Introduction
Refrigerators with built-in ice makers and water dispensers have become too common nowadays. However, refrigerators with that kind of technology also have a water filter. It filters out contaminants from the water supply line to eliminate health risks. You need to swap out the filter at appropriate intervals and also get the fridge serviced. Otherwise, you’ll be forced to hire a professional to fix your broken fridge by searching for “refrigerator repair near me”. Let’s check out how you can choose the right water filter for your refrigerator:
The Choices
- Compatibility – This is the first thing to look out for while buying a new water filter for your fridge. If the new filter isn’t compatible with your refrigerator, it’s a few more days of returns and shipping hassle. In these cases, an easy way out is to look for water filters from the refrigerator brand. If the filter is from the same brand, it is highly likely to be compatible with your refrigerator.
If you’re going for water filters from third parties, figuring out the compatibility is quite difficult. Sometimes aftermarket filters are cheaper and even perform better than the refrigerator brand’s model. However, you need to do a lot of research, match model numbers, browse through datasheets and ask at forums to figure out if a certain water filter is compatible with your refrigerator.
- Water Filter Types – When choosing a water filter, you also need to know the type of water filter you need. Different brands choose different types of water filters for their fridge and all of them work differently.
Among all types of water filters, ones that are located close to the grille are the most common. There’s a long and thin cartridge installed near the grille and the base of the bridge. Certain models also have a protective knob that covers the filter. This usually has nothing to do with functionality. It helps to hide the filter and blend it in with the grille design. That’s why these kinds of water filters are the most difficult to identify.
Once you can locate the filter cartridge, you can slight it out with a twist in the right direction. Some refrigerators are also designed to have a push button that ejects the filter cartridge and makes it easy for you to replace it.
There are also other types of filters that don’t sit at the start of the water supply line but inside the food compartment. They are usually located in a drop-down hatch of the food compartment, and this helps to do away with extra nobs or other structures that make the fridge bulky. The filter is always hidden inside and doesn’t mess with the look of the refrigerator.
If your refrigerator is a bit more advanced, it may feature a slide-out filter. It looks like a grille filter and similar to them either slide out of their compartment or come off with the push of an eject button. The key difference is that they are located in the food compartment similar to drop-down filters.
Finally, there’s the canister filter. This type of filter is very easy to identify. To figure out if your fridge has this type of filter, open the food compartment and look at the back. The water filter should hang from the top. Usually, you can easily remove it with a turn. However, some models shield the filter with a plastic hard case. In such cases, you can remove it with a wrench.
- No filter refrigerators – Sometimes refrigerators with water dispensers don’t use any built-in filters. Instead, they rely on an inline water filter that is connected between the fridge and the water supply line. These types of filters are very difficult to install. You have to identify what kind of filter you have to find the right replacement.
- Certifications – When you buy filters for your refrigerator, make sure that it has the right certifications. While the US doesn’t have any federal regulations for water filters in purifiers or refrigerators, you can always rely on NSF-certified filters. NSF certification standards and quality testing are of the industry’s highest standards and are used as standards in both the EU and Australia.
When you buy a filter look for NSF certifications. If there are NSF certifications, it will also have a few numbers following them. For instance, you may notice something like NSF/ANSI 42 or NSF/ANSI 53. These numbers represent that the filters have been tested successfully for water quality.
For instance, the ANSI 42 mark shows that the filters have been tested to reduce anesthetic impurities like chlorine to improve odor and taste. On the other hand, the ANSI mark-53 tests whether the filter material is safe or not.
- Flow rate and service life – Flow rate is very important while choosing water filters. It is the volume of water that passes through a certain surface within a fixed time. You’ll need to keep an eye on this spec while ordering your water filter. You don’t want an excessive or low flow rate. Either of them can create challenges for your refrigerator’s water dispenser.
You should also look at the service life of the filter before buying it. The filter gets contaminated with impurities over time and becomes unusable after its service life. Get a decent filter with all the above-mentioned features and service life of at least 6 months. This helps to keep your maintenance costs low, and you don’t need to replace the filter too often.
Conclusion
There are plenty of things to consider while choosing a water filter for your fridge. You need to consider compatibility, certification, longevity, and other things. Make sure you take all the factors into account before you order a replacement water filter for your fridge. Your fridge may not work properly if the water filter is saturated. If the fridge is broken due to some other reason, search for “refrigerator repair near me” and hire a pro to get it fixed.
