Disclosure: I may receive a commission for purchases made through product links on this page, but I always stand by my opinions and endorsements!
The advancement in technology has brought along refrigerators that have built-in water filters. And they serve an important purpose. Refrigerators are no longer only used to store food; you can rely on yours to produce clean drinking water for you and your family.
Besides, a refrigerator water filter saves you a significant amount of money, which you would spend purchasing a water filter or water bottle. Also, you no longer have to rely on a whole house water filtration system to enjoy clean drinking water.
You can determine if your fridge’s water filter is good enough based on the contaminants it removes, as well as its quality. Speaking of contaminants, people have been wondering if refrigerator water filters remove fluoride.
Do Refrigerator Water Filters Remove Fluoride?
Unfortunately, refrigerator water filters have limitations when it comes to removing contaminants such as fluoride, barium, arsenic, and nitrate.
Why is this case? Well, refrigerator water filters are designed to use carbon filters. The carbon filters cannot remove the contaminants mentioned above. However, that doesn’t mean that all hope is lost. If you want maximum contaminant removal, then you should get a carbon filter that has a reverse osmosis filter. Therefore, you have to find the best water filter that’s suited for this purpose.
What’s the effect of too much fluoride?
Fluorine is an element, which occurs naturally, and it can be found in most soil types. When fluorine is combined with another element, it becomes fluoride – a molecule. If water is not properly treated, there is a high likelihood that large amounts of fluoride will be present. Such amounts can greatly affect your health, and that’s why you need a proper filtration system in place.
So, before you acquire a fridge with a built-in water filter, you must ask yourself, do refrigerator water filters remove fluoride? If the fluoride levels are in excess, you may experience serious disorders affecting the bones and teeth. The effects are even worse when it comes to children. Common signs include the discoloration of teeth. For adults, excess fluoride may cause deterioration of the bones.
As a result, you must reduce the fluoride content level in your drinking water. How can you accomplish that? By getting a refrigerator water filter that can filter fluoride. In short, a water filter that works through reverse osmosis.
How do refrigerator water filters work?
One of the most common questions that we come across is, do refrigerator water filters work? The answer to that question is simple. Yes, they work effectively. If your refrigerator features a water tap, you can connect it to your water line to enjoy drinking cool water throughout the year.
However, your refrigerator receives the same water as your tap, but it chills it. However, that doesn’t alter the taste, and that’s where a refrigerator water filter comes into play. Usually, the water filters are placed at the back of the refrigerator in alignment with your water source. The water passes the filter, removing contaminants so that you can enjoy clean drinking water. But, there are some water filtration mediums involved. They include:
Large mechanical filter
First, the water passes through a mechanical filter. Every refrigerator water filter has to have one. The mechanical filter helps to remove large contaminants such as debris, sediments, and rust present in the water. The material for this filter medium varies from one model to the next, but the majority are made of fiber or some porous materials. Some mechanical filters also help to eliminate bacteria in the water.
Fine mechanical filter
Next up, the water will pass through a fine mechanical filter. The purpose of this filter is to trap smaller elements that could contaminate your drinking water. Some models have fine filters that are small enough to remove most of the bacteria present in the water. Some will also trap organic elements that give the water a foul odor and taste.
Activated carbon filter
The activated carbon filter is one of the most vital mediums of a refrigerator water filter cartridge. This medium is built to remove the majority of the contaminants, such as chlorine, herbicides, pesticides, and volatile organic compounds among others. However, the activated carbon filter cannot filter out contaminants such as fluoride.
To ensure that you and your family have access to clean drinking water, you should invest in a reverse osmosis water filter system for your refrigerator. Reverse osmosis filters, also known as RO systems, will eliminate the fluoride in your water effectively. Interestingly, such systems are not only easy to install but also easy to maintain.
Reverse osmosis water filter systems vary in price and functionality based on the model. They have up to five stages of purification, but some include a sixth purification stage. Usually, the sixth stage is the remineralization process. It entails balancing the water’s pH and adding essential minerals. More advanced models have a seventh stage, whereby all bacteria are killed.
Why is a refrigerator water filter important?
A refrigerator water filter is vital because it improves the taste of your drinking water and removes chlorine and other contaminants. What’s more, it removes all the impurities from the water, including fluoride, making water safe to drink. Succinctly, a refrigerator water filter promotes good health to you and your family. You should use the highest quality of water when using an ice maker to get the best ice creams.
The majority of municipalities and cities only use chlorine to treat water, but that does not address the other contaminants present in water. However, if you have the best water filter in place, it will remove the unwanted impurities that could affect your health.
Conclusion
Do refrigerator water filters remove fluoride? This is a question that we’ve come across from owners of refrigerators with built-in filtration systems. Sadly, most refrigerator water filters are designed with carbon filters, which cannot remove contaminants such as fluoride. However, that doesn’t mean that eliminating such contaminants is an impossible mission. No. what you need to do is find a carbon filter that also comes with a reverse osmosis filter. By doing so, you’ll effectively eliminate fluoride from your drinking water.
Related Posts
- Easyhome101.com/best-fluoride-water-filters/
- Does Berkey Remove Fluoride?
- Does Zen Water Filter Remove Fluoride?
ABOUT LEON SMITH
Leon is a Thirty-something-year-old blogger from Mauritius who is currently studying for a Master’s degree in chemical and processing Engineering at the University of Eldoret in Kenya. Read more about him.