[Dr. Nick]

Hi -

I have a Jenn Air bottom freezer refrigerator (Model JBL2286KES) with the internal water dispenser. After changing the filter and flushing it, the water tastes really bad. Thought it was a defective filter so I tried another new filter, flushed it thoroughly, but the water still had the bad taste. I've never had this problem after previous filter changes. If I fill and dump several glasses, the water starts to taste more "normal" as I go along. Just seems like the initial few glasses of really cold water have the bad taste. But then if no one uses the water dispenser for a while, those first few glasses of water after that have the bad taste.

I thought it might be an issue with the refrigerator or the lines, so I had a service man come out to take a look. He said he could find nothing wrong with it and blamed the bad taste on the water supply itself. He said the foul taste was due to chloramins (sp?) and other contaminants in the water. He also said that the cold water was magnifying the bad taste and that's why the first few glasses tasted so bad. He said as the water warmed up a little, the bad taste dissipates. He suggested that we could install a reverse osmosis system to really get pure water or just go the cheap route and start using a Brita. Overall, I thought the repair guy was full of b.s. and I still think there's something wrong with the water line to the refrigerator.

Anyway, has anyone heard of a problem like this? Or have any suggestions or solutions?

Thanks and Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

[Roxanne]

Merry X-Mas and Happy New Year to you as well Dr. Nick!

A few questions...

Is the bad taste & smell only coming from your refrigerator water? I mean, if that's the only water in your house that smells bad it doesn't make sense that it would be the water supply source.


Are you on well water or city water?

[Dr. Nick]

I'm on city water.

The regular tap water tastes OK to me, although it does have a slightly stronger than normal chlorine smell to it. The refrigerator water taste is difficult to describe. To me it tastes like plastic and almost sour. My wife says the water has a mineral or salty taste to it.

[Andy CWS]

The lines leading to the fridge are probably plastic. Chlorinated water can oxidize these lines and create an unpleasant taste and, sometimes, odor.

The carbon filter should manage these but sometimes they can't.

I would recommend an RO for the sink and an attachment for the fridge.

Andy.