Is Refrigerator Water Good For You? (In-depth Answer + Example)

Refrigerator water gives instant relief and soothes us after coming from a sweltering environment. Many sportsmen like cyclists, motorists carry an icy bottle of water. However, more than just feeling refreshed, there are certain things that you shouldn’t miss out to know about drinking refrigerator water.

Here’s If Refrigerator Water Is Good For Your Health – 

Refrigerator Water is cool as well as filtered. Which makes it immediately better than tap water as it’s soothing as well as healthy. However, be mindful to avoid drinking ice-cold water as it is found to cause a sore throat, sensitive teeth, and digestive problems. But, in general, as water coming out of the refrigerator dispenser is filtered, it has contaminations, pollutants, and impurities removed along with several microorganisms and bacteria, hence, it is considered quite safe.

As per the statistical report of WHO and WebMD, at present, at least (50 to 60)% of people consume refrigerated water after any exhaustive activity or normally. This makes us wonder, is this a good habit? Or, what are the long-term effects of drinking refrigerator water?

You really need to know what are the exact benefits & risks of drinking refrigerator water on a regular basis for you, your kids, your pets, old people and family members with underlying health conditions. So, in this article, we’ve elaborated on everything important you should know if you drink water from the refrigerator regularly. Read on!

Where Does Refrigerator Water Come From?

In the old days, we used to keep water bottles in the fridge to get cold water when we needed to. But, those conventional refrigerators are outdated now.

Nowadays, we don’t need to jam our fridges with water bottles; instead, refrigerators provide us with water when required.

There are mainly two sources of water supply to the refrigerator. The first is an inbuilt reservoir that needs to be filled manually from time to time, and the second is the one you connect to your home’s primary water source.

You need to connect a hosepipe to the main water source and join it to the refrigerator’s reservoir. It will fill the reservoir automatically. You don’t need to give any manual effort to fill water in the fridge.

Now, you may ask, is refrigerator water the same as tap water? Of course, yes! It is because your refrigerator’s water supply line is the same as your kitchen sink or bathroom shower supply. The only difference is that the water will go through the filtration process before coming out from the fridge dispenser.

However, make sure that your water supply to the refrigerator is coming from a relatively healthy source. Though the inbuilt filter of the fridge would provide you purified water every time, check the water source regularly, as there could appear any leakage or rusting issues in the long run. Who knows?!

Is Refrigerator Water Same as Distilled Water?

Since we are talking about fridge water filters, does that mean the water coming out is distilled?

The answer is, No! As we are taught in our primaries, water distillation means purifying the water by boiling it. Advanced refrigerators’ inbuilt carbon and ion-exchanged or reverse osmosis filters only purify the collected water from the direct water sources.

However, advanced refrigerator filters add essential minerals to the refrigerator water, whereas distilled water contains some solid contaminants.

What are the Benefits of Drinking Refrigerator Water?

Though we are often told not to consume chilled refrigerator water frequently because of its bad effects. However, surprisingly, cold water has some health benefits — detoxification, boosting metabolism, and many more. Let’s check out some more details about why it is good to drink refrigerator water sometimes:

• Reports say cold water helps us to lose weight. It says that when we drink cold water, our body tries to accustom its temperature to our body temperature. This process burns calories and leads to weight loss
• Drinking cold water during extensive physical activities can keep your endurance level up
• Consuming refrigerator water helps to produce less sweat and keeps us active for a long time while working
• Drinking cold water in the morning can boost your digestive system
• Refrigerator water, as well as cold water, detoxifies your body
• Coldwater increases the nutrients absorbing ability of your body, notably in the summer season
• Sometimes drinking cold water foment can cure excessive headache at once

What Do The Refrigerator Filters Do?

We all know that 70% of our body is made of water. So, our health instructors and doctors always keep advising us to drink plenty of water. It would keep us hydrated and also remove toxins from our bodies. But, what if our drinking water is not pure itself!

So, you need to purify your drinking water before drinking it, whether it is tap water or collected from your refrigerator reservoir. We all know about the general (electric) water filters that we install to drink purified water. But now, there are refrigerators that come with inbuilt water filters to do the job.

We have done thorough research on different refrigerator water filters according to their eligibility to fit in the maximum refrigerators brands/models with the best filtration systems. Therefore, we have sought the best options for the refrigerator water filter for you. Check them out below:

Culligan IC-EZ-1

Go for Culligan IC-EZ-1 if you are looking for the best inline water filter, in case your refrigerator doesn’t have one already in it. The product price is beyond your affordability. What more? Well, you can install it between your main water source and the refrigerator.

The filter is NSF, IAPMO, and ANSI certified. Its three external testing systems assure successful chlorine elimination from the refrigerator water. Don’t miss out on the 12 months guarantee offer currently available on Amazon.com!

PureLine MWF Water Filter

If you are looking for an advanced water filter with triple action filtration, check out the PureLine MWF water filter. This refrigerator water filter uses a coconut carbon block for removing impurities from your refrigerator water.

It guarantees to effectively reduce contaminant counts from the water, including lousy odour and other water residuals. This one is also certified by NFS, WQA, and IAPMO.

So, hurry and grab it from Amazon.com before its price hikes!

Other Top-Rated Refrigerator Water Filter

Both WaterDrop Advanced and EcoAqua refrigerator filters have the same features as the immediate above option. Plus, both are available at a reasonable price on Amazon.com.

