Why do most apartments not include ref's with water dispensers?
October 6, 2024 9:18 PM
I noticed most apartments (in the context of mostly professionally-managed/owned, such as Bozzuto/Greystar/Avalon/Camden) do not offer refrigerators with water dispensers. Why do you think that is?
My perspective is, refrigerators with water dispensers (either internally or externally) would be a big benefit to residents—they don't need to get bottled water or filtered bottles, such as Brita/Zerowater/etc. They'd help save the planet a bit by less plastic consumption.
This is in the DC area, where the tap water isn't so great. Drinkable, yes, but doesn't taste great (I realize this is subjective). I also noticed that it's common in the whole USA for most apartments not to offer water dispensers with their refrigerators. This is common even in higher tier apartments in the DC area. Some apartments offer bigger refrigerators (sometimes with double doors) with a slide-out freezer, but still no water dispensers. Most do include ice-makers, though, even the more basic refrigerators.
A few apartments in the DC area do offer this amenity/benefit, but they're scant and few in-between. It's a bit disappointing and somewhat anti-climatic to go through a tour in a fancy lobby and hallway, and to see a posh apartment, but see a simple top/bottom refrigerator or even a bigger one that does not include a water dispenser.
I realize this is a little/even "minutiae" thing and doesn't seem to make a difference as people are renting like crazy, but you would think that offering refrigerators with water dispensers would be a thoughtful gesture and help make residents' lives easier. If it's about money, have residents purchase filters themselves—no biggie, plenty of choices on Amazon or whatnot. It's annoying paying a lot of rent and not having that amenity.
Why do you think most apartment communities don't offer refrigerator appliances with water dispensers? Water is obviously very important to me, if you're wondering why I'm asking this :)
My perspective is, refrigerators with water dispensers (either internally or externally) would be a big benefit to residents—they don't need to get bottled water or filtered bottles, such as Brita/Zerowater/etc. They'd help save the planet a bit by less plastic consumption.
This is in the DC area, where the tap water isn't so great. Drinkable, yes, but doesn't taste great (I realize this is subjective). I also noticed that it's common in the whole USA for most apartments not to offer water dispensers with their refrigerators. This is common even in higher tier apartments in the DC area. Some apartments offer bigger refrigerators (sometimes with double doors) with a slide-out freezer, but still no water dispensers. Most do include ice-makers, though, even the more basic refrigerators.
A few apartments in the DC area do offer this amenity/benefit, but they're scant and few in-between. It's a bit disappointing and somewhat anti-climatic to go through a tour in a fancy lobby and hallway, and to see a posh apartment, but see a simple top/bottom refrigerator or even a bigger one that does not include a water dispenser.
I realize this is a little/even "minutiae" thing and doesn't seem to make a difference as people are renting like crazy, but you would think that offering refrigerators with water dispensers would be a thoughtful gesture and help make residents' lives easier. If it's about money, have residents purchase filters themselves—no biggie, plenty of choices on Amazon or whatnot. It's annoying paying a lot of rent and not having that amenity.
Why do you think most apartment communities don't offer refrigerator appliances with water dispensers? Water is obviously very important to me, if you're wondering why I'm asking this :)
Also, just get a filtered water dispenser or pitcher to keep in your fridge. That way, you can shop for apartments on more important criteria.
posted by bluloo at 9:37 PM on October 6
posted by bluloo at 9:37 PM on October 6
Landlords generally try to buy appliances that a) don't require a lot of maintenance/repairs and b) are relatively inexpensive.
They're not going to pay extra for a fridge with a device that breaks a lot when they know that it's not a make-or-break feature for tenants.
More generally, as economist Milton Friedman said: "There are four ways in which you can spend money. You can spend your own money on yourself. When you do that, why then you really watch out what you’re doing, and you try to get the most for your money. Then you can spend your own money on somebody else. For example, I buy a birthday present for someone. Well, then I’m not so careful about the content of the present, but I’m very careful about the cost. Then, I can spend somebody else’s money on myself. And if I spend somebody else’s money on myself, then I’m sure going to have a good lunch! Finally, I can spend somebody else’s money on somebody else. And if I spend somebody else’s money on somebody else, I’m not concerned about how much it is, and I’m not concerned about what I get. And that’s government."
