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Kitchenaid Refrigerator Stinks - Help!

Kris McClure
15 years ago

We have a 48" Architect Series Kithenaid refrigerator that suddenly has an extremely bad odor. It's been about 2 months and we've tried everything. First we thought it had a "fishy" smell but couldn't find anything that would be creating that. We have now emptied the entire frig and freezer sections, taken everything out and scrubbed both sides with water and baking soda, as the Kitchenaid site suggested (3 times!). We also have tried putting bowls of baking soda mixed with vanilla extract which only masks the smell. The strange thing is that the smell is not there every single time you open the frig, but it is most of the time. We've pulled it away from the wall, looking for something dead, but nothing. We've called Kitchenaid and they have no suggestions. Has anyone had this type of problem? We've cleaned all of the surfaces, rubber seals, etc. and it still comes back. I hope someone can help - it was a $5K+ purchase and it's totally unacceptable Please help!!!!

Comments (53)

  • weissman
    15 years ago

    I assume you've taken ALL the food out. I once had a bad smell and it was some old vegetable - celery or scallions - that was in the back of the crisper and had really rotted.

  • Kris McClure
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    We have taken everything out twice! Even washed off every bottle, container, etc. Very frustrating because it's always clean! DH now wants to take apart the inside back of the freezer. We've had it almost 2 years, so no warranty, so I guess it won't hurt. Maybe there's something in the back that we can't see - it still seems to be worse when the frig is running, and other than take apart the freezer, we're running out of options. Really don't know what a service person would do, so we're trying everything we can think of, but running out of options!

  • cat_mom
    15 years ago

    KA has a 2 yr warranty so don't wait to call if you're close to that date...

  • ya_think
    15 years ago

    I had a "dead garlic" smell in a fridge that I inherited which never went away until I took the ice maker out and apart and cleaned the hell out of every nook and cranny. Never a problem since. I am not sure what it was or how it got there, but that fixed it.

  • Kris McClure
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Has anyone taken the back off of the freezer, exposing the coils? We just did and the smell seems to be on the coils. Any idea on what to use to clean them? Made the mistake of doing this on Sunday, so no help from Kitchenaid!

  • remodelfla
    15 years ago

    I had found this "fixya" website while looking for a solution to washing machine trouble. I input "clean refrigerator coils" and a number of solutions came up. This seemed like the most straightforward. Not on a Kitchenaid frig but I'm sure it's similar. HTH

    Here is a link that might be useful: cleaning coils

  • patsim
    12 years ago

    Not sure if you are still on this site as your post is old. I have the same problem and it is driving me crazy. Did you ever resolve the problem? And how if you did?

  • bap4469
    12 years ago

    patsim, i have this prob mine is brand new, I am going to call the place where i purchased it. Out of curiousity, what model is yours? I looked through my book and there is an air filter that should have been installed before it was turned on. I just can't imagine that is required. Oh well i will post anything they tell me.

  • jennla
    11 years ago

    Hi, I also have a brand new kitchenaid fridge (double door fridge with the bottom freezer) and it gets a terrible odor too. Did anyone ever get an answer as to how to get rid of it?

  • mandarin1
    11 years ago

    Same here, I have a 4 year old Kitchenaid 3 door Architect 2. The horrible smell started yesterday and got infused into everything, had to throw out anything that was open, anything cardboard or paper had the smell infused, and I had both baking soda and a refrigerator ionizer running. Took everything out of the fridge and cleaned, disinfected and deoderized. It wasn't dirty to begin with, there was no rotten or bad food. The smell seems to come when the fan is running. I called for service...anybody have an answer?

  • mandarin1
    11 years ago

    Same here, I have a 4 year old Kitchenaid 3 door Architect 2. The horrible smell started yesterday and got infused into everything, had to throw out anything that was open, anything cardboard or paper had the smell infused, and I had both baking soda and a refrigerator ionizer running. Took everything out of the fridge and cleaned, disinfected and deoderized. It wasn't dirty to begin with, there was no rotten or bad food. The smell seems to come when the fan is running. I called for service...anybody have an answer?

  • JimColorado
    11 years ago

    Same issue with the rotten smell. I've taken everything out, cleaned everything, and still the smell. It only happens when we open it. It seems to have started after pulling the fridge out to clean behind it. Also occurring after pulling it out, the water dispenser seems to drain so that pushing the button causes the motor to activate but it takes about 20 seconds before water comes out. Anyone have an answer?

  • powertoolpatriot
    11 years ago

    Unplug the fridge, pull off the evap cover and use pine sol or some other cleaner to clean the evap. Clean out the drain tray and make sure the drain going to the exterior drain tray is clear.

