Then use no filter but never never let the accumulated bacteria inside the filter fester for too long.

Emphatically, without question, YES the filter needs to be replaced and the lines need to be cleaned out regularly. You should try cleaning out the underside of your taps sometimes, too. Water == life, and not just ours, so things grow in it.

Augh. Makes me think of the time I discovered nobody had ever cleaned the Keurig at work... I'll never forget when I wiped down the inside of the water tank and discovered the plastic was clear, not frosted gray like I originally thought 🤢