Landlords choosing fridges is an example of someone spending their own money on something for someone else. They care about cost, not about whether tenants like it.
posted by Jacqueline at 9:40 PM on October 6
They're not going to pay extra for a fridge with a device that breaks a lot when they know that it's not a make-or-break feature for tenants.
More generally, as economist Milton Friedman said: "There are four ways in which you can spend money. You can spend your own money on yourself. When you do that, why then you really watch out what you’re doing, and you try to get the most for your money. Then you can spend your own money on somebody else. For example, I buy a birthday present for someone. Well, then I’m not so careful about the content of the present, but I’m very careful about the cost. Then, I can spend somebody else’s money on myself. And if I spend somebody else’s money on myself, then I’m sure going to have a good lunch! Finally, I can spend somebody else’s money on somebody else. And if I spend somebody else’s money on somebody else, I’m not concerned about how much it is, and I’m not concerned about what I get. And that’s government."
Landlords choosing fridges is an example of someone spending their own money on something for someone else. They care about cost, not about whether tenants like it.
posted by Jacqueline at 9:40 PM on October 6
I have a fridge with water and ice on the door. I only ever use the ice. I fill my water bottle from the tap and put it in the fridge. I am lucky to have delicious and clean tap water, but most American tap water is better tested and probably better than most bottled water.
posted by theora55 at 9:48 PM on October 6
posted by theora55 at 9:48 PM on October 6
This is super variable. In some parts of the country, it’s common for refrigerators to NOT come standard with the apartment - you need to purchase and bring your own.
posted by samthemander at 10:22 PM on October 6
posted by samthemander at 10:22 PM on October 6
apartments (in the context of mostly professionally-managed/owned
if you're looking at places that are a part of large apartment complexes, maybe ask if the company offers different fridge options they can switch out?
Why do you think most apartment communities don't offer refrigerator appliances with water dispensers? Water is obviously very important to me
some prefer refrigerated storage space inside fridges. for flat water, there's filtered dispensers; there are also carbonators [previously], etc.
posted by HearHere at 10:23 PM on October 6
if you're looking at places that are a part of large apartment complexes, maybe ask if the company offers different fridge options they can switch out?
Why do you think most apartment communities don't offer refrigerator appliances with water dispensers? Water is obviously very important to me
some prefer refrigerated storage space inside fridges. for flat water, there's filtered dispensers; there are also carbonators [previously], etc.
posted by HearHere at 10:23 PM on October 6
In my 50 years on this earth, including when I purchased my own refrigerator for a house I owned, I have neither had nor wanted a fridge that dispenses water, until last week when I moved into a rental that has an unfixable broken water dispenser in the fridge door.
posted by latkes at 10:35 PM on October 6
posted by latkes at 10:35 PM on October 6
I think they’re a worse than useless status symbol, like the fins on 50s and 60s Detroit iron, and a severe aesthetic detriment to refrigerators, which can actually be quite beautiful.
As well as objects of affection.
posted by jamjam at 11:24 PM on October 6
As well as objects of affection.
posted by jamjam at 11:24 PM on October 6
Piping water into a refrigerator is an unnecessary source of up front cost, maintenance cost and likely earlier replacement (and corresponding administrative labour), and risk of floods and water damage (magnified by the possibility of damage to lower units in a taller building), by comparison to minimal benefit. Though if as you mention they include ice-makers then they are accepting part of that (my parents turned theirs off and disconnected it after a very expensive episode). There are less expensive gestures a landlord could use if desiring to attract tenants.
posted by lookoutbelow at 12:19 AM on October 7
posted by lookoutbelow at 12:19 AM on October 7
Lots of maintenance. I have refused to use this feature when it appears in rental apartments, since I am not sure the hoses have been properly cleaned and maintained. If they are not kept in a good state, you could even get ill from the water.