  • Beeswax2
    11 years ago

    Having the same problem with my counter-depth Kitchenaid 3 door fridge. The odor, (sweet smelling swamp-like) is coming from behind the fridge. I called Kitchenaid and they had nothing to offer except to suggest that I pull it out and try cleaning the drip pan to see if that was the cause. Not an easy feat, since the fridge is completely surrounded by cabinetry...

    Did any of you find a satisfactory solution?

  • Windycove
    11 years ago

    I'm so desperate the smell in my fridge is driving me crazy and like most of you it isn't there all the time but when it is it's terrible. It started just after the new year so I thought it might be all the food left over between Christmas and New Year so I started throwing things out. You can't believe how much food I've heaved into the garbage. Washed everything more than once but the smell is still there. It's a new fridge (2 yrs) bought the upgrade with our new condo. Bottom freezer..I even thought the smell was coming from there no ice maker. Almost nothing left in the fridge and I can't stand to open the door. Came on here hoping to find a solution and found you all with the same problem. I should tell you we also have the same make of fridge in our party room and it also has a problem. It's empty and still smells. I'll be calling Kitchen Aid on Monday. I'll come back here and report and look for updates on any solutions.

    This post was edited by Windycove on Fri, Jan 25, 13 at 19:43

  • SparklingWater
    11 years ago

    Wow, this is bad news for you all. I do own an old Kitchen Aid but this gives me pause.

    Regarding this description: "First we thought it had a "fishy" smell ..."

    As I posted earlier today, you might try the electrical forum with your lament. I know that months back, an experienced electrician warned that (impending) electrical wiring problems can give a fishy odor. Wouldn't it be bad news if KA repair didn't consider this, and it's motor or fan related? Why don't you cross post and see what the experts over on electrical wiring have to say?

  • Comer6
    11 years ago

    I have a GE Monogram, 5 years old and I have the same odor issue. The refrigerator has been empty since December 13 and GE has been here several times. The tech does not know what to do and GE will not claim any responsibility. There is a "dirty sock syndrome" that is the same smell on the coils of HVAC systems and once it happens and it permeates the HVAC system you can't get rid of it. It is the same as this. This chemical odor attaches to anything that is in the refrigerator, the ices cubes that melt in the water, the containers, produce etc... The odor in the recrigerator is toxic and I have been telling GE for over 3 months that it is mold and of course they play dumb!

  • Deanna Lewis
    7 years ago

    We have a new 3 door Kenmore and it's STINKS....SMELLS LIKE FISH!!! On the phone with Sears now.....we have tried baking soda, cleaning and it still is awful!!!! Wish me luck!

  • PRO
    Appliance saleman
    7 years ago

    Sounds like u have a leak from your compressor that would be causing you to have that smell that you cant get rid of.

  • tommybay
    7 years ago

    Have a Kitchen Aid Side by side, about 12 yrs old, has a chemical smell, permeates everything in fridge and freezer, ice cubes, ice cream, everything. Anyone know what this could be?

  • Brian Morrow
    6 years ago

    We bought a large KitchenAid double-door refrigerator about a year ago and about three months ago it started smelling just the same way it's so bad you can't stand it we finally discovered when you take it apart and the back this gross looking mold looking stuff is in the bottom must be up inside so we pulled it apart waiting for a decision on KitchenAid to see what they're going to do. They're coming tomorrow I will settle for nothing less than a new refrigerator. Something is up inside the coils inside the refrigerator that is causing this gross smell and making black water in the bottom defrost tray.

  • pastor_tommy
    6 years ago

    We have a 12 year old Kitchen Aid-built in-side-by-side that has the same chemical smell. I have had the problem on & off for a couple of years. It started in the ice maker a couple years ago. I would clean the ice maker with vinegar & water & the smell would go away for a while but would then come back. I did that a couple of times, but then replaced the ice maker & the smell went away. After a couple of years the smell is back & now also the taste is in the water dispenser in the door. It was never there before, only in the ice maker. I had a service man come & replace a piece where the water comes in at the right front of the frig & it did not help. Nothing has fixed the problem & no one seems to have an answer of how to fix it. I am pretty sure the problem is coming from the water lines in the fridge, but not sure what to do about it. You would think that Kitchen Aid would figure out a solution to the problem. When you pay over $5000 dollars for a refrigerator, you except it to be a quality product. Any thoughts.

  • John Magness
    6 years ago

    Has no one found a solution to this problem?

  • paula_ben
    6 years ago

    I can say that sometime electrical problems create a fish smell. Google it. One of the bedrooms in my home was smelling like fish on occasion and I read it could be electrical. WE changed the ceiling fan, problem solved.

