--- title: "Water or Ice Tasting Stale: Filter Age, Scale and Idle Lines: Causes and Fixes" description: "Water or ice tasting stale is dispenser water, cubes or nugget ice with a flat, musty, chemical or freezer-food taste, often cloudy, slow to come or smaller…" url: "https://appliancemaintenance.center/problems/water-or-ice-tasting-stale/" --- # Water or Ice Tasting Stale: Filter Age, Scale and Idle Lines Water or ice tasting stale is dispenser water, cubes or nugget ice with a flat, musty, chemical or freezer-food taste, often cloudy, slow to come or smaller than it used to be. ## What it usually means. The water in a refrigerator dispenser or an ice maker has passed through a supply line, often a filter, a valve, a reservoir or tank and, for ice, a mold, a plate or an auger in the cold. Each step can change its taste. A filter cartridge does not stop working suddenly; the carbon inside fills up, and the odors and taste it was removing come back well before the indicator changes. Water that sits in the line and the tank on a trip or in a little-used dispenser goes flat. Ice absorbs smells from open food in the freezer and grows a stale crust in a bin that has not been emptied in weeks. On hard water, scale builds on the ice mold or plate and in the valve, and the ice turns cloudy and smaller. In a standalone or nugget ice maker, slime can form in the reservoir and the drain. Most of this is upkeep: a new filter and a flush, an emptied and washed bin, a descaling or clean cycle with the product the maker names, and odors removed from the freezer. If the water valve leaks, the ice maker stops filling or the dispenser pump fails, that is a repair for the sister refrigerator or ice maker repair site. The 6 causes, cheapest first Answer these first 01 Is it the water, the ice or both that taste off, and since when? 02 When was the filter last replaced, and is its reminder light on? 03 Was the house empty for a while, or is the dispenser used only now and then? 04 Is the ice cloudy, smaller than usual, clumped or smelling of freezer food? 05 Is the water hard where you live, and is there white crust on the dispenser or the ice mold? ## Check these before you book. Water or ice tasting stale: 5 checks, and none of them costs anything. 01 Dispense and pour away several glasses of water, and empty the ice bin, then taste what comes next. 02 Check the date on the filter or its reminder, and look at your records for when it was changed. 03 Look at the ice mold, the dispenser outlet and the bin for white crust, film or slime. ### Also worth checking - Sniff the freezer for strong food smells, and cover anything open. - Compare with a glass from the kitchen tap: if the tap tastes off too, the source is the house water. ### How soon does it need a visit? Stale-tasting water or ice is not urgent; book a filter and descaling visit at a convenient time. Stop drinking it and book sooner if the water smells of chemicals, looks discolored, or the tap water tastes wrong as well. ## The causes, cheapest first. 6 things water or ice tasting stale: filter age, scale and idle lines turns out to be, from water sitting in an idle line to water valve or dispenser part failing. [The cost guide](https://appliancemaintenance.center/cost/) 1. 01 no service ### Water sitting in an idle line After a trip or with a dispenser that is rarely used, the water in the line and the tank goes flat. Dispense and discard a few glasses, and throw away the first bins of ice. No service: check it yourself 2. 02 no service ### Ice picking up freezer odors Ice absorbs smells from open containers and strong foods. Empty and wash the bin, cover or wrap strong foods, and put an open box of baking soda in the freezer. No service: check it yourself 3. 03 low ### Filter cartridge past its life A spent carbon filter lets taste and odor through. It is replaced with the cartridge that fits the model, flushed until the water runs clear, and the reminder is reset. [Fixed by water filter and descaling service](https://appliancemaintenance.center/services/water-filter-and-descaling-service/) [On a cold storage unit](https://appliancemaintenance.center/types/cold-storage-maintenance/) 4. 