ice maker ice stinks suggestions on how to fix?

[Don WA5NGP]

Does anyone know why ice maker ice stinks so much? :-( Besides always having to repair my old Sear Coldspot icemaker I've always wondered why the ice ends up stinking after a while. I've read that ice absorbs all the odors but that just doesnt' seem right. Could it also me due to being subjected to all those defrost cycles?

Since my particular ice maker also contains the defrost timer I was thinking about defeating the defrost circuit to see what happens. Maybe it will help.

Anybody else with similar experience?

tks

Don WA5NGP

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Yes, it will absorb odors. Especially onions.

You may also be getting some odor from the water itself. Consider an in-line charcoal filter if you don't have one. The defrost cycles usually just diminish the size over time. If that is happening, cut off the ice maker so you don't get a huge supply if you don't use much.

[Phisherman]

Foods needs to be properly sealed or the odors will permeate the freezer. Second, ice "gets old" and absorbs odors. Once a week, save the top layer of ice and put the remaining down the disposer. Wash the ice tray with baking soda, rinse, dry and replace the reserved top layer to the tray.

[Richard J Kinch]

While it does absorb some odors, these tend to concentrate at the surface due to sublimation of the ice, making it worse. If you melt off the surface by rinsing in running water, it eliminates most of it.

Much better than freezer ice:

[Abe]

All ice in the freezer ice tray gets stinky over time. You need to dump the old ice, then rinse/wash the tray when the ice gets stinky.

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[jeff]

Hi,

Ice will absorb odours!!

info and tips.

Not normally. The water quality or chemicals in the water will probably also play havoc on the taste and smell of the cubes.

With out the defrost timer or defrost system you will need to manually defrost the refrigerator approx every 7-10 days in cooler weather and every 3-5 days in hot weather. jeff. Appliance Repair Aid

[evolie]

You really should bathe more often and be sure to use a deodorant in your underarms.

[Melinda Meahan - remove TRASH]

Oh, the ghastly memories of having to use ice after my mom put fresh chopped onion in fold-over sandwich bags and stuck it in the freezer (retch).

Listen to this guy. He is telling the TRUTH!

[Mike]

I try to NOT put raw (unwrapped) onions in MY freezer.

[Don WA5NGP]

We do have well water and I soften it but there's some gorp left in the water. I've been thinking about adding an RO filter system for drinking water anyway so maybe that's my best bet toward reducing order. However, it does sound like one needs to pitch the ice out after about a week anyway.

I suppose the reason the commercial ice doeesn't have this problem is that it sells long before it has a chance to absorb odors and its not combined with anything else stinky.

tks Don