posted by frumiousb at 12:26 AM on October 7
posted by frumiousb at 12:26 AM on October 7
Something I was told by my ex-husband, an appliance technician, is that most people never clean or maintain the line to the water dispenser and it can be a breeding ground for bacteria.
posted by alltomorrowsparties at 12:44 AM on October 7
posted by alltomorrowsparties at 12:44 AM on October 7
Water damage is the bane of real estate management. Tenants don’t notice, it can create mold issues in multiple apartments, it can literally rot away floors causing structural damage to multiple apartments. This could be tens of thousands of dollars that can be very difficult to recover from tenants if damages are larger than their deposit.
A distant second consideration is cleanliness, damage, and apartment turnover. You don’t really want to deal with anything that can’t be quickly visually inspected for cleanliness. Remember, this isn’t one nice couple renting their one apartment. Individual managers hired by large companies will often manage 3-4 large buildings on behalf of the management company. Alternatively, a central office may manage dozens of buildings at a time. These buildings typically need maintenance staff and regular cleaning services. In other words, the management needs to delegate and they need to have a system.
When an apartment changes tenants they need to systematically but efficiently document any damage or cleaning issues, ideally with photos, charge the previous tenants as appropriate, and then fix the issue in time for the next tenant. Something that needs to be cleaned and maintained but you can’t see inside is an annoying bump in the road for this process and generally a hassle for a procedure that can happen several times a month.
posted by knobknosher at 1:34 AM on October 7
A distant second consideration is cleanliness, damage, and apartment turnover. You don’t really want to deal with anything that can’t be quickly visually inspected for cleanliness. Remember, this isn’t one nice couple renting their one apartment. Individual managers hired by large companies will often manage 3-4 large buildings on behalf of the management company. Alternatively, a central office may manage dozens of buildings at a time. These buildings typically need maintenance staff and regular cleaning services. In other words, the management needs to delegate and they need to have a system.
When an apartment changes tenants they need to systematically but efficiently document any damage or cleaning issues, ideally with photos, charge the previous tenants as appropriate, and then fix the issue in time for the next tenant. Something that needs to be cleaned and maintained but you can’t see inside is an annoying bump in the road for this process and generally a hassle for a procedure that can happen several times a month.
posted by knobknosher at 1:34 AM on October 7
Adding my anecdata: had fridge with water dispenser and ice maker; had leak; ended up turning off water to both. When fridge died and we replaced it, we got a new one without the troublemaking devices.
That said, I remember from my years living in the metroDC area how incredibly terrible the water tasted. I think I’d try to get an under sink water purifier set up if I lived there. Not sure if it would be possible as a renter though.
posted by sciencegeek at 2:06 AM on October 7
That said, I remember from my years living in the metroDC area how incredibly terrible the water tasted. I think I’d try to get an under sink water purifier set up if I lived there. Not sure if it would be possible as a renter though.
posted by sciencegeek at 2:06 AM on October 7
Refrigerators with water dispensers cost more and corporate landlords are cheapskates.
No, seriously, that's it.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:34 AM on October 7
No, seriously, that's it.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:34 AM on October 7
You are a commodity and your provisions shall be commodities - so sayeth the landlord!
posted by Glomar response at 4:34 AM on October 7
posted by Glomar response at 4:34 AM on October 7
Aside from what everyone else has said (maintenance, cost, leak risk, etc, your tap water is likely perfectly safe), you also have a filter that requires regular replacement. Who's buying and replacing the filter? How often? Who replaces it? Yet another thing to add to the list of things to cause arguments.
posted by phunniemee at 4:59 AM on October 7
posted by phunniemee at 4:59 AM on October 7
There also needs to be a water line run to the fridge, which is an additional upfront cost when building the units. I use our icemaker all the time but it was a hassle to install, it's a hassle to keep the filters on hand (and change them) and god knows it'll be a hassle if it ever breaks in a... wet way.
posted by restless_nomad at 5:42 AM on October 7
posted by restless_nomad at 5:42 AM on October 7
I'm another person who would be reluctant to use a refrigerator water dispenser. I can easily flush the water lines for my regular piping, I just run the water hard for half an hour. I'm going to assume that you can't do that with a fridge, and that therefore there is a strong chance that there are invisible issues with black mold in and around the water lines. DC's water does taste absolutely amazing, not in a good way, but it's not under a boil order that was placed in 2004 and still hasn't been lifted yet. It's just minerals. Meanwhile DC is humid enough that it's not hard to trigger an invisible mold problem.
