Whether you’re considering an ice maker for your business or are already using an ice machine, it’s a great option to upgrade your water supply. This can help your workforce stay hydrated and enjoy a cool and refreshing drink throughout the day — which is valuable for your overall productivity and efficiency. However, if you’re experiencing ice with a bad taste or strange smell, there’s a chance that something isn’t quite right. This can be a detriment to your workplace hydration, which means it’s necessary to identify what could be causing these problems and fix them accordingly.
Read on to learn more about what it means when ice from your ice maker tastes like metal and what you can do to remedy the issue.
Why Does Ice From Your Ice Maker Taste Like Metal?
Before you can begin to fix any ice maker difficulties you’re running into, it’s critical to understand what might be causing them. The main reasons your ice has a metallic taste or an off-taste in general, include:
A dirty water filter
Filtered water and ice are advantageous to improve your drinking water supply at work, however, these filters have their limits. An ice filter is essential to purify the water that makes your ice cubes, but if you’re experiencing cloudy ice or a poor taste, this is a telltale sign that it might be time to change your filter.
According to Hygiene Food Safety, bacteria such as Listeria monocytogenes are able to survive in ice cubes, which means infrequent filter changes run the risk of negatively impacting your employees’ and consumers’ long-term health. Periodically changing your filter is not only a necessity to provide great-tasting ice but also to avoid mold and bacteria which has a significant effect on your businesses’ overall engagement, productivity, and absenteeism.
The recommended time to replace your filter can vary depending on the model you use and how much you use it. As a result, it’s critical to pay attention to your ice supply and change your filter as you see fit — so you can provide fresh, clear ice to your workplace year-round.
Lack of use
Another reason you might be running into a less than tasty ice supply is that you aren’t using your ice maker enough. Most aren’t aware that infrequent use of an ice machine can lead to stale ice. Your once clear and fresh ice supply can start to absorb odors from what’s in the freezer or even simply from the ice bin it sits in.
In this case, a remedy is rather simple. Dump the old ice or stale ice cubes and start to use your machine more often. Or, consider a smaller ice maker if you find your capacity needs aren’t as much as you first anticipated. If you suspect your ice bin or ice cube tray is causing a smell or adding to the problem, it’s also valuable to regularly clean this part of the machine to guarantee better-tasting ice.
A bad water supply
If a dirty water filter or infrequent use doesn’t seem to be the cause of the issue, it’s time to consider your water supply as the possible culprit. Water quality varies greatly from one place to another, which means different minerals and pollutants from your water source can find their way into your ice supply. So, if your ice has a metallic taste and unpleasant smell, make sure you don’t count out your water supply as the reason. However, with a proper water filter in place, you can not only remove contaminants and other unwanted elements from your drinking water but inevitably from your ice supply as well.
How Can You Fix Your Ice Maker Issues?
An unpleasant smell or bad taste can quickly turn employees and customers away from water — which is a detriment to your workplace hydration and long-term productivity. According to NeuroGrow, this dehydration is likely to result in memory loss, poor focus and attention, slow information processing, irritability, headaches and more. Luckily, mitigating your ice maker issues to improve hydration is easier than you might expect. Keeping an eye out for cloudy ice, an abnormal odor, or an unclean ice tray or ice bin can help you spot these issues before they get out of hand.
Best practices to upgrade your ice production include replacing your water filter, running your machine more frequently, and looking into your water supply when something seems off. However, one of the most effective ways to ensure you have access to fresh ice is to rent a commercial ice machine. This can take a majority of the hard work out of your hands. With a reliable machine and dependable vendor on your side, you can easily safeguard your ice maker from getting dirty.
Water service providers like Quench® offer all-inclusive services like tank cleanings and filter changes while guaranteeing 2 preventive maintenance visits per year. Moreover, these advanced ice makers come with built-in filtration and sanitization systems to elevate your ice supply even more. The culmination of these services ensures your employees and consumers have access to clean and clear ice whenever they need it.
Choosing a Reliable Ice Machine and Dependable Vendor
If you’ve been considering an ice maker for your business and want to guarantee your ice tastes great, utilizing a reliable machine and choosing a dependable vendor can make a huge difference. Employing a commercial ice machine from a water service provider like Quench means your business can leverage high-quality solutions and reliable service for great-tasting ice year-round. With a top-tier machine, you’re also significantly less likely to run into issues throughout use, and when you do, you can rest assured that you have fast access to the help you need.
Procuring a high-quality ice maker from a trusted vendor can help your business realize benefits including:
- Increased workplace hydration.
- More engaged and productive employees.
- Improved customer satisfaction.
- Enhanced employee and consumer well-being.
- Improved focus and increased alertness.
Improving Your Ice and Water Supply With a Machine From Quench
Understanding why your ice has a metallic taste or a strange odor, and how to fix these issues, is critical to ensure you’re providing the highest-quality ice to your business. However, the best way to mitigate these problems in the first place is to choose a top-tier ice maker solution with Quench.
Quench offers a wide array of commercial ice makers that employ the same advanced filtration and sanitization technologies as our bottleless water coolers. You can explore an abundance of machines that suit your individual capacity needs.
Water dispensers are a progressively important amenity for any business and ice makers only help you drive workplace hydration even more. If you’re ready to improve your workplace ice supply with advanced solutions from Quench, try our product finder to discover the machine that’s the right fit for your business. Or, get a free quote to get started.