04 low ### Scale on the ice mold or plate Hard water leaves a chalky layer that clouds the ice and slows the harvest. The maker's clean or descaling routine is run with the product it names, and the first ice is discarded. [Fixed by water filter and descaling service](https://appliancemaintenance.center/services/water-filter-and-descaling-service/) [On a cold storage unit](https://appliancemaintenance.center/types/cold-storage-maintenance/) 5. 05 low ### Slime in an ice maker reservoir Standalone and nugget ice makers hold water in a reservoir and drain that can grow a film. The unit is cleaned and sanitized as its maker directs. [Fixed by water filter and descaling service](https://appliancemaintenance.center/services/water-filter-and-descaling-service/) [On a cold storage unit](https://appliancemaintenance.center/types/cold-storage-maintenance/) 6. 06 moderate ### Water valve or dispenser part failing A valve that drips, a line that kinks inside the door or an ice maker that stops filling needs a part. That is a repair for the sister refrigerator or ice maker repair site. [Book a diagnostic visit](https://appliancemaintenance.center/services/diagnostic-visit/) ## What else it could be. Most often confused with white scale on appliance water parts: steam ovens, ice makers, dish care, then frost building up in the freezer between defrosts. [All problems](https://appliancemaintenance.center/problems/) Codes that come with it - [`Water filter symbol` Bertazzoni · Filters](https://appliancemaintenance.center/error-codes/bertazzoni-ice-water-filter-symbol/) - [`Time to Clean light` Café · Reminders, not failures](https://appliancemaintenance.center/error-codes/cafe-time-to-clean/) - [`Replace Filter light (ice maker)` Café · Filters](https://appliancemaintenance.center/error-codes/cafe-replace-filter-ice-maker/) - [`Replace Water Filter / Water Filter Expired` Café · Filters](https://appliancemaintenance.center/error-codes/cafe-refrigerator-filter-messages/) - [`Filter Reset` Dacor · Filters](https://appliancemaintenance.center/error-codes/dacor-filter-reset/) - [`CLEAN` DCS · Scale and descaling](https://appliancemaintenance.center/error-codes/dcs-outdoor-ice-clean/) [17 more codes, by make](https://appliancemaintenance.center/error-codes/) Also related - [**Appliance Maintenance Code or Reminder Light: Filter, Descale, Vent Check** 8 causes](https://appliancemaintenance.center/problems/appliance-maintenance-code/) ### White Scale on Appliance Water Parts: Steam Ovens, Ice Makers, Dish Care 6 causes ### Frost Building Up in the Freezer Between Defrosts 6 causes Fire, gas, water or wiring risk ### Supply Hose Leaking or Bulging Behind an Appliance: Shut the Water Off 6 causes ## The makes it happens on. 35 makes on this site; water or ice tasting stale: filter age, scale and idle lines can show up on any of them. Each mark opens that make's own page. [All 35 brands](https://appliancemaintenance.center/brands/) ## Water or Ice Tasting Stale: Filter Age, Scale and Idle Lines, where we come out. 9 metros, each with its own page. 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After a flush. Most makers ask for a few gallons to be run through a new cartridge to clear air and carbon dust. The first ice after a filter change is also thrown away. ### Why is the ice cloudy when the water looks clear? Cloudiness comes from air and dissolved minerals trapped as the water freezes. Hard water and scale on the mold make it worse. It is usually harmless, but it is a sign that descaling is due. ### Does the filter need changing if the dispenser is barely used? Yes. Carbon that sits wet for months can pick up odors of its own, which is why makers give a time limit as well as a volume limit. ### Can the ice maker bin go in the dish care machine? Some makers allow it and many do not, because of heat. Warm soapy water by hand is safe for any bin; dry it fully before it goes back. --- **[Read on the site: Water or Ice Tasting Stale: Filter Age, Scale and Idle Lines: Causes and Fixes](https://appliancemaintenance.center/problems/water-or-ice-tasting-stale/)** **[Book a visit with ApplianceMaintenance.center](https://appliancemaintenance.center/schedule/)**