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Water Filter

Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2004 11:47 pm
by Vincent
The water at our house tastes pretty bad. We have a Brita water filter system that we use for drinking water. <p>One problem is the icemaker in the freezer. It is fed the same water and tastes terrible when it melts. As a result, we have been buying bagged ice from the store. This gets to be expensive and is quite a hassle to go get it on regular basis.<p>Is there any way we can run a filter inline with the icemaker's water hose? Any recommendations on the type and where it can be found?<p>The Brita system in the fridge filters the tap water and it tastes fine, so I'm hoping I can find a similar solution for the icemaker.<p>Thanks

Re: Water Filter

Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2004 12:15 am
by dyarker
Water for the ice maker is tapped off before filter????????? Or the filtered water tastes bad after being frozen???????<p>Experiment: Put filtered tap water in ice cube trays and freeze. Does it still taste bad?

Re: Water Filter

Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2004 12:15 pm
by perfectbite
We had this same problem a long time ago and its source, as Dale Y suggests, took some experimentation to find.<p>After lots of research it turned out that there is a microscopic fungus which thrives in low temperatures like those found in a residential freezer box and it will make ice smelly and foul tasting.<p>Using ozone will kill it but the freezer compartment had to be empty and special attention had to be paid to the nooks and crannies of the door seal and I didn't know if those seals were ozone resistant.<p>Instead of using an ozone generator, (I couldn't come up with one without a LOT of hassle) I swabbed the compartment out with Lysol two or three times, using a baking soda solution for the final rinse to kill the Lysol smell, and, also using 'q' tips, sprayed Lysol directly onto the door seal and sprayed the baking soda solution as a final rinse again. That took some time. Don't forget to get underneath that door too. That seemed to work for a while at least.<p>Dale Y, what was your next step?<p>[ July 16, 2004: Message edited by: perfectbite ]</p>

Re: Water Filter

Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2004 12:33 pm
by haklesup
Go the home depot and look for a filter cartrage. The one I am thinking of is about 18" and 2" or 3" in diameter (a guess from memory). Use an activated charcoal filter for taste and oders. If it were silty you would need a paper filter first but this is not nessary here. The filters should have holders you can plumb to the correct tubing size.<p>There are also filter systems designed specifically for this application. The filter basically goes in line between the pipe tap and the back of the fridge. <p>There are many brands so shop a few hardware stores or websites to find one whose cost and installation effort suits your needs. The primary thing you need is a charcoal filter. and don't forget to change it according to packagre recommendations or your water could end up worse.<p>Since the ice maker uses not much water, this is practical but filtering the whole house is not since the filters will clog up within 2-4 weeks typically.<p>I set up a dual stage filter (paper followed by charcoal) in a wooden box that sits outside next to the garden hose. It is used to fill the 5gal bottles for my cooler. Cost about $60 using PVC sprinkler parts for the plumbing.