A refrigerator air filter is the cheapest part in the appliance and the one almost nobody can name. It hides behind a plain plastic cover. Its part number looks like every other number the brand prints, and it gives no warning at all when it stops working. Prices start at $3.99.

The smell is the warning. A carbon pad loses capacity quietly, the cabinet starts holding onto last week's onions, and the owner blames the food. This page is a part-number index. Find the brand below, then order the number it names.

Written by the Water Filters FAST filter experts. Reviewed by Phil McNamara, owner, Water Filters FAST. Updated August 2026.

What a refrigerator air filter does

The cartridge is a pad of activated carbon behind a vented cover. Cabinet air passes through it and the carbon traps the molecules that carry odor. That is the entire job.

It never touches the water. A refrigerator water filter is a separate cylinder in a separate housing, and it feeds the dispenser and the ice maker. Changing one leaves the other exactly as it was, which is why so many refrigerators run for years on a fresh water filter and an exhausted air pad.

An air filter also does nothing about temperature, frost, or a failing door seal. It handles smell.

How to identify yours without a part number

Three checks settle it in under a minute.

1. Read the brand badge on the door. The badge decides the part family before anything else does.
2. Open the fresh food compartment and scan for a round or rectangular cover. Brands hide the filter in different places. The brand section below names the spot.
3. Twist or slide the cover off and read the number printed on the cartridge itself. That number beats every chart on the internet, this one included.

Some models ship without an air filter at all. No cover means no cartridge, and no amount of searching will produce one.

If the model number is easier to find than the cover, read it off the sticker inside the fresh food compartment and call 855-789-FAST. The filter experts will check it against the catalog.

LG and Kenmore: LT120F and ADQ73214404

LG calls its air filter the LT120F. The part number is ADQ73214404, and LG also ships the same cartridge as ADQ73214408.

Kenmore uses the LG number without changing a digit, because LG built those refrigerators. Sears catalogs the same filter as part 9918. All three numbers buy one cartridge, which Water Filters FAST lists as Replacement L G LT120F - Kenmore ADQ73214404 - Sears 9918 - Refrigerator Air Cleaner Filter.

The cartridge measures about 3 1/4 inches square and a quarter inch thick. LG mounts it on the rear wall of the fresh food compartment above the top shelf, under a round twist-off cover that reads as a plain vent.

One pack costs $3.99. A three pack costs $10.99 and covers eighteen months at LG's stated six-month interval.

Watch the prefix on LG numbers. ADQ73214404 filters air and ADQ73613401 filters water, and the first five characters are identical.

Frigidaire PureAir Ultra II: PAULTRA2 and 242047805

Frigidaire's current air filter is the PAULTRA2, which also carries the number 242047805. It fits Frigidaire refrigerators built around the PureAir Ultra II filtration system, and Frigidaire specifies French door and side-by-side models.

Frigidaire rates the activated carbon media at seven times the odor removal of baking soda and sets the replacement interval at six months. Water Filters FAST lists it as Frigidaire / Electrolux PAULTRA2 242047805 Refrigerator Air Filter at $14.99.

Electrolux uses the same cartridge on the models it shares with Frigidaire, so an Electrolux parts diagram calling for PAULTRA2 points at this part.

Frigidaire PureAir Ultra: PAULTRA

The PAULTRA is the earlier cartridge, and it is a different shape from the PAULTRA2. A housing built for one will not accept the other.

Check the cover before ordering. If the existing cartridge reads PAULTRA with no trailing digit, the Frigidaire PAULTRA PureAir Ultra Refrigerator Air Filter is the part. It costs $14.75.

Frigidaire and Electrolux PureAdvantage: EAF1CB and EAFCBF

PureAdvantage is the older Frigidaire and Electrolux air filtration name, and it uses two numbers.

Frigidaire branded units take the Frigidaire EAF1CB PureAdvantage Refrigerator Air Filter. Electrolux branded units take the Electrolux PureAdvantage Air Filter - EAFCBF. Both cost $13.99. Both sit behind a cover in the fresh food compartment, and neither one hides in a door bin.

Owners of ten-year-old units often assume the part is gone. Both numbers are still in stock.

Whirlpool and KitchenAid: W10153422

Whirlpool puts its air filter somewhere no other brand does. The vent sits in the snack drawer, and the filter mounts into the air return behind it.

