrolux refrigerator water filter guide.

The Genuine Parts We Sell for Those Same Housings

Every order ships free anywhere in the US, on any amount, with processing in 1–2 business days, delivery in 3–5 business days via USPS, and free 30-day returns with a prepaid label. If you are shopping for discount refrigerator water filters across brands, these are our genuine prices:

Samsung DA29-00020B LG LT700P GE MWF EveryDrop Filter 1

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Discounted Filter Store sell USWF filters? No. We stock genuine EveryDrop, Samsung, LG, GE, Frigidaire and Bosch refrigerator cartridges and no USWF products. This page is informational because readers ask about the brand, not because we carry it.

Is USWF a genuine filter brand? No. USWF is the compatible-filter house brand of US Water Filters. It makes third-party cartridges shaped to fit other manufacturers’ housings. Genuine means the part the fridge maker specified for that housing — for example, a genuine Samsung DA29-00020B, not a cartridge made to copy it.

Which USWF filter replaces my cartridge? Read the OEM part number off your old cartridge, then match it — USWF-4011 for the Samsung DA29-00020B, the USWF MWF replacement for GE MWF / MWFP housings. Never order by fridge model alone; lookalike fridges take different cartridges.

Are USWF filters certified? Verify the claim for your exact USWF number in the certifying body’s listings before buying. A certification claim is only as good as the model number it is tied to — a brand-level claim tells you nothing about the cartridge in your hand.

Where can I buy USWF filters? US Water Filters sells them through marketplaces such as Amazon, eBay and Walmart and through partner retailers. We sell the genuine parts for the same housings instead, at the prices in the table above.

What do you sell instead? Genuine OEM refrigerator water filters — EveryDrop Filters 1–5 and Filter A, Samsung, LG, GE, Frigidaire and Bosch cartridges — priced from $36.97 for a genuine Samsung DA29-00020B, with free US shipping on any order amount, processing in 1–2 business days, delivery in 3–5 business days via USPS, and free 30-day returns with a prepaid label.