Countertop Ice Maker (help)

This is more of a chemistry question. I tried googling and I think I know the answer but I'm really not sure. I just learned this when I discovered something with my countertop ice maker... which I've used a lot for a few months and taken immaculate care of (as I try to do everything I have)...

I use RO (reverse osmosis water) which reads 0 to at most 1 ppm... I fill 3 glass gallon jugs with RO water that stays in the fridge and I use it mostly when I make coffee in my Keurig or make ice with the ice maker... The entire ice maker stays spotless because after I'm done with it... I use my clip fan to dry the inside so nothing will grow in there..

Today I noticed the silver prongs/ rods whatever they are are almost discolored... and it's not minerals.

From searching I found out that RO water is acidic..and that it could possibly be eating away at that coating because it and metal don't mix

Now when I make coffee or drink the water, I add mineral drops to it... after the coffee is made.. not before.

So all of this time I thought I was saving my coffee and ice maker but in fact I might be destroying it by using RO water??

which leads me to my main question: If I put mineral drops in the water in my keurig and ice maker will this make the water less acidic preventing any damange?

I wish I had known this...

I also found you can buy alkaline drops as well... But I thought minerals made the water alkaline... why would you need both?

Oh well. Here's a pic of it.. It still works great but if you look closely at the prongs zoomed in you can see it

View Full Size


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Post# 1213794 9/3/2024 at 23:27 by mark_wpduet (Lexington KY)
Checkrate/Likes This is more of a chemistry question. I tried googling and I think I know the answer but I'm really not sure. I just learned this when I discovered something with my countertop ice maker... which I've used a lot for a few months and taken immaculate care of (as I try to do everything I have)... I use RO (reverse osmosis water) which reads 0 to at most 1 ppm... I fill 3 glass gallon jugs with RO water that stays in the fridge and I use it mostly when I make coffee in my Keurig or make ice with the ice maker... The entire ice maker stays spotless because after I'm done with it... I use my clip fan to dry the inside so nothing will grow in there.. Today I noticed the silver prongs/ rods whatever they are are almost discolored... and it's not minerals. From searching I found out that RO water is acidic..and that it could possibly be eating away at that coating because it and metal don't mix Now when I make coffee or drink the water, I add mineral drops to it... after the coffee is made.. not before. So all of this time I thought I was saving my coffee and ice maker but in fact I might be destroying it by using RO water?? which leads me to my main question: If I put mineral drops in the water in my keurig and ice maker will this make the water less acidic preventing any damange? I wish I had known this... I also found you can buy alkaline drops as well... But I thought minerals made the water alkaline... why would you need both? Oh well. Here's a pic of it.. It still works great but if you look closely at the prongs zoomed in you can see it View Full Size

Post# 1213798 , Reply# 1 9/4/2024 at 00:00 by henene4 (Heidenheim a.d. Brenz (Germany))
Checkrate/Likes It's more along the line of corrosion. Highly pure water can cause corrosion. Best way I always thought of it is that the minerals (like magnesium) acted like sacrificial anodes, just dissolved, not unlike a water heater. Or: Most "minerals" are metal salts (magnesium is a metal after all). Water wants to dissolve everything, the less it has of it in it, the more it want's to dissolve it. So if you take out EVERYTHING, it wants do dissolve more of the metal and it's oxide layers on its surface. So, some manufacturers very clearly state in their manuals NOT to use distilled water or similar, but at most diluted tap water (usually half/half tap water and the mineral-less water). Some don't - never understood which kinds of metals are affected when.

Post# 1213804 , Reply# 2 9/4/2024 at 06:50 by Combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)
Checkrate/Likes *Icemaker, corrosion, etc.* I wouldn�t worry about the Chinese icemaker, however, you might want to be concerned about whatever coating and metal is corroding that you are ingesting now. I found one of these icemaking machines in a trash heap some years ago. It works fine. I take it camping with us. It�s really the only time I�ve used it. Doesn�t your whirlpool refrigerator have an icemaker? It�s cheaper to use the one in the refrigerator. That�s already running. John

Post# 1213832 , Reply# 3 9/4/2024 at 14:53 by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)
Checkrate/Likes What are mineral drops? Thank you.

Post# 1213838 , Reply# 4 9/4/2024 at 16:50 by mark_wpduet (Lexington KY)
Checkrate/Likes Mineral drops are drops you can buy to add back to ultra pure water that's had the minerals stripped... like reverse osmosis water... Like when you see bottled water that's been purfied... they add minerals back to that... I think that makes the water more alkaline.... before that it's acidic... but I'm not 100% sure about that. The reason is... the filter is stuck in my whirlpool side x side..Long ago I goofed up and screwed up the door that pulls out the filter.. I wasn't paying attention during a filter change and didn't remove those filter covers on the filter and popped the door off trying to install it... I did get the door back on... but now I can't get the filter out... so the filter has been in there like 4 years..I tried getting it out with everything in me...we don't trust using water through that filter. So I make ice and put it in the bin...