Refrigerated water is cool and pleasant. A fridge filter may taste good, but how effective is it? After all, the purpose of a refrigerator is to cool goods, not to remove pollutants from the water you drink.
How Do Water Filters In Refrigerator Work?
The major topic at hand – is fridge water filtered? Yes, however, perhaps not in the same manner you’re familiar with.
Most built-in refrigerator filters employ activated carbon as a filtering media. The technique is fairly straightforward. As water travels through the filter, pollutants attach to the carbon in the filter, eliminating them from the water. Activated carbon is honeycombed with holes and crevices, so it offers a huge surface area for trapping these undesirable particles.
It’s a good method, but it’s not perfect. You need to think about both the size and length of time the water is in touch with the filter. Obviously, bigger screens have the capacity to capture more pollutants and will not fill up as quickly. Is the filter in your own fridge? It won’t be that big.
The amount of time water travels in contact with the filter is also essential. You need the water to get enough time to absorb so that the carbon can do its work. Unluckily, most fridges simply don’t have enough space for this.
What Just Filtered? Does Each Of These Water Filters Also Remove Minerals?
Activated carbon in the filter is usually made from charcoal. What is a charcoal water filter? It’s composed of little, smashed-up bits of charcoal that attract and absorb a variety of pollutants.
So, what can a charcoal water filter get rid of? You’ll be relieved to learn that it may effectively reduce a wide range of undesirable substances, including:
- Volatile organic compounds
- Radon
- Benzene
- Chlorine
- Other man-made substances
Any result? Water that smells and tastes better. Within the restrictions of their tiny size, built-in refrigerator filters perform a reasonable job, but they’re less effective than bigger systems. Activated charcoal alone isn’t adequate to eliminate all waterborne pollutants. Fridge filtration misses a broad variety of inorganic pollutants and heavy metals, including:
- Selenium
- Cadmium
- Chromium
- Beryllium
- Barium
- Copper
- Fluoride
- Sulfates
- Mercury
- Nickel
- Thallium
- Arsenic
High-specialized activated charcoal filters may remove lead, however, such filters are seldom seen in refrigerator units. Instead, you might want an upgrade to anything more powerful, like a whole home water filter.