Wordpress orderby query sometimes not working - php

Question

I have been looking for the error for a while and have no idea what could be causing it.
In about 80% of the time the following code works, but sometimes it just orders completely random:
function filter_where($time, $where = '') {
$where .= " AND post_date > '" . date('Y-m-d H:i:s', strtotime($time)) . "'";
$where .= " AND post_status = 'publish' ";
return $where;
}
add_filter('posts_where', 'filter_where');
$array = array(
'cat' => 2,
'meta_key' => 'ratings_score',
'orderby' => 'meta_value_num',
'order' => 'DESC',
'meta_query' => array(
array(
'key' => 'ratings_score',
),
),
'posts_per_page' => 6
);
filter_where($time);
query_posts($array);
The filter function works. I have tested it with different $time values and post_status's.
Could it just be some kind of lag or have I ordered the code in a wrong manner?
some posts do not have a meta_key of ratings_score, but all posts in cat = 2 do have this meta_key.
Maybe this has something to do with the issue?

Answer 1

First of all, never use query_posts
Note: This function isn't meant to be used by plugins or themes. As explained later, there are better, more performant options to alter the main query. query_posts() is overly simplistic and problematic way to modify main query of a page by replacing it with new instance of the query. It is inefficient (re-runs SQL queries) and will outright fail in some circumstances (especially often when dealing with posts pagination).
You should be using WP_Query or get_posts and only when you cannot achieve the results you are after by modifying the main query with pre_get_posts
You are correctly adding your filter before your query arguments, but then you are again adding the function again after the query arguments. I believe this is one of the big problems here. You should remove the filter after the query arguments, not re-adding them
Replace this line
filter_where($time);
with
remove_filter('posts_where', 'filter_where');
One final note, why are you defining $time but then you doesn't use it at all?