When it comes to drinking water, it's important to make sure you're using the right filter. Refrigerator manufacturers would like you to think that you need to use their filters, but there are replacement filters available that are fully compatible with your refrigerator and often cost less while offering higher quality filtration. It's essential to understand the different types of filters, their ability to purify water, and how often they need to be changed. The ability of refrigerator water filters to purify water is measured in microns; the lower the micron rating, the greater the filter's ability to capture small contaminants.
Most refrigerator water filters are not designed to filter out harmful contaminants, since the EPA is supposed to purify the water before it reaches the refrigerator. However, studies have shown that traces of pharmaceuticals, lead, and parasites, such as chlorine-resistant cysts, often do not leak before water is distributed. If you consult your owner's manual, it will tell you how often to replace your refrigerator water filter. Fortunately, refrigerator water filters are among the most effective at removing contaminants and toxins that were not detected by the water treatment plant.
Be sure to put on some kind of reminder to replace your refrigerator water filter or you could be exposed to dangerously contaminated water. Once your refrigerator water filter starts to wear out, it will let through various contaminants, particles, and other particles. The more contaminants accumulate in the filter media, the more difficult it will be for water to pass through it. In the world of refrigerator water filters, an OEM filter is a water filter manufactured by the same company that made your refrigerator.
As refrigerator filters remove all contaminants and particles they can, they become clogged with whatever they have managed to remove from the water. It's important to remember that you don't need to change your refrigerator water filter twice a year. That $50 you save could fill a shelf in your refrigerator with something you really need, like beer! The same goes for refrigerator water filters; they are an absolute necessity and so is changing them regularly. The water that comes out of your refrigerator dispenser travels through a long distance of tubing before it reaches you. Tap water itself is already questionable, not to mention all the bacteria and bugs it can pick up on the way to your refrigerator.
Some refrigerators don't have indicator lights that tell you that the filter needs to be changed and that the filter itself is usually out of sight, so it can be easy to forget to keep up with the necessary maintenance.
