# Ice maker - paperlike substance on ice



## MCHarris (Sep 15, 2019)

My 2005 Whirlpool GS6SHEXNL00 fridge's ice maker's ice cubes occasionally have a thin film stuck to them that looks like very thin masking tape (see images). Also, the ice maker works intermittently. It will stop working for days-to-weeks at a time and then begin working normally again. 



Also, we have a whole-house water filtration and softening system that uses potassium salt to soften. Since the water arriving at the fridge is already filtered we do not use a filter in the fridge. 



I wonder if the paper-like sheets that are getting stuck to the ice are (a) causing the intermittent functioning and (b) caused by the potassium salts in the water. 



Have you seen or heard of anything like this? What would you try to resolve this? I have ordered water filters for the fridge and will find out if they resolve the issue. If they do I will assume it's the potassium chloride causing these weird paper-like sheets. See attached images.


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## MCHarris (Sep 15, 2019)

I don't understand your question.


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

It is likely calcium. You could have a sample tested.


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## MCHarris (Sep 15, 2019)

Nealtw said:


> It is likely calcium. You could have a sample tested.


Thanks. The water is filtered for particulates before getting to the fridge. Still, it's a good suggestion to have the water tested. Maybe our filtration isn't working properly.


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

*https://www.aquapurefilters.com/contaminants/115/calcium.html
*

*Treatment of Calcium*

Calcium, as with all hardness, can be removed with a simple sodium form cation exchanger (softener). Reverse Osmosis will remove 95% - 98% of the calcium in the water. Electrodialysis and Ultrafiltration also will remove calcium. Calcium can also be removed with the hydrogen form cation exchanger portion of a deionizer system​


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## SPS-1 (Oct 21, 2008)

MCHarris said:


> Maybe our filtration isn't working properly.


That would be my first guess (or more likely the water softener). You should be able to buy a simple hard water test kit at a good hardware store.


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## Druidia (Oct 9, 2011)

Have you checked the surface of your ice maker mold? Is the coating still intact?

If it’s from 2005, the coating would already be flaking off and coming off with your ice when the ice gets pushed out during release. 

Once or twice a year, the mold needs to be cleaned. It gets dirty even though it’s inside the freezer.


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## 660catman (Aug 25, 2019)

Few years back the coating came off my ice maker. Changed it myself. For the life of me I can’t remember if it came off like that with the ice. Whirlpool fridge also. 


Retired guy from Southern Manitoba, Canada.


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## Druidia (Oct 9, 2011)

When my ice maker mold’s coating was coming off, they were in very very small pieces. 

The stuff in the OP’s ice is VERY large. It has a shape - one area looks like it peeled off a corner. The lower portion of the “foreign” stuff is greyish which could just be dirt from 14 years of use. 

When I removed a 9-YO ice maker mold before, there was a layer of dirt at the ice/water level but none above that. I’ve had white, grey and green tiny stuff in it. This was from a freezer that didn’t have a water filter. Solenoid valves have a wire screen but the holes are too large. The wire screen had green stuff - corrosion products from the copper tubing connected to it. 

OP, remove your ice maker mold and take a photo of it (showing the inner surface). 

The coating on ice maker molds don’t last very long. I would just replace them every 5 years. The modules are cheap (< $50).


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## MCHarris (Sep 15, 2019)

I found this helpful video on the AppliancePartsPros website. It is not my model of fridge but is close enough I think I can replace the mold. It appears to be the same mold my fridge uses.


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## Druidia (Oct 9, 2011)

MCHarris said:


> I found this helpful video on the AppliancePartsPros website. It is not my model of fridge but is close enough I think I can replace the mold. It appears to be the same mold my fridge uses.





The entire IM assembly can be purchased for less than $50 on Amazon. 

Much easier than having to replace just the mold (which, in your link, costs $74).


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## MCHarris (Sep 15, 2019)

I bought the replacement icemaker on Amazon and found the replacement instructional video for the same model. Thanks!


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