And as a tenant I don't want to have yet another thing I need to be aware of to make sure that the maintenance has been done. Meanwhile the maintenance company will start being hostile if I keep fussing and phoning them to make sure the filter will be changed a second time this year.
Free conveniences always have maintenance costs or other hidden costs. Life is complex. When you try to simplify it you usually just shift the complexity to somewhere else you lose control over it.
posted by Jane the Brown at 5:52 AM on October 7
And as a tenant I don't want to have yet another thing I need to be aware of to make sure that the maintenance has been done. Meanwhile the maintenance company will start being hostile if I keep fussing and phoning them to make sure the filter will be changed a second time this year.
Free conveniences always have maintenance costs or other hidden costs. Life is complex. When you try to simplify it you usually just shift the complexity to somewhere else you lose control over it.
posted by Jane the Brown at 5:52 AM on October 7
Our vacation rental this summer had a fridge with a water dispenser. My dad has worked in maintenance in a housing complex. He immediately looked inside the mechanism, and told us not to use it on account of all the mold.
posted by mrgoldenbrown at 6:10 AM on October 7
posted by mrgoldenbrown at 6:10 AM on October 7
Filters cost money to replace.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 6:12 AM on October 7
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 6:12 AM on October 7
bluloo has it.
It's getting harder to find refrigerators without water dispensers/ice makers. I suspect eventually apartments will come with such units, but they won't be hooked up for reasons stated above. They'll just needlessly occupy space in the fridge that could be used for storing food.
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 6:24 AM on October 7
It's getting harder to find refrigerators without water dispensers/ice makers. I suspect eventually apartments will come with such units, but they won't be hooked up for reasons stated above. They'll just needlessly occupy space in the fridge that could be used for storing food.
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 6:24 AM on October 7
My perspective is, refrigerators with water dispensers (either internally or externally) would be a big benefit to residents
No landlord in the history of landlords has ever done a single thing because it would "be a big benefit to residents" lol.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 7:28 AM on October 7
No landlord in the history of landlords has ever done a single thing because it would "be a big benefit to residents" lol.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 7:28 AM on October 7
It is so much easier and so much less liability to let residents choose their own means of handling this, whether that's a Brita pitcher or water delivery service or drinking straight out of the tap. I'm honestly shocked they offer fridges with ice makers (and therefore water lines, a major source of leaks that are often silent until substantial damage is done).
And honestly I am super squicked by fridge water dispensers, especially if I have not been with the fridge for its entire life and therefore know exactly what kind of care has been taken with line maintenance and filter replacement. There's just so much room for...gunk. Way worse than the ice lines.
posted by Lyn Never at 8:15 AM on October 7
And honestly I am super squicked by fridge water dispensers, especially if I have not been with the fridge for its entire life and therefore know exactly what kind of care has been taken with line maintenance and filter replacement. There's just so much room for...gunk. Way worse than the ice lines.
posted by Lyn Never at 8:15 AM on October 7
I'm with 'landlords are cheap'. Lots of things in an apartment have filters that need replacing, like your A/C. Fridge water lines don't need to be flushed anymore than any other water line does, and water lines can cause water damage, but a fridge line is super tiny compared to a washing machine line or bathtub/shower, and far easier to access. Also unlike your A/C, the fridge filter, when it passes its useful life, it just stops filtering water, unlike your A/C filter, which if you don't change causes damage.
