My refrigerator has a built in ice maker and water dispenser.  So, it is directly connected to the cold water line in the basement.

To make sure that the inner workings of the frig don’t get plugged up, at also has a built in water filter.  And, in  theory, this water filter should be changed every few months.  But, since the city has its own water filtration system, my water is very clean.  Thus, I change the filter every few years.

Well, when I was in Best Buys the other day, I noticed a display with water filters on it.  So, I bought a new one for my frig.

Replacing the filter is pretty straight forward.  Give the old filter a quarter turn and pull it out.  Push the new one in and give it a quarter turn and you are done.

But, when I installed the new filter, there was a noticeable drop in water flow.  In fact, you could die of thirst before you could get a glass of water from it.

Thinking that the new filter must be defective, I bought another one.  But, when I installed the second one, it did the same thing.  So, I decided that it must be a design flaw.

Now, the flow rate was totally unacceptable, so I decided to remove the filter completely.  However, when I did that, nothing changed.  So, I concluded that it must be a problem with the water line itself.

So, we examined the plastic tubing looking for kinks.  But, everything looked fine.

Next, I disconnect the tubing from the main water line and checked the flow.  It was unacceptable.  When I looked in the end of the connection, I could see that the whole thing was blocked.  So, I removed the old connection and replaced it was a new connection and the water worked just fine.

I just don’t know why the flow dropped when I changed the filter.