HotPoint side by side fridge with electric ice maker suddenly started smelling like chemical. The fridge has been thoroughly cleaned, ice has been dumped twice and the odor of alcohol chemical is still in the ice and the refrigerator. The taste or smell is not in the water dispenser, just in the ice, refrigerator and the freezer. It is very, very strong. The fridge and freezer are still cooling but the odor is so very strong. It is in the foods and the ice.
I believe that you might have a coolant leak causing the chemical odor. You really should get it checked out by a fridge repair-person because it's not healthy to breathe in the fumes.
I had the exact same problem. Side by side GE profile fridge. Nasty chemical smell. Tried everything. After all the cleanings, throwing out food, etc...I read about the potential for bad teflon coating in the ice maker. I removed the Ice maker and found that the snap in plug powering the unit may be the culprit. It has the same smell and is located right next to the hole where the freezer fan pushes the air into the refrigerator. Very suspicious. I am running a test without the unit in to see if the smell remains. Please check this connection. It has vexed me for 5 days and I hope it's the answer.
My inglas refridgerator made by whirlpool has a funny chemical smell in the fridge and freezer, the butter is tasting like it and when we pour the baby cold milk his bottle has the odor on it also. what is this? could it be the freon leaking because thats what it smells like.
Ooh my fridge / freezer doesn't smell .... try wiping it around with some
All items stored in the refrigerator and freezer should be stored in sealed packaging. Frost free refrigerator operate with a very low humidity and will pick up odors from products. Somewhat of an ozone smell will be in some frozen foods. This is a normal condition. Deodorizing packs are available on the market to absorb odors. Baking soda does the job in most cases.
Will the food that has been exposed to the odor/gas still be safe to eat?
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On another site a guy answers this:
Most of the time, when we get a complaint like this, We find some sort
of food that has spoiled, The most common thing that I have found is a
spoiled Orange, It may sound wacky, but true!!!! The other factor is,
with a Freon leak, the gas would leak out and the unit would stop
cooling!!!!
There has been the same odor for over 4 weeks in my fridge. It is a newer fridge. model number 253.61812018. If it was a freon leak wouldn't there be a noticeable performance drop by now?
ONE SPOILED ORANGE! and surprisingly gave off a strong chemical smell similar to acetone which permiated both the freezer and the refrigerator. Thanks for that tip.
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Omg i have a empty fridge that i cleaned all the seals, took everything out of fridge, ie: shelves and doors, and drawers, whatever, i even took those apart, cleaned with bleach, hot water, then a sanitizer, now it has baking soda and dry towels to try to soak up the smell but all i get is this really bad, makes me dry heave chemical smell, that came from an apartment where the tenants claim made them sick and food taste funny??????
Yes, it can make you very sick, that is what happened to me. Now my whole immune system is broken down and I am facing severe lung disease. Get out of there! My negligent landlord would not fix my constantly flooding fridge for so long. When the smell got so bad that the headaches, dizzines, brainfog and burning eyes and nose would not let me function, he called in a repairman.d
(cont.) to fix the smell. The guy unplugged the overflow line and then the smell was unbearable, even the Property Manager couldn't come into the place! I had to evacuate, break my lease and move out asap but it was too late for what it did to my health. Now they are telling me I have tuberculosis flaring up from the severe problem with the mold. IT IS A MOLD! IT SMELLS LIKE A CHEMICAL- like formaldehyde or acetone or kerosene or like- but IT IS A VERY TOXIC MOLD! DO NOT TRY TO FIX THE PROBLEM BECAUSE YOU COULD JUST MAKE T WORSE> GET RID OF THE FRIDGE< OUT OF YOUR HOUSE ASAP. It enrages me how many people have this same problem, and those ugly, self-absorbed fridge companies don't care how many people get sick and they know what the problem is! If we all start to put our foot down to them, get the mold tested and have proof, throw it back in their faces and demand they improve thier drainage systems this would not be happening... or if we do a class action lawsuit. It is too late for me, I have moved out and the fridge is gone, and I am stuck with a very severe illness with permanent damage to my body, and nothing to do about it. Please everyone, circulate this information so nobody else ever has to get sick again like me. Let's get those fridge manufactureres to begin to take their firdges back, demand money back for faulty drainage systems causing dangerous mold build-up. Somebody get a mold test, pick it up at Home Depot. Then it will be end of problem for all of us, no more guessing!