  • Goose TV
    6 years ago

    I just found this forum today and had been going crazy for two days with the smell coming from the kitchenaid preserva in my garage. Knew it smelt like death but couldn’t pinpoint. The electrical fish smell idea seems silly. Either you smell pungent death or not. Took off the back cardboard cover and saw a pristine drip pan and nothing else. Even with the flashlight it was no immediate help. Went back multiple times before realizing there actually was a mouse trapped in the coils. The coils run left to right and they (vermin) get pinned and die either from starvation or heat. Mine was stuck at freezer/fridge partition which made extraction difficult and I risked puncture to a coil. Used a long flathead and super long needle nose pliers to grab the head and pull it out.

    In summary, if it smells like something died around your fridge and the inside doesn’t smell and you can’t access panel or behind front grill, a mouse probably died within the coil. The smell will go away after a while but it’s probably not good for the fridge to have a rodent pinned up against the coils.

  • John Magness
    6 years ago

    We think we found the problem with ours. It was a bad water filter. The smell was in the ice and the the fan spread the smell from there throughout the whole refrigerator.

  • Pat Gottman
    5 years ago

    John, after reading this whole chain, I sure hope you are right. We have had a serviceman here to check for leaks and clean the coils, and totally emptied and cleaned the refrigerator and freezer. A bowl of charcoal in the refrigerator side has totally removed the chemical smell from there (Kitchen Aid's only recommendation!) We had the serviceman replace the water filter and have now dumped the ice and emptied the water reservoir. Will give this another 24-48 hours, but if water or ice problem (holds odor - you can smell and taste it in the water) is not fixed, we will be replacing the refrigerator. The new one will not be a Kitchen Aid!

  • Sean Barbee
    5 years ago
    Pat, I too have a KitchenAid fridge that I bought about a year ago. We are having the same problem. How did changing the water filter workout for you?
  • Sean Barbee
    5 years ago
    Remove the small air filter inside the fridge. Once we removed that air filter, the smell dissipated very quickly. It seemed worse when the fan was running, and it makes sense now because all of the air inside the fridge passed through the small filter. We had to throw away most of our food, and removed all of the ice from a couple of cycles. All is good now! I’d like to run a filter in the fridge, but we will roll without it until Kitchenaid figures out how to produce a filter that doesn’t leave a strong chemical smell/taste.
  • Ron Swanson
    5 years ago

    Wow!! Not exactly the Answer I was expecting from my Google search (#1). Well, as a new member to the Stinky KitchenAid Fridge Club we're not happy with our 20 cu. ft. 36-Inch Width Counter-Depth Stainless Steel French Door Refrigerator ( Model #KRF C300ESS01 ). We bought it new Feb-2016, everything was fine until last week when we started smelling this [fishy] odor; so, we moved the frig and the stove, cleaned the appliances inside and out, the floors, the walls, and area rugs (thoroughly). Thought we were good to go and then the fan turned on for the frig and there it was, strong as ever. Not happy, including the dog; who, just to be sure, got a bath. We've never, had this problem before. Fortunately, we purchased all KitchenAid appliances through Lowes, along with their special 5-year warranty. They have GREAT Customer Service; so, we'll let them figure it out (I hope). IF they can't, then goodbye KitchenAid and hello SamSung, GE, or Whirlpool.

  • dadoes
    5 years ago

    KitchenAid is a Whirlpool brand.

  • texarose
    5 years ago

    I'm too am a member of the Stinky KitchenAid Fridge Club. This smell has been with us for months!! The smell of a dead rat behind a wall goes away faster than this. Every repair person has said that if it is the coils, the unit couldn't keep everything cold/frozen. We've been trying to exist with it using odor eaters and air freshener, but now, it smells even when closed. Help! I can't take it anymore!!

  • Stacy Turner
    5 years ago
    This is the fifth day that I have owned the brand new Kitchenaid Bottom mount freezer refrigerator. Delivered Friday by Monday it was stinking. It does not have a water filter so it cannot be that. I am wondering if it is the filter for removing ethylene gas to help preserve fruits and vegetables. It kind of smells like rotting broccoli, but it has not had any broccoli in it yet.
  • HU-458257510
    5 years ago

    I’m now a member of this KitchenAid stinky fridge smell. Bought it (2-door stainless steel, bottom freezer) in 2016 and now smells like a ”dead rat“. Scrubbed the inside/outside and removed the back off to clean the drainage pan, etc. Nothing resolved it. Then I realized the smell was coming from the wiring inside the left door. I removed the plastic cap from the top of the fridge (left side) to expose the wiring and sure enough, the smell was overwhelming. Not sure what to do now as the wiring runs down inside the left door. Any ideas?

  • Sean Barbee
    5 years ago
    Try removing the small air filter that is installed in the rear wall of the fridge. The chemical smell that permeated all of the food in the fridge, including the ice in the freezer, dissipated quickly once the filter was removed. We had to throw away most of the food, but we haven’t had a problem since.
  • texarose
    5 years ago

    Thank you for your message.


