It’s the middle of the night and groggy feet drag their way to the kitchen for a drink of water. This family is environmentally savvy so they don’t use single-serving plastic bottles. The refrigerator panel has a soft light that illuminates the kitchen just enough to find a glass. The glass pushes against the button, cool, clean water fills the glass, the nighttime thirst is quenched and sleepy feet drag their way back to bed. The hero in this nighttime tale isn’t the refrigerator or the thirsty sleepwalker, it’s the refrigerator filter.
Capacity, adjustable shelving and pull-out, space-saving conveniences make the top of the consumers list of must-haves when shopping for a refrigerator. The panel in the door offering ice and water is always a selling point. Would that panel really be a selling point if it came without a water filter?
There is no such thing as perfect tap water and even with regulations in place nitrites and other contaminants, from farm run-off to the effects of local businesses, can exist within “acceptable” limits. Thanks to a near-by military base, one community was forced to inform residents that their tap water contained “safe levels of rocket fuel.” Contributing it’s own special flavor, miles and miles of city pipes carry the water from the reservoirs to the faucet. All safety concerns aside, nitrites and rocket fuel aren’t popular ice cream flavors for a reason.
Delivered in five gallon bottles, drinking water services charge per bottle used and the family has to arrange for the number of gallons needed ahead of time. Pitchers take up fridge space and only filter as much as the pitcher will hold. Discount Filters that attach to the faucet may clean the water as it comes out but they can’t chill the water and certainly can’t make ice. On the back of the refrigerator, the filter is located right by the intake from the wall. Ice, water and everything that water touches is safe and delicious because the water is filtered as soon as it comes in. The water isn’t metered out or available in prearrange gallons so it’s convenient to use when making coffee, tea, juice or even just filling the pasta pot, thus eliminating the more subtle ways that contaminants find their way into food.
When shopping for a refrigerator, it is of course a good idea to ask about capacity and other features but don’t forget our hero, the water filter. The cost of replacement filters, the installation process and how often it should be changed are all questions to ask before making the final decision. GE Filters are available over the Internet and a past-due filter can make the water and ice taste and smell slightly “fishy” so it’s important to follow the manufacturers guidelines to keep the filter fresh. Remember, the refrigerator filter not only makes the water and ice taste better while being cost effective, convenient and environmentally sound, it may be saving the world from “safe levels of rocket fuel.”
Maintaining Kitchen Appliances 