Monday, November 24, 2008
How to replace the water filter in your Whirlpool Side-by-Side Refrigerator
You should ALWAYS be careful when working on your own appliances. If you feel uncomfortable, don't do it. If it involves getting near electricity... be careful. Oh also, be careful. Did I mention be careful? Seriously, you've got to have serious respect for electricity...
Fortunately, you shouldn't be anywhere near the dangerous stuff when replacing the Whirlpool SXS water filter... I'm just saying. This stuff can kill you if you're not careful.
Anyway, on the the fun:
First, as far as the indicator light goes: Green equals good filter, Yellow equals order another filter, Red equals (you guessed it) stop using this filter and by-gum put another one in it.
These filters operate about a year, and 500 gallons on the models that have the replacement indicator. The sensor operates both on usage and on time of use. So if you're not using it a lot, and a year goes by, you will still get a signal to replace the filter. Whether you do or not is up to you, but you probably should if you're just getting trickles of water through the door and the icemaker isn't producing. Both are signs of filter clogged up with yuck and muck. (Oh yeah, if your refrigerator doesn't have the cool green-yellow-red indicator, just replace it every 6-9 months or so... once again, if the water doesn't flow, the filter has got to go).
Look at the front of your Whirlpool Side-by-Side refrigerator, and nod your head knowingly...
Now look down, and notice the strange round knob amidst the otherwise horizontal lines of the toe panel at the very bottom of the refrigerator (the knob will be below the freezer side).
See it? Great. Now turn that knob one quarter turn counter-clockwise (lefty loosey). This does two things. It is supposed to block the water inlet and outlet valves temporarily, bypassing the filter. It also allows you to pull out the filter.
Yep, just pull it out. It's normal for a small amount of water to trickle out when you pull it out of the filter housing. If it's continuous, or a lot, there's something wrong with the filter system itself. Try putting the filter back, and turning back clockwise one-quarter to the right. Then either call a service center or study a little harder for the somewhat more complicated water filtration system.
Most likely, you'll have a tiny little trickle of water when you pull out the filter, and that's all. Next, take the knob off the old filter, and put it into the new one. There's probably a cap on the end of the new one that's not on the old one. Pull that off. Push the new filter back into the housing and turn the knob one quarter clockwise.
The last step is to run about a gallon or so of water through the filter until the water is clear. You've got to purge the lines of air, and wash out any residual loose carbon dust and whatnot in the water filter. Trust me, you'll enjoy your first glass of water much more after this step. (Oh, be warned, you might get spurts of air & water when you're doing this, it's normal, normally. Again, just purging the lines of air).
To reset the Red indicator to Green, press the light switch 5 times in 10 seconds. It should reset. If not, you've got an operational failure in the control board. Probably.
That's it, hope that helps.
We're happy to come out and do it for you, if you don't want to mess with it, but I'll bet you've got the stuff to handle this one. I know you do. Of course, you just may not want to, and that's cool, too.
Fortunately, you shouldn't be anywhere near the dangerous stuff when replacing the Whirlpool SXS water filter... I'm just saying. This stuff can kill you if you're not careful.
Anyway, on the the fun:
First, as far as the indicator light goes: Green equals good filter, Yellow equals order another filter, Red equals (you guessed it) stop using this filter and by-gum put another one in it.
These filters operate about a year, and 500 gallons on the models that have the replacement indicator. The sensor operates both on usage and on time of use. So if you're not using it a lot, and a year goes by, you will still get a signal to replace the filter. Whether you do or not is up to you, but you probably should if you're just getting trickles of water through the door and the icemaker isn't producing. Both are signs of filter clogged up with yuck and muck. (Oh yeah, if your refrigerator doesn't have the cool green-yellow-red indicator, just replace it every 6-9 months or so... once again, if the water doesn't flow, the filter has got to go).
Look at the front of your Whirlpool Side-by-Side refrigerator, and nod your head knowingly...
Now look down, and notice the strange round knob amidst the otherwise horizontal lines of the toe panel at the very bottom of the refrigerator (the knob will be below the freezer side).
See it? Great. Now turn that knob one quarter turn counter-clockwise (lefty loosey). This does two things. It is supposed to block the water inlet and outlet valves temporarily, bypassing the filter. It also allows you to pull out the filter.
Yep, just pull it out. It's normal for a small amount of water to trickle out when you pull it out of the filter housing. If it's continuous, or a lot, there's something wrong with the filter system itself. Try putting the filter back, and turning back clockwise one-quarter to the right. Then either call a service center or study a little harder for the somewhat more complicated water filtration system.
Most likely, you'll have a tiny little trickle of water when you pull out the filter, and that's all. Next, take the knob off the old filter, and put it into the new one. There's probably a cap on the end of the new one that's not on the old one. Pull that off. Push the new filter back into the housing and turn the knob one quarter clockwise.
The last step is to run about a gallon or so of water through the filter until the water is clear. You've got to purge the lines of air, and wash out any residual loose carbon dust and whatnot in the water filter. Trust me, you'll enjoy your first glass of water much more after this step. (Oh, be warned, you might get spurts of air & water when you're doing this, it's normal, normally. Again, just purging the lines of air).
To reset the Red indicator to Green, press the light switch 5 times in 10 seconds. It should reset. If not, you've got an operational failure in the control board. Probably.
That's it, hope that helps.
We're happy to come out and do it for you, if you don't want to mess with it, but I'll bet you've got the stuff to handle this one. I know you do. Of course, you just may not want to, and that's cool, too.
Labels: diy, refrigerators, water filter, Whirlpool
