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Salty Ice Cubes

11/02/2007 8:00 AM

My sister-in-law called the other day and said her ice cubes tasted salty. No other water taps in the house tasted salty. She has a water softener installed but it is down line from the ice cube maker in the hard water line. there was no drop in water pressure at anytime. after about a week of dumping ice cubes it has finally cleared up. any ideas on what may have caused this temporary salty condition in the cubes?

oilcan13

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#1

Re: Salty Ice Cubes

11/02/2007 8:30 AM

Could it have been caused by the back siphoning from the softener?

The salts used in a water softner must have caused it I would guess... I'm not an expert in this area so its only a guess.

John.

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#3
In reply to #1

Re: Salty Ice Cubes

11/02/2007 8:51 AM

that was My first guess but without a pressure drop I don't think thats the problem.

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#7
In reply to #1

Re: Salty Ice Cubes

11/02/2007 12:53 PM

I think this sounds about right. Especially if she just added the salt prior to the incident. But I am no expert either.

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#2

Re: Salty Ice Cubes

11/02/2007 8:32 AM

Ordinarily, when salt water freezes, the ions remain in the aqueous phase.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_ice

One possible explanation is that there was no aqueous phase present in the ice cube maker into which the ions could escape. Is it 'running too hard'? Is the reject water outlet blocked?

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#4
In reply to #2

Re: Salty Ice Cubes

11/02/2007 8:57 AM

I doubt that it was runing to hard since we draw our tap water from lake michigan.

I'm not a chemical engineer so I don"t quite understand "aqueous stage"

I didn't check for any blockage.Are You talking about blockage at the softner?

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#16
In reply to #4

Re: Salty Ice Cubes

11/05/2007 5:07 AM

As ice forms, any Na+ and Cl- ions will migrate away from the ice and into the water that remains. Let's call this 'reject' water for the moment. If the reject water is not removed from the equipment and fresh water brought in to replace it, eventually the reject water will freeze and the ions will remain bound in the ice matrix, simply because they've nowhere else to go. When it melts, the ions will be released, giving rise to a salty taste.

So there might be one stream in, the feedwater, and two streams out, one being ice and the other the reject, being a more concentrated version of the feedwater. If so, the reject stream might be blocked or frozen-up. Is this what's happening?

If there is no reject stream and the inlet had received a dose of salt by fair means or foul at some time in the past, then the equipment will produce salty-tasing ice until the ice containing the salt has passed out of it. Is this what is happening?

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#17
In reply to #16

Re: Salty Ice Cubes

11/05/2007 8:28 AM

There is no reject stream. My sister-in-law lives by herself so I doubt salt was injected by foul means. However Your first comment seems plausible "ions moving into aqueous state of ice maker" and eventually freezing. the system has since cleared up and she now has salt free cubes. Thanks for Your comments.

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#21
In reply to #17

Salty Ice Cubes..ME TOO, HELP!!!

07/19/2008 12:13 PM

ME TOO!!! I have salty ice cubes. Yes, I have a softener, and I also disconnected the line from the back of the fridge and ran the water into a 5 gallon bucket. Whilest I was running the water I noted (sticking my face in it) that it wasnt salty. After I had reconnected the line, and subsequently let the ice maker do its thing...again, or rather, STILL, I have nasty, salty cubes. There was never any failure of softener equipment, nor was there a time when it had been shut off, or a lapse in use. I absolutely cannot figure this one out.

Initially, the ice maker kept kicking itself off, after having blamed the children numerous times, a propped a hammer on the arm of the ice maker and soon it had kicked that off. Now, it no longer kicks itself off, but even after running 100+ ice "dumps", the cubes are still VERY salty. Is there a way that I could run JUST WATER through the ice maker?

Frustrated Nurse in Hell's Oven (Florida)

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#22
In reply to #21

Re: Salty Ice Cubes..ME TOO, HELP!!!

07/20/2008 11:53 PM

Yes. Move to "hell's Kitchen," and then watch out for a little girl in a yellow rain coat. If you see her, give her the 12 gauge - both barrels.

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#23
In reply to #21

Re: Salty Ice Cubes..ME TOO, HELP!!!

07/16/2010 10:54 AM

Did you ever find a solution to your problem? I'm having the same problem with my refrigerator. I've done several dumps of the ice cube container, but I still have the same issue. I can't figure it out.

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#20
In reply to #16

Re: Salty Ice Cubes

11/06/2007 2:18 AM

My money is still on the St. Bernard. Check for paw prints.

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#5

Re: Salty Ice Cubes

11/02/2007 10:27 AM

Did you keep any of the salty cubes (or the water from them)? If so, you could evaporate off the water & have a look at the crystals - might tell something?

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#6

Re: Salty Ice Cubes

11/02/2007 11:29 AM

just throw stuff out there,

does you refridgerator have an icemaker or do you make it in an ice tray.

if in an ice tray, could your try have been contaminated, (or do you have kids, with a poor sense of humor?)

walls on the water line have a build up an some scale broke loose. Did you (in the house) or untilities do any work on the water line?

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#8

Re: Salty Ice Cubes

11/02/2007 1:58 PM

Does the fridge have a built in filter and has it been checked? Maybe the filter failed allowing salts trapped behind it to dump into the ice maker.

Just a swag...

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#9

Re: Salty Ice Cubes

11/02/2007 4:58 PM

Wait. Next week it will be a peppery taste. :D

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#10
In reply to #9

Re: Salty Ice Cubes

11/03/2007 2:31 AM

Seasoning salt?

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#11
In reply to #9

Re: Salty Ice Cubes

11/03/2007 2:50 AM

Are these ice cubes yellow?

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#12
In reply to #11

Re: Salty Ice Cubes

11/03/2007 4:42 AM

Bet you've got a few Frank Zappa albums on the shelf over there

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#13

Re: Salty Ice Cubes

11/03/2007 10:38 PM

Does the fridge have a small water softener actually in it?

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#14
In reply to #13

Re: Salty Ice Cubes

11/04/2007 6:57 AM

no

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#15
In reply to #14

Re: Salty Ice Cubes

11/04/2007 11:37 PM

Does the fridge have a small St. Bernard in it?

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#18

Re: Salty Ice Cubes

11/05/2007 8:35 AM

Well, at least you can dispense with applying salt to the glass your Margaretta is in!!!

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#19

Re: Salty Ice Cubes

11/05/2007 11:31 AM

SOUNDS LIKE SOMEONE WAS TRYING TO MAKE SALT ICE CUBES TO PLACE IN MARGARITAS !!!!

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#24

Re: Salty Ice Cubes

03/13/2011 10:10 AM

I have had the same problem, salty ice cubes, since 2006. I've now had 5 different water guys out & none are able to figure this out. Yes, I own a softener, tho the cubes are the only thing that is salty....and it does not change if I put in salt, or even of i am completely out of salt. We've now replaced all the incoming lines, that is, after having cleaned everything. I get stupid looks if I mention a clogged drain....but there aren't any other options....rather, all other diagnosis have been eliminated......I think.... Any suggestions are welcome.....in fact, I'm pleading for them! I've had of with buying ice .....and with 5 boys between ages 13-20, all serious sports plalone and a spouse who is a professional coach....well, one can imagine the amount of ice I buy. In fact, I bet I spend $45-$60 a month on ice, alone. Grrrrr in Florida

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