When it comes to regular refrigerator maintenance, cleaning your fridge water lines is something that many of us forget.

What are refrigerator water lines? How do I know if my refrigerator has a water line?

Refrigerator water lines are usually found on the back of a refrigerator. If your refrigerator has a built-in water dispenser and/or automatic ice maker your refrigerator has water lines.

Do refrigerator water lines need to be cleaned?

Here are a few reasons why you may want to consider cleaning your water lines:

1. If the water coming from your refrigerator water dispenser tastes like mildew
2. Your refrigerator was recently repaired
3. You have hard water
4. If your refrigerator stops dispensing ice or water suddenly

How do you flush refrigerator lines?

These are general instructions for cleaning refrigerator water lines. Please consult your owner’s manual or reach out to the refrigerator manufacturer for specific instructions.

1. Unplug refrigerator.
2. Turn off the water valve.
3. Dump any ice in your freezer (if applicable).
4. Remove the refrigerator water filter.
5. Locate the reservoir (if applicable) and empty any water out.
6. Clean out the reservoir with 1 cup of vinegar per gallon.
7. Flush a few times before reconnecting water lines.
8. Your refrigerator might have separate lines for the water and ice maker, flush both. Locate both and disconnect one end.
9. Pour distilled vinegar down the tube(s) Pro tip: A funnel might be handy here.
10. Let the vinegar sit and soak for about 10 minutes in the water line(s). Pro tip: Use a clamp to close the end of the waterline(s) while the vinegar is soaking.
11. Once the vinegar has soaked run the vinegar through the water dispenser. If you have an ice maker line, make sure you drain vinegar from the ice maker line with clean water and reattach it. Do this before you run the vinegar through to the water dispenser.
12. Use clean water to rinse your water line(s) to get rid of any remaining contaminants or traces of vinegar.
13. Make sure to wash your ice bin with warm water and vinegar.
14. Thoroughly dry the bin before reinserting it into the refrigerator.
15. Hook the water lines back up.
16. Turn your refrigerator back on
17. Install a new refrigerator filter (please do not reinstall the old one), and turn the water supply back on.
18. Run a few glasses of water through the water dispenser to eliminate any residual vinegar. If applicable, dispose of the first few batches of ice.

We hope this guide to cleaning your refrigerator water lines is helpful to you.

Have you cleaned your refrigerator water lines before? Share your experience with us in the comments.