Shoutout to the guy who showed me ice maker buildup before and after

I went on a call last Thursday at a house in Tucson where the ice maker had been making cloudy, weird tasting ice for about 6 months. The owner said it started after they got a new water filter installed. I pulled the ice maker out and the water line was coated with this slimy gray buildup inside, probably bacteria or mineral scale. The before picture looked nasty, like something growing in a petri dish. After a full cleaning with a vinegar soak and a new water valve, the ice came out clear and clean within 24 hours. The difference was night and day, and the customer said they hadn't realized how bad it got until they saw the fresh ice. Has anyone else run into this with water filters that don't get changed on schedule?

3 comments

3 Comments

morgan.rose1mo ago

That cloudy weird tasting ice line got me" - my buddy had the same issue with his fridge ice maker after he swapped to one of those fancy brand water filters. He was about to call a repair guy when his wife just soaked the line in vinegar overnight and it cleared right up.

the_wendy1mo ago

@morgan.rose yeah that "cloudy weird tasting ice line" thing drove me nuts too. I had the same issue after I replaced my old filter with a generic brand off amazon. The ice came out looking like little snowballs and tasted like straight plastic. Tried everything, finally just pulled the line out and ran a vinegar soak for a few hours like your buddy's wife did. Worked perfectly, cleared up the cloudiness and the taste went away completely. I also started flushing the line with a couple gallons of water after any filter change now just to be safe. Seems like some filters leave behind dust or something that gets stuck in the line and causes that mess.

torres.thea1mo ago

The vinegar soak is one of those things that just works on everything, like duct tape or baking soda. It's funny how we'll buy all these fancy products when the simple stuff from the pantry usually does the trick (and costs next to nothing).