Collection: Refrigerator Air Filters

Refrigerator Air Filters

Food gives off odors, and a refrigerator is a sealed box, so those odors have nowhere to go. Strong cheeses, cut onions, leftovers, and raw meat all release compounds that circulate inside the compartment and settle into whatever else is stored there. Baking soda absorbs some of it, which is why it sat in the back of so many refrigerators for so long, but an open box cannot keep up with the smells that build in a full refrigerator.

A refrigerator air filter is the answer appliance makers developed for that problem. Most use activated carbon held in a cartridge that clips into a vent or a small housing inside the fresh food compartment, and the air circulating through the refrigerator passes across the carbon. The carbon is designed to trap odor compounds instead of letting them move from one shelf to the next.

The result people notice is a cleaner smell when the door opens. The less obvious benefit is taste. Odors that travel between foods change how those foods taste, so milk stops picking up what is sitting beside it, and butter, cheese, and leftovers hold their own flavor longer. Refrigerators that came from the factory with an air filter compartment were built to be maintained this way.

Fit is specific to the refrigerator. Air filter cartridges are keyed to the housing they snap into, so match the part number on the old cartridge, or the model number of the refrigerator, before ordering. Carbon has a finite capacity and stops working once it is loaded, which is why most manufacturers suggest replacing the air filter on a set schedule rather than waiting for a smell to return. The owner manual gives the interval for your model. A subscribe and save plan keeps a fresh air filter arriving on schedule.