posted by The_Vegetables at 8:26 AM on October 7
posted by The_Vegetables at 8:26 AM on October 7
Also the water line is generally flushed by the auto ice maker, which continually makes ice unless it's turned off. Which if you are still using ice cube trays in 2024, that sucks.
posted by The_Vegetables at 8:36 AM on October 7
posted by The_Vegetables at 8:36 AM on October 7
I'm with 'landlords are cheap'. Lots of things in an apartment have filters that need replacing, like your A/C. Fridge water lines don't need to be flushed anymore than any other water line does, and water lines can cause water damage, but a fridge line is super tiny compared to a washing machine line or bathtub/shower, and far easier to access. Also unlike your A/C, the fridge filter, when it passes its useful life, it just stops filtering water, unlike your A/C filter, which if you don't change causes damage.
But people won’t rent apartments if they don’t have a bathroom. They also very frequently will not rent an apartment that doesn’t have A/C (basically a necessity in many US climates). Similarly, an in-unit washer dryer will be a dealbreaker for many higher-end apartments.
The issue is cost-benefit. The cost is very high given the risks and maintenance hassle, and the benefits (in the form of rent money they’d otherwise lose) are quite low.
posted by knobknosher at 10:19 AM on October 7
But people won’t rent apartments if they don’t have a bathroom. They also very frequently will not rent an apartment that doesn’t have A/C (basically a necessity in many US climates). Similarly, an in-unit washer dryer will be a dealbreaker for many higher-end apartments.
The issue is cost-benefit. The cost is very high given the risks and maintenance hassle, and the benefits (in the form of rent money they’d otherwise lose) are quite low.
posted by knobknosher at 10:19 AM on October 7
Per Consumer Reports, they (along with the ice maker, which is the same subsystem of moving parts and liquid water) are empirically the most unreliable part of the most unreliable appliance in the home, and they are increasingly difficult to repair without replacing the entire refrigerator.
posted by caek at 10:28 AM on October 7
posted by caek at 10:28 AM on October 7
[One comment removed. Please just answer the question and help the OP, otherwise avoid the thread, there's zero need for snark. ]
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:02 AM on October 8
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:02 AM on October 8
>refrigerators with water dispensers (either internally or externally) would be a big benefit to residents
Benefits to residents isn't what landlords are most interested in. Not shitting on landlords- it's just the logical truth. Their interest is to turn a profit and maintain their buildings - and water fridges are detrimental to both of those goals.
A water fridge is a more expensive machine, that requires the cost of both management and labour for periodic maintenance, and, most importantly, it could fail in a way that floods the unit (possible huge cost of flooding, water damage, mold, etc). So it's an extra cost, it poses a risk to the investment, and it gives zero benefit to the landlord. Dishwashers are a risk too, but lots of people would never want live in a place with no dishwasher, so it's worthwhile for the landlord to take on that risk to attract a more wealthy tenant. On the other hand, most people will compromise on the fridge water dispenser, so it's not worth it. If I were a landlord I'd avoid water fridges as an extra cost and a huge potential liability with almost zero benefit to the business.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 12:36 PM on October 8
Benefits to residents isn't what landlords are most interested in. Not shitting on landlords- it's just the logical truth. Their interest is to turn a profit and maintain their buildings - and water fridges are detrimental to both of those goals.
A water fridge is a more expensive machine, that requires the cost of both management and labour for periodic maintenance, and, most importantly, it could fail in a way that floods the unit (possible huge cost of flooding, water damage, mold, etc). So it's an extra cost, it poses a risk to the investment, and it gives zero benefit to the landlord. Dishwashers are a risk too, but lots of people would never want live in a place with no dishwasher, so it's worthwhile for the landlord to take on that risk to attract a more wealthy tenant. On the other hand, most people will compromise on the fridge water dispenser, so it's not worth it. If I were a landlord I'd avoid water fridges as an extra cost and a huge potential liability with almost zero benefit to the business.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 12:36 PM on October 8
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posted by bluloo at 9:33 PM on October 6