The part is the Whirlpool Refrigerator Air Filter System W10153422 at $16.99, and Whirlpool also sells it as the Microban Refrigerator Air Filter Starter Kit. It fits Whirlpool and KitchenAid side-by-side refrigerators in the 22 to 25 cubic foot range that have air vents in the snack drawer.

This one ships as a filter plus a housing, so the first purchase installs the whole assembly. The job needs no tools. The housing clips into the air return vent by hand.

The carbon pad carries Microban antimicrobial protection, which Whirlpool includes to slow the mold and bacteria that cause odor on the filter itself. Replace the slide-in pad every six months once the housing sits in place.

When the number has worn off the cartridge

Carbon pads sit in a cold damp box for years and the printing fades. Three fallbacks still get to the right part.

Start with the cover itself. Frigidaire and Whirlpool commonly mold the filter name into the plastic, so a PureAir or FreshFlow badge narrows the family before any number appears.

Next, read the appliance model number off the sticker inside the fresh food compartment. Every brand ties its air filter to that model number, and the sticker survives long after the cartridge printing goes.

The last fallback is the pad itself. Measure it and note the shape. A square pad about 3 1/4 inches across points at the LG family. A molded plastic frame with a tab points at Frigidaire. Call 855-789-FAST with the measurement and the model number, and the filter experts will match it against the catalog.

Universal cartridges: RAF-2

PureAir sells a universal replacement air filter as the RAF-2 at $18.99. It suits owners whose housing takes a generic pad and whose original number has worn off the cover.

Measure the old pad before ordering a universal part. A branded cartridge is the safer buy whenever the number is still readable.

Prices at a glance

Every part above is in stock as of August 2026. The full range sits on the refrigerator air filters collection page, prices current at the time of writing.

How often to replace one

Every brand on this page states six months. LG, Frigidaire, Electrolux and Whirlpool all print the same interval, and none of them ties it to how full the refrigerator runs.

Some models add a filter indicator light that turns on at the interval. The light is a timer. It measures elapsed months and knows nothing about the condition of the carbon.

An air pad gives no other signal. A spent water filter slows the dispenser and lets the tap taste return, so an owner notices. A spent air pad looks identical to a new one on the day it stops working.

Write the install date on the cover with a marker. A three pack and a calendar reminder solve the problem for a year and a half.

What a new cartridge will and will not fix

A fresh filter handles ambient odor in the cabinet. Give it a few days. Carbon works on the air that passes through it, so the improvement arrives gradually.

It will not fix a spill under the crisper drawer, a leaking package on the top shelf, or a drain pan that needs cleaning. Pull the drawers and wipe the interior first. A filter that has to fight a source will lose.

It also has no effect on the taste of water or ice. That is the water filter's job, and it lives in a different housing entirely.

Ordering and shipping

Water Filters FAST ships weekday orders the same day when the order arrives before 1pm CST. Orders over $75 ship free, and smaller orders ship at a $5 flat rate.

A single $3.99 air filter is not going to reach the free shipping threshold on its own. Owners commonly order the air filter alongside the water filter that is due at the same time, or buy the three pack and cover the next eighteen months.

Every order carries a 30-day return window and a satisfaction guarantee. Call 855-789-FAST with a model number and the filter experts will confirm the right part before the order goes in.

Frequently asked questions

Do all refrigerators have an air filter?

No. Many models ship without one. Open the fresh food compartment and look for a vented cover on the rear wall or in the snack drawer. No cover means no cartridge.

Can a water filter replace an air filter?

No. They sit in separate housings and handle separate jobs. The water filter treats what comes out of the dispenser, and the air filter treats the air in the cabinet.

Will an aftermarket air filter void the warranty?

Replacing a consumable filter does not void an appliance warranty in the United States. Check the manufacturer's warranty document for the specific terms on the model.

What happens if nobody ever changes the filter?

The carbon fills up and stops adsorbing. Odor returns to the cabinet and transfers between foods. Nothing breaks, and the refrigerator keeps running.

Why is the LG filter so much cheaper than the others?

The LT120F is a thin flat carbon pad with no housing attached. The Whirlpool part includes a housing on the first purchase, and the Frigidaire cartridges use a molded plastic frame.

Find the part and order it

Read the number off the old cartridge and match it above. Then order the replacement. Browse the full refrigerator air filters range, or call 855-789-FAST with a model number and let the filter experts match it.