Did you know that the fridge filter is the most commonly used water filter in American homes? And that’s because fridge filters come installed in most fridges. Unfortunately, many don’t realize that they’re privileged to access a free water filter. In fact, some people don’t replace their fridge filters even after using the filters for six months. They assume that it must be okay since they can’t note any change in the unfiltered water. However, they don’t realize that failure to replace the fridge filter will result in unpleasant consequences. Read more here to find out what happens when you don’t change your fridge filter.
You Expose Yourself To Various Health Issues
Before a fridge filter is released into the market, it must pass several safety tests and fulfill several safety standards. These safety standards ensure that the fridge filter can eliminate
- Bad taste, odor, and chlorine
- Health-related contaminants like chromium, lead, asbestos, and other volatile organic compounds
- Pharmaceuticals and other trace elements like pesticides
So, once you’ve used your fridge filter for six months, its effectiveness decreases. And some of the above water contaminants start finding their way into your drinking water. When you drink this contaminated water regularly, your health becomes compromised. Below is a list of water contaminants commonly found in your water supply and how they affect your health.
1. Pathogens
According to the CDC, 1 in 44 Americans gets infected by a waterborne disease every year. Exposure to pathogens like viruses, parasites, and bacteria should be your immediate concern. Unlike other contaminants on this list, pathogens don’t require a long exposure period for their effects to be seen. As soon as a pathogen finds its way into your body and rapidly spreads, your health will immediately deteriorate.
2. Lead
Many local governments rely on old piping systems to supply water to residents’ homes. Some people also live in houses that have very old plumbing systems. Unfortunately, many old piping and plumbing systems constructed before 1986 used lead pipes. When lead pipes corrode, the lead starts leaking into your water supply. And a long term exposure to lead causes health problems such as kidney, central nervous, brain damage, anemia, convulsions, etc.
3. Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)
Volatile organic compounds refer to chemical compounds such as pesticides, insecticides, and herbicides. The chemical compounds mainly find their way into the water supply through human activity. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) believes that VOCs have contaminated about one-fifth of America’s natural water supplies. VOCs mainly affect your central nervous system, cause kidney and liver damage, causes headaches and nausea, loss of coordination, etc.
4. Asbestos
Asbestos is a material that’s often found in construction materials and insulation. Asbestos usually finds its way into your water supply when asbestos fibers are introduced into rivers, streams, and lakes through human activities or natural disasters. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) believes that some of the health concerns caused by asbestos include lung cancer, larynx cancer, ovarian cancer, asbestosis, mesothelioma, and pleural disease.
5. Mercury
Mercury is a metal mainly used in manufacturing electronic and electrical equipment. The mercury metal mainly finds its way into your water supply through snow or rain. The careless discharge of industrial and mining waste also contributes to mercury contamination of many water bodies. Usually, mercury contamination levels in water aren’t high. However, when exposed to this contaminant over a long period, your health starts to fail you. Some of the known health problems associated with mercury poisoning include kidney, lung, and liver damage and immune and nervous system problems.
Your Water Develops A Bad Taste And Odor
Water filters eliminate odor, chlorine, microbes, and other chemicals. If these contaminants find their way into your drinking water, you’re not going to enjoy your experience. The water will most likely have an awful taste. And you might notice a slightly uncomfortable smell. When different metals like lead, iron, and aluminum seep into your water supply, your water will taste metallic. If you notice the water tastes musty, this is sign algae, or bacteria contaminate your water.
Ice And Water Change In Appearance
It’s crystal clear when you look at filtered water in a glass. Ice is also usually clear. However, when you don’t change your fridge filter after a long time, your water starts changing color. If there is a high presence of dust, your water will appear gray. If the watercolor changes to red or brown, there’s a high likelihood that iron contaminates your water. The color of the ice will also change depending on the color of the water.
Black Particles Contaminate Your Water
For most fridge filters, the filtering medium is usually carbon. So, when you don’t change your filter for a long time, the carbon disintegrates into small black particles. Occasionally you’ll see them in your water and ice. However, the longer your fridge filter remains unchanged, the more disintegration occurs. And the amount of black particles in your water becomes too high for you to ignore. As a result, it becomes impossible to drink the water.
The Water Pressure From Your Fridge’s Water Dispenser Drops
What happens when all the solid particles in your fridge water system start solidifying? Your water dispenser starts to clog up. When your fridge filter stops working for a long time, the solid particles in the water dispenser will start to solidify. And once this happens, the waterways n the water dispenser start to narrow. And as a result, the water pressure from your water dispenser drops. When water pressure drops, drinking water from your water dispenser becomes inconvenient since filling up a glass of water takes too long.
Hopefully, you now understand why it’s important to change your fridge filter every six months. However, you shouldn’t replace your fridge filter with the first cheap filter you find. You have to consider whether the filter is compatible with your fridge and its performance. If you want assistance finding the right fridge filter, contact us now.