If you are looking for a widely compatible water filter that fits any refrigerator, go for the WaterDrop Advanced options. It has two variants available on the market that can match the following refrigerator models:

• Whirlpool
• Maytag
• LG, and
• Kenmore refrigerator

Now, the question is how refrigerator filters purify water? Let’s check it out in detail here.

How do Refrigerator Filters Water?

Refrigerator filters are generally simple carbon filters. They purify the fridge reservoir water by passing it through carbon filtration. The carbon filter works like a magnet that collects all the water impurities. It is the process of reducing imperfection by absorption.

NSF 42 certified refrigerator filters mainly discard Chlorine from the water and enhance its taste. But, if you ask me which is the best? It is the NSF 58 certified reverse osmosis water filter.

But, do you still think your refrigerator water is clean enough to protect yourself from any water-borne disease?

Well, I don’t think so. Regular, unfiltered water contains various contaminants, like lead, Chromium-6, and many other pollutants, except Chlorine.

If you drink that impure water dispensed from your refrigerator’s inbuilt dispenser, it might make you sick. So, you would require something more powerful and effective to eliminate all the impurities from your drinking water.

As per statistical reports of the Water Purity Survey of the United States of America, the Chicago region has found the maximum lead level in the water. Similarly, you can see, industrial areas like Michigan’s groundwater contain threatening levels of Chromium-6. It can cause permanent organ damage if drank continuously.

As I discussed earlier, refrigerator filters are not eligible to remove all harmful contaminants from water. And, you will need a more robust water filter with advanced filtration techniques. For this, you can opt for NSF 58 certified reverse osmosis water filters to get the best-purified fridge water.

Besides, refrigerator filters are small and get clogged at an early stage. Large water filters are out of such clogging problems and provide high-level filtrations. Plus, they are budget-friendly, too.

I would recommend you install a whole house filter to your house’s main water supply source. It will help to purify your highly contaminated groundwater supply. But, mind you, every fridge filter has a specific validity period, after which you have to replace it.

When should you change the fridge water filter?

You see, the small filters, especially the refrigerator ones, are difficult to clean and maintain regularly. So, they get out of service very frequently and need to be changed. Most refrigerator manufacturers suggest changing the fridge filters every six months.

Let me lead you to a few signs that would help you identify the time to change your unit filter.

So are the conditions:

• Smelly water or ice dispensing
• The tanned or bitter taste of fridge water and ice
• Low water pressure while dispensing
• Ice maker is not working
• Whenever you notice the above problems, please take it as an indication that you need to change your fridge filter.

Refrigerator Filtered Water Vs. Bottled Water

More than 90% of people prefer bottled water rather than drinking filtered tap water. It is because we have a common concept that bottled water is purer than filtered water. But, Consumer’s Research Report says that our idea is wrong!

You may ask, why? According to water quality test experts, bottled water contains alarming amounts of Arsenic despite going through several advanced purification processes. And, Arsenic is considered poison for the human body.

Now, what would be a better alternative to bottled water? Well, you can install an electric water purifier at your home.

Otherwise, if you have an updated refrigerator with an inbuilt water filtration system, it will also provide you with cleaner water than bottled water.

Possible Dangers & Risks Of Refrigerator Water

Keeping yourself hydrated is essential. It regulates our body functions effectively. But, there are some debates on which water temperature level will suit your health.

Usually, we drink room temperature water. However, chilled water gives us more refreshments, though most health experts and doctors consider cold water harmful to health.

But, can chilled refrigerator water make us sick? Well, I would say yes, it can, in some notable ways.

A small countryside U.S. Study Report of 1978 shows refrigerator water has caused thicker nasal mucus and infected human respiratory tracts. People even complain of having severe migraine pain due to drinking refrigerator water.

On the contrary, some pediatrics advise new parents to give their teething babies a few sips of cold water to soothe the babies’ irritable gums. Similarly, vets often recommend the animal owners give their pets cold water or ice cubes in the summer season.

Now, read on to learn the possible risk factors of drinking chilled refrigerator water on a regular basis:

• Ice-cold refrigerator water can affect our digestive and metabolism system
• Excessive intake of cold water hinders absorption of nutrients from blood during the digestion process
• Chilly Refrigerator water often cause sore throat
• It decreases heart rates which can be favorable in some conditions but can be risky for some people with heart problems or blood pressure issues
• Consuming very cool refrigerator water immediately after an extensive workout might cause stomach pain
• Super chilly Refrigerator water can shock your body due to sudden temperature mismatch during hot summer days
• Regularly drinking chilled water from Refrigerator is found to cause obesity. Chilly Refrigerator water resists your body’s fat breakdown system by storing the unsaturated fats in the blood
• Refrigerator water makes the food particles solid after intaking along with, that can cause constipation
• Drinking cold water in the winter season can cause dehydration

So, though there are good benefits of drinking water coming out of refrigerator water dispenser due to it being healthy as it is filtered, you need to control your habit of drinking super cold water because then the risks will overpower the benefits.

Conclusion

So, finally, we can conclude that drinking refrigerator water has more benefits than risks. In general, refrigerator water is purer than regular tap water if your refrigerator water filter is working properly and if you’re not drinking ice cold water always.

References:

Drinking Cold Water Effects

Filtered & Bottled Water Study