It’s a hot Friday afternoon in North Charleston, you go home and fix your favorite beverage. You get settled into your comfy chair and take a sip…AGHHH! Smelly ice! …And not only smelly but funny tasting, too! So, what do you do now? The appliance technicians at 911 Service Today have some insight for you. There are several causes of smelly ice. It could be your water, your water filter, or the food in the fridge or freezer.
If you are making your own ice in those little plastic trays, perhaps it has been too long since you’ve cleaned them? Or, maybe your tap water is to blame? Fill a glass with water from your tap and see if it has an odor or tastes funny… If so, then that’s probably the issue!
All you need is to filter your water before putting it in the ice trays or buy your water at the market. If your tap water seems fine, try cleaning your ice trays with warm soapy water, and then soak in a mild bleach and water solution. Rinse thoroughly!
Now, if you have an automatic ice machine, don’t worry, it’s still a simple issue. Test the water coming from your fridge (if you have that feature). If the water tastes and smells funny, then you probably just need to change your filter!
Now, if your water seems fine then your problem is most likely with the food you have in your fridge. It’s important to check both the freezer AND the refrigerator.
Without going into excruciating detail explaining how your fridge works, just understand that there is air flow between your freezer and your refrigerated section. If there is spoiled or pungent food in your fridge, this air will flow into your freezer (usually directly across your ice bucket!) and cause your ice to get smelly! At this point you should rummage through both your freezer and your fridge and remove all spoiled or “past date” foods.
If you have foods with strong odors such as sliced onion or “garlicky”
leftovers, make sure they are in a tightly sealed container. At this point, we strongly
suggest you take the extra few minutes to wipe down all the surfaces in your freezer
and fridge with a mild bleach and water solution, and don’t forget the plastic drawers!
Plastic surfaces can absorb smells, which then linger, even in a clean fridge.
Once you’ve checked your water, filter, and food, and wiped down the
inside of your unit, one last thing…. It wouldn’t hurt, at this point, to put a couple of boxes
of baking soda in your unit! Remember to put them in both the freezer and the fridge
sections of your unit! The baking soda will help by absorbing some of the odors that
may be caused in the future.
Hope this information is helpful, and that you have no smelly ice in the future!
Need some help? Fill out the form on our main page and one of our customer service representatives will contact you to schedule an appointment with one of our professional appliance repair technicians.