This is exactly what I am afraid of. I'll check with my local hardware store to see if they have a mold test kit. Thanks for the heads up. I tried to get a water sample test, but you have to know exactly what to test for, and I have no idea what that might be. Called Samsung to tell them the smell was nauseating and wondered if they knew what might be happeing. They didn't, but they keep calling me about turning in a claim for medical bills, etc.
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My current theory with some practical grounding is that the seals on the doors and freezer drawers are slowly & perpetually breaking down (as they do) and off-gassing into the compartment - frost or freezer buildup encapsulates this gas and stays on the food later when cooking. If this is the case, there may be nothing you can do other than potentially rinse off non-porous foods. (I've had some luck with veggies, but I've never succeeded with waffles, unfortunately)
To test, try smelling these seals..
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Side by side Kevinator 21/2 yrs old. Alcohol odor started about 3 weeks ago.Cleaning did not resolve problem. Unable to pinpoint source.Any suggestions?
My refrigerator is a GE and has this same, exact, problem. The smell seems to be getting stronger. What is causing this problem? Marion
I have the same problem. It just started a few weeks ago. Smells like ammonia or chlorine or something chemical and strong.
We have the same problem, although the water dispensed from the door is affected too. Both the water and the ice leave a strong burning sensation in my mouth. I called GE who advised me not to use the water or ice, however when their repairman came, he said "nothing was wrong". Meanwhile, the water continues to be dispensed at a very warm temp. and continues to have that burning chemical taste. The advice about sealing up foods that may be distributing odors into the refrigerator itself is not the solution to this problem.I am pursuing having a water analysis done, because I am very concerned about possible poisoning.
i have the same problem. the ice and water tastes funny also. and the smell does seem to be worse in the morning. any suggestions?
same thing
Mine started about a week ago. I suddenly appear to have a leak in the water line and I have developed the same odor and taste. I still have the taste in my mouth from a drink of tea I took last night prior to dumping it all out. My ice has a very strong odor and taste that increases with each new batch of ice. I have real concerns this could be hazardous because of the chemical taste. My refrigerator is only 3.5 years old but this does not appear to be age related. Has anyone been able to get an answer on what this is?
The ice cubes in our fridge freezer (Whirlpool with no ice maker) when frozen tastes like chemical and when they defrost they smell even stronger of chemical. I cleaned the freezer out and the smell is still there. What can I do to get rid of this smell , nothing else smells or tastes but the ice.
simular, our inglas fridge made by whirlpool has a chemical smell in the fridge and freezer, our butter has the odor and funny taste and the babys bottles smell like it also, what is this? is it harmful?
I have the same problem with a Kenmore side by side. I even changed the water filter and the taste and smell is back one week later and effects the foods stored in freezer bags!
Odor was sudden, not there, now here. Could smell it when I walked in the house this evening. I thought it was a very plastic like smell and assumed someone brought home some storage boxes, kind of smells like that white medical adhesive tape smells. I made a glass of ice water (water from tap, only cubes from freezer) and about choked on the taste, mouth feels a little numb....none of the answers posted sound like a permanent solution, anyone else?
oh my god I dont believe with the same problem as I used to have ! I could not believe it when I found out how simple the solution was. All you need to do is.
I have the same problem. About 2 weeks ago i started noticing a chemical odor from my refrigerator. It now seems to be in the freezer also. Any ideas about the cause and how to fix it?
Our 4 month old Whirpool does this too!! The smell gets in the food (including butter). We tried turning it off for a week leaving the door open to air it out- NO help. Have cleaned it several times. It's kind of a plastic like or mechanical smell or weak acetone. It is working fine. Has no ice maker (so that's not it).
The problem is the evaporator fan motor.the fan will still work but the seals inside of it are going bad and the oil from the motor is spraying on the evaporator coils then heating up making a terrible chemical smell.it starts with the ice cubes because it is closest to the ice tray then I makes its way into the freezer then the fridge.also the reason it does not make the water in the door taste bad is because the water never comes in contact with the odor.you can buy the replacement fan motor at many different websites and it is a rather simple fix.i hope this helps.
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