Changing Your Refrigerator Water Filter
How to Change Your Refrigerator Water Filter
For those of you who have never changed a refrigerator water filter before, it’s actually pretty easy, and the GE MWF filter is no exception. I’m writing general instructions that apply to most refrigerators, but the definitely apply to the GE MWF filter as well. Most brands make it so that you don’t have to have any special tools or anything like that in order to replace the filter. Changing your filter on a regular basis is advised. Don’t just wait until the light comes on or the water to start tasting full of chemicals. Your health and safety are at stake. In general, changing a refrigerator water filter is as easy as reading the instructions that come with the filter. But I’ll give you a few basic steps to help you get the general idea.
Most water filters sit at the bottom front of the refrigerator. At the bottom, there’s usually a rectangular grate that is snapped on and can be removed. On most refrigerators, there’s a circular cutout where your water filter is. What you most often need to watch out for is the dirt and grim that usually accumulates at the bottom of the refrigerator. If you’re putting your hands down there, be sure to wash very thoroughly. Sometimes, you won’t even need to take off the grate, but can just grab hold of the circular water filter and turn it to the left until it releases from the refrigerator. See picture:
Like I said before though, sometimes it’s difficult to get enough leverage to turn the filter without taking off the grate. You’ll just have to see. The filters are somewhat pressurized which makes releasing them a bit of a challenge. But one way or another, you should be able to change your water filter. With the GE MWF filter, a check valve stops the flow of water to prevent any leakage, so you don’t even need to turn your water off. Many refrigerators have similar check valves, but I’ve worked with some where leakage always seems to happen.
Once you change your filter out, make sure that you flush the new filter thoroughly. Most refrigerators recommend that you flush at least 2 gallons through the new filter before it’s ready to drink from. This is good advice, and while it may take a bit of time to flush that much water out of a refrigerator filter, it’s definitely time well spent. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to leave questions in the comments.
