The rental house we are in has a KitchenAid undercounter ice machine that is about 6 years old. This is the second machine in the house that is about 15 years old. As Sophie said, ice machines made by the Whirlpool Corp are basically the same no matter the brand. I'll share our experience for the benefit of others. I love the clear ice but am not crazy about the small, square cubes. They melt relatively quickly. If I were installing an ice machine, I'd want to go with a model that produces large cubes. But then those cost more than a KitchenAid, I think. We live in an area with relatively soft water. Even so, water takes a toll on the valves of the ice maker. In 6 years, the water valve has been replaced twice. We realized the ice production was way down, did some research and discovered the water valve was the issue. Once it was replaced, we realized the ice cubes had been getting smaller over the months but gradually enough that we didn't notice. For hard water areas of the country, I would recommend supplying the machine with reverse osmosis treated water. We have cleaned the ice machine with the special cleaning solution every 6 months based on when the "clean" light comes on. That process is simple. We use the solution recommended by the manufacturer and it is pricey - about $13 a bottle, one bottle per cleaning cycle. As this is a rental house, I do not want to use any other solution that I've read about on the internet that would be cheaper. As far as mold, when we moved into the rental house, it had been vacant for about 3 months. The AC had been on (at maybe 78-80 degrees) and the ice machine was on, too, but there was a lot of mold throughout the areas exposed to water. This type of mold is always challenge to life in the hot, humid South. I thoroughly cleaned the mold and it has not returned but I do keep an eye on it and clean as needed. The ice machine makes several different sounds as it goes through its cycles - draining noises, gurgling, cubes dropping. I don't find them obnoxious but then I am not a "hearing" sensitive person. The machine does put out a lot of heat as any machine that cools/freezes does. This should be a consideration for placement. I sure as heck wouldn't want it in my cooking zone. We are building a new house and considered an ice machine but just could not justify the luxury. In my opinion it is truly a luxury item because of the initial cost and the fact that it makes ice all day, every day. Ice production is not based on usage. If we entertained groups frequently, we probably would have planned for one.

My kitchen is almost done and I finally get to post to this thread! In no particular order... I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my: -blumotion full extension drawers in the pantry, NOTHING gets lost and it is ALWAYS neat! Wooo hoooo!! -soft close cabinet doors -hot water tap (though I had this before the remodel...still LOVE it though) -super susans -Blanco silgranit super single sink -granite counters (never had them before and LOVE how easy they are to keep clean compared to my white laminate pre-model) -LOVE that my garbage is finally in the cabinet now! It was in our old house and when we moved I HATED having to keep it out. LOVE IT! -oh, and I really, really prefer my rev-a-shelf under sink organizer to the tilt out drawers I used to have.

Providing filtered water to your ice maker might result in better tasting, or tasteless, ice cubes, but whether they are crystal clear has more to do with the freezing dynamics at work and I doubt that your home refer could do it (the temperature is not low enough).

It's a U-Line BI1215, which creates crescent shaped traditional (non clear) ice "cubes." It's brand new so I was instructed to toss the first several batches. We are waaayyy beyond the first few batches, four days of batches to be honest. I'd expect the newness to be gone, wouldn't you? I am not using it since it smells and tastes so icky. My best description is a strong plastic-y smell and taste. (I haven't swallowed any, just tasted melted "cubes") It was connected using a braided water line supply kit, hooked to my sink water line. The water is not filtered. I called U-Line and spoke with a person who suggested putting vinegar in the ice tray and then trying the Ice Machine Cleaning packet if the vinegar doesn't work. I tried the vinegar and now the ice is really gross. I will have to wait for the cleaner to arrive. Until then, has anyone else had a similar problem? What was the cause? And the solution? Even though my sink water tastes ok, would filtering the water help? Thank goodness my fridge icemaker still works. It's a typical blisteringly hot summer here. Thanks for reading and responding!