The water coming out of the fride dispenser tastes weird. The filter was changed about 4 months ago and the light hasn't come on indicating a change. We have well water, treated with a softener and the water coming out of the taps tastes fine. I'm wondering if maybe there is some bacteria or mold inside the water line leading to the fridge. Just a guess....
I might just change the filter but at $50 a pop I'd like to keep that to a minimum and change only when the light indicates.
2006-12-26 17:02:22 · 5 answers · asked by Calista77 2 in Home & Garden ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
$50 is quite a bit to pay for a filter. You might want to consider a pre-filter (a filter in front of your $50 filter), which can be bought for around $10-15.
Run water through your new filter for several minutes before connecting the supply line to the refrigerator. This will flush out any loose carbon particles. Many sources recommend using only a copper supply line. I personally have what I think is a high density polyethylene (plastic) supply line and have not had any problems.
You might try disconnecting the supply line at the point it enters the refrigerator and tasting the water in the line. This will help isolate the source of the problem. If the water tastes fine, then determine whether the ice has the same weird taste as the drinking water. If not, I'd suspect a bacterial growth in the water tank. Look in the homeowner's guide for your refrigerator to see if there are instructions for cleaning the water supply. If not, I suggest using a relatively harmless solution of hydrogen peroxide.
I'd like to add that ice, while it is freezing, will pick up a taste from odors in the refrigerator. Always wrap your onions and garlic.
2006-12-26 19:26:01 · answer #1 · answered by Tech Dude 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Most filters should remove the chlorine that is added to tap water to kill bacteria. Thus the line from the filter to the dispenser would seem the most vulnerable to bacteria. Changing out the water supply leading to your refrigerator line will not address this. If your water dispenser will work without the filter (i.e. has a built in bypass valve) it would seem to be a good idea to simply leave the filter off for a week or so between filter change outs to allow chlorinated water to run through the whole system. Because the level of chlorine in tap water is so low, a quick flush without the filter probably won't help much.
2016-01-13 09:33:44 · answer #2 · answered by Devols Advocate 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Do you have a copper water line? How about the rest of the pipes in the house? You say you have a softner, they use salt to soften your water, maybe your filter is being affected by a combination of all these factors. Try bypassing the softner, and see if that makes a difference, or try changing the line to the fridge. Good luck to you!
2006-12-26 17:28:44 · answer #3 · answered by poppyman54 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would change the tubing that came from the supply and yes spend the extra 50 on a new filter..I have this too and the minerals in the water tend to stop it up so its good to change the line and filter every so often to assure you have excellent clean water.Really its worth the money..
2006-12-26 17:11:37 · answer #4 · answered by Will T 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Just change out the line.
2006-12-26 17:10:17 · answer #5 · answered by Paul D 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