A man has successfully sued a company after he said a water filter they installed in his home ended up “ticking like a bomb”.

Joseph Hunt, Hazelbrook Drive, Terenure, Dublin 6, was awarded a decree for €503 against Renewell Water Filtration Ltd, Hackballscross, Dundalk.

Dundalk District Court heard that Mr Hunt bought a water filter for €390 from the defendants who installed it on April 30, 2024.

The plaintiff testified that it was installed incorrectly, horizontally rather than upright, and began making a lot of noise. The company reinstalled it and the noise went away until returning 18 months later before Christmas 2025.

He said that work colleagues could hear the noise over Teams calls. He had to raise the TV volume.

Mr Hunt continued that he installed new filters at a cost of €172 and paid €30 for the company to inspect the system. The water line was reinstalled, and the noise went away and came back after a week.

He said the noise got so loud he had stopped using it since last February.

The plaintiff played to the court a video of ticking noise. He said friends would slag him that he had a bomb in the house.

It was put to the witness by barrister Eoghan Fagan that he chose a less expensive pump, an open water pump rather than one in a case, which makes some noise.

Mr Hunt said he was told the ticking noise was caused by the filters.

He was also informed that he could pay to upgrade the system or replace the pump.

Stephen Farrell, of Renewell Water Filtration Ltd, said that he didn’t deal with Joseph Hunt directly.

He remarked that this man was in Dublin 6 which is “known for bad water quality”.

It is recommended to change filters every 12 months. The plaintiff did a self-service after 13 months.

Mr Farrell continued that a lot of the time sediment can settle leading to a build up.

When the company was notified in January ‘26 of a ticking noise they checked the filters which were blocked up.

The witness put the ticking noise down to a bearing inside the pump which is fixable.

Judge Nicola Andrews said it was not clear the proper maintenance instructions had been given at installation.

It was unfortunate that the person who installed the system was no longer with the company.

A decree was made in favour of Joseph Hunt.

Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme