Alright, we know refrigerator water filters aren’t the sexiest thing in the world. Or the most exciting. But you’re a discerning person and you want the best things in life, right? Or at least better than average, so why not get the best refrigerator water filters you can find, right?
We thought so. Sit back and take a look at what you’ll need when looking to replace your refrigerator’s filter.
Considerations for the Best Refrigerator Water Filters
In-door refrigerator dispensers are one of those things we kinda take for granted in this modern world. You just push the activator with your cup and liquid pours out. But more than likely, there’s a filter in that refrigerator, and just like the oil purifier in your car, it needs to be changed in order to keep you getting cool clean drink.
Benefits of a New Refrigerator Water Filter?
First thing you’re going to need to know is your refrigerator’s model. Unless it’s printed on the front of the refrigerator (and let’s be honest, most aren’t), the easiest way is to find the sticker inside your refrigerator. It’s going to be in any number of locations: left wall, right wall, high, low, behind the crisper drawer, even behind the toe plate (that little grill at the bottom of the fridge). Once you’ve found it, you can take a look at the filters we list below and get a better idea of which one is for you.
Filter Medium
Now, a word about the strainers. Most are going to use activated carbon of some kind as the purifier medium. Not all, but most, simply because it’s a tried and true method to not only purifier out all kinds of harmful bad stuff in the water, it also makes the drink taste pretty darn good.
What Is Filtered Out?
One thing you’ll need to look into is what the purifier actually strains. Many will, of course, get rid of the majority of trouble causing little bacteria and viruses. But some will also get rid of heavy metals, arsenic, fluoride, and chlorine. Others will either not get rid of some of these, or in the case of fluoride, allow it through on purpose as numerous municipal water companies add it to the water to improve dental health.
Water Testing?
If you’re going the hyper-vigilant route, you can actually have your own h2o tested to see what is in it and what could be a problem in order to get the water filter that will take care of what your city has a problem with. Or you could go to the other end of the hyper-vigilant spectrum and just get a purifier that takes care of everything because you never know when water sources will change.
The Real Deal
And the last thing you’ll run across — generic or OEM filters. While I’m a big fan of saving money, there are a few things I’m not willing to scrimp on. My health is one of those. Of course, we’re not saying that buying a generic or off-brand water purifier is going to be something that sends you to the hospital. Nothing of the sort. But why skimp on getting a good clean drink for you and your family? Just our two cents, and the reviews here reflect this — we’ve only looked at OEM softeners.
Our Top Picks for the Best Refrigerator Water Filters in 2018
There is no universal standard for refrigerator filters. Each manufacturer has differing requirements. We’ve taken a look at some of the most popular options and reviewed them below. Enjoy!
The Maytag UKF8001P Pur Refrigerator Cyst Filter 2-Pack
- For: Maytag and Jenn-Air refrigerators with interior purifier access
- Lifespan: six months (300 gallons)
The Maytag UKF8001P is a simple plug-in replacement water filter for many refrigerators from a number of manufacturers. As the name suggests, the filtration technology comes from PUR, a monster in the water filtration field.
The UKF8001P is supposed to be good for 6 months, or 300 gallons, whichever comes first. Since pretty much nobody is going to measure every drop of water they use, you can hold out for a year, or just go with the standard six month timeframe most people use. Additionally, it’s NSF certified so you can be sure you’re getting a quality product.
What does it purify out? Good question. The UK8001P gets rid of most cysts, Class 1 particulates, lead, mercury, and asbestos. It reduces the taste and smell of chlorine, but lets fluoride through to keep our teeth healthy.If you’re unsure how easy it is to replace this water softener, just watch this video:
- For: Fast Fill appliances
- Lifespan: six months (300 gallons)
The PUR Fast Fill refrigerator filter is an excellent choice for anyone with a Whirlpool, KitchenAid, Maytag, Amana, Jenn-Air, or Kenmore side-by-side refrigerator that has a push-button purifier located in the grille down at the bottom of the unit.
Like the Maytag, it will get rid of mercury, lead, asbestos, cysts and Class 1 particulates in your water. It also has a love for fluoride, letting it through, while doing everything it can to cut down on the taste and odor of chlorine in your h2o. Additionally, it’s NSF certified as well.
The PUR Fast Fill is good for about six months. If your refrigerator doesn’t have a replacement indicator, you might want to mark it on your calendar. Or tape a note to your refrigerator amongst the kid’s drawings and stuff.
As it says in the following video, don’t forget to turn off the water when you change the filter:
- For: Wide range of Samsung units
- Lifespan: six months (300 gallons)
The Samsung Da29-oh forget it. The Samsung fridge filter is for, you guessed it, Samsung refrigerators. You’ll of course need to check your model number to see if it is compatible. If it is, you’re in luck!
The Samsung fridge purifier is going to make sure your family’s got good clean water to drink. How? By getting grid of almost all cysts (the things that give you the runs), arsenic, lead, asbestos, and other long complicated named stuff. It also gets rid of most chlorine flavor and smell in the liquid but doesn’t touch the fluoride to give your family an added boost on their sparkling teeth. And, of course, it’s NSF certified.
It follows the industry standard of six months for replacement. Which is about 350 gallons or so.
One note: there are a few kinds of Samsung refrigerators this purifier will fit, both French Door style and the side-by-side models. Regardless, they work the same. Here’s a video to show you how to get the deed done:
- For: Frigidaire Pure Source Ultra Refrigerators
- Lifespan: six months (200 gallons)
Frigidaire, you say? Where are the Frigidaire filters? We got you covered.
The Frigidaire ULTRAWF filter is likely what you’re looking for. It’s going to filter out all sorts of stuff for you: lead, cysts, Class 1 particulates, mercury and a whole raft of super long chemical names, as well as VOC’s and chlorine. What are VOC’s? More bad stuff that you really don’t want in your drink, nonetheless your body. The Frigidaire ULTRAWF is the only purifier on our list to specifically deal with VOC’s, so if your refrigerator uses this purifier, you’re in luck. It is, of course, NSF certified.
The one drawback to the ULTRWF is it’s only good for about 200 gallons. While they say it’s equivalent to about 6 months, if it were me, I’d change them a little more often, maybe closer to four months. Why? My family drinks a lot of liquid and uses our refrigerator purifier for cooking. Your mileage, as they say, may vary.
The installation of the ULTRAWF is a bit tricky, so take a look at this video before you go screwing up your fridge over something as simple as the refrigerator filter:
- For: GE refrigerators
- Lifespan: six months
General Electric makes a gigantic number of refrigerators and most of them will use the MWF filter.
That’s a good thing because it’s a good purifier: six months usage or so, gets rid of Class 1 particulates, cysts, asbestos, lead, mercury, arsenic, that annoying chlorine smell and flavor so many municipal water systems have. But, it leaves you with the fluoride that can help out your family’s dental health. Like all the other models we list, it’s NSF certified so you know you’re getting a quality product.
One thing to keep in mind — because GE uses this strainer on so many models they make, it can be found in different locations. We’ve linked to a video that shows where it is on some side-by-side refrigerators, but if it isn’t in that spot, you might have a bit of internet surfing in your future to find out exactly where it is.
Regardless, here’s the video to show you how to put in your shiny new filter:
That’s it in a nutshell. Refrigerator h2o purifiers aren’t exotic or interesting. They just sit inside your refrigerator, doing their job, day after day. But if you want the best drink for your health and your family, and you’re looking for the best refrigerator filter for your refrigerator, we recommend you choose the model made by your refrigerator’s manufacturer. They’re more than likely going to be willing to get it certified as well as produce a quality product.