Replace fridge water filter sans drama?
December 9, 2018 9:55 AM   Subscribe

The last time I replaced the filter in my refrigerator, there was much aqua-drama. Please hope me?

My Whirlpool fridge uses a cartridge water filter like this one.

I've replaced the filter only once before, and it didn't exactly go according to plan. I followed the instructions that came with the filter and what I could find online*

• I removed the old cartridge - no problem
• I put in the new cartridge - no problem
• I tried the in-door water dispenser - PROBLEM!

The water shot out of the dispenser and would not stop! Even with the flappy-trigger-thing in definitely-shouldn't-dispense-water position, the water kept streaming out, all over the floor. As I was alone, my first instinct was to put my finger against the dispenser tube like a finger to a dike to stem the flow. I then got a container to put beneath the stream to catch the water while I ran to get towels for the puddle on the floor. Once back, I kept doing the finger-to-the-tube thing and, eventually, the flow slowed and then more-or-less stopped. It still dribbled and dripped a bit, and did that for the next few days until everything was back to normal. But, geez, what a mess.

So, the filter needs to be replaced once again, and I'm justifiably gun-shy about going through the process again.

Have any of you had similar problems with replacing your filter cartridges? Did I miss a step? Or, is this just a "Yeah, they all do that" thing?

* the fridge came with the house, and i don't have an owner's manual
posted by Thorzdad to Home & Garden (4 answers total)
 
Best answer: Look up the model number and search YouTube. There is certainly video instructions.
posted by k8t at 10:05 AM on December 9, 2018 [1 favorite]


Best answer: Usually when replacing a cartridge filter, step 3 is "flush the filter by running X number of gallons through the dispenser" - I remember it being quite high for our filter brand, maybe even like 3 gallons? I don't recall that our dispenser would keep dispensing until the filter was fully flushed, but seems like a possibility.
posted by muddgirl at 10:39 AM on December 9, 2018 [1 favorite]


Best answer: That's exactly what our fridge did and I just figured it was the aforementioned "flush" and put out a bucket too. Thanks for reminding me though, because it's about time to replace it again and I don't need that kind of excitement twice.
posted by teremala at 4:01 PM on December 9, 2018


Response by poster: I did as k8t suggested and looked for specific instructions and found that what muddgirl says about the flush seems to be true. In this case, it's calling for four gallons!

I haven't verified whether this will correct the geyser effect, but it's good to know there was, in fact, something I missed. Fingers crossed...

Thanks all!
posted by Thorzdad at 4:47 AM on December 10, 2018


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