    Mine is a built-in, 48 inch side by side Kitchen Aid, if that makes any difference. There is no access to the back. We did access the condenser coils, which many said was the source. Our regular repair guy wouldn't touch them, so we went DIY. We were told that if those coils leak, that smell occurs. So, we stared at the exposed coils for a while. No obvious leak. Wiped them down gingerly (they're like a mass of razor blades set in all different directions) then closed it up.


    While we didn't believe this would work, at least we could say we tried everything. That was about 5 weeks ago. I couldn't honestly say that the smell is completely gone, but it is far less than before. The faint smell is there occasionally (when the fan sends the smell thru the refrigerator section). The freezer seems odor free. We threw away a lot of food that had been affected by the smell, but things like hot dogs in thick sealed packages we kept, but put them in the extra freezer outside.


    I did order the filters for the unit, just in case. I was told that there are 4 in all, 2 in the refrigerator and another two in the freezer. They all have to be changed at the same time, otherwise the remaining smell will come back as the damaged air will be sent back thru the unit. I wanted to get to the coils first, because if they were leaking (or doing whatever they were doing to make this smell) and left unattended, the filters would work initially, but would eventually become tainted again with the odor.





  • dadoes
    5 years ago

    "TexasRose: We were told that if those coils leak, that smell occurs. So, we stared
    at the exposed coils for a while. No obvious leak. Wiped them down
    gingerly (they're like a mass of razor blades set in all different
    directions) then closed it up.
    "

    Freon/refrigerant is a colorless gas in the condenser so there's nothing to see if it leaks. It's mostly odorless although some types may have an ether- or acetone-like scent.

    BTW, Freon is a trademarked name for several specific types of halocarbon refrigerants. The name was originally applied to dichlorodifluoromethane (also known as Freon-12 and R-12). It has become a generic/catch-all name for any refrigerant.

  • Sean Barbee
    5 years ago
    The filter that we had the problem with is accessed from inside the fridge; there is no need to pull the whole fridge out to change it. Try opening the fridge and looking at the rear wall that is facing you. In our model the filter isn’t very large, but once we removed it the problem was fixed. We don’t use a filter anymore, but we also don’t have a fridge that stinks and ruins all of the food in it.
  • Sean Barbee
    5 years ago
    One more thing about the filters. I didn’t realize that the filters were not installed when Best Buy delivered it. I didn’t install the filter until about 8 months after delivery. We didn’t have any issues prior to the installation of the filter. A couple of days after the install we started having problems. All of the unsealed food in the fridge started to taste like chemicals, and the ice from the machine tasted the same way. On our model the ice machine is in one of the doors. The smell was much worse when the fan was on. I didn’t put two and two together for a couple of weeks, and once true filter was removed the smell dissipated quickly. We’ve had no problems since.
  • petermannre
    5 years ago

    Unfortunately I am also a member of “my refrigerator stinks” forum. We have a Kitchen aid preserve unit with 5 doors that was purchased last May so it is less than a year old. It started smelling awfully like fish about a month ago. We did a thorough clean up, threw every possible old food item away and it got better but for only a while. Now, barely 3 weeks after that IT STINKS again!!! So I searched in the internet and came across this discussion and was very annoyed to see that an over $4000 fridge clearly has an issue! Has anyone recently come up with a solution to this?

  • jfhamlin391
    5 years ago

    We have a kitchenaid refrigerator that’s 18 moths old and have done the same things as everyone on this blog and the smell persists.i am taking the filter out calling a service tech. Then replacing with new refrigerator and never buying another kitchenaid appliance again of any type. We bought ours from sears which is now out of business.

  • Tony Rand
    4 years ago

    16 months old...SAME issue!


    If you have REPLACED the water filter, air filter packets, and cleaned the inside of your refrigerator... and still have a smell when the fan turns on!

    You can TRY THIS:

    My smell seemed to come from the inside, but was actually cycling from behind the refridge when the doors were opened. If the fan was not on... I had minimal to no smell!

    1) Unplug the refridge

    2) Remove the back panel.

    3) Spray the water tray with bleach water... even if it is dry (dead gnats or discoloration are signs that it has had water in it)... the water has evaporated and left a moldy smell!

    4) Wipe it clean.

    5) Clean the fan (I used an "air" aerosol spray bottle for cleaning electronics).

    6) Clean the coils (mine were located in the front of the refridge at the bottom)

    7) Put it back together

    8) Enjoy the fresh new aroma!


    I hope this helps you guys stop cursing your refridge and return to peaceful state of mind!

  • sallyrn75
    4 years ago

    Wow. I wish I would have seen this site before we purchased our Kitchenaid 6 months ago. It is a side by side with the freezer on the bottom. The odor just started today and it is obnoxious to say the least. We can tell it is only when the fan is running and it is coming from the left side of the fridge. We did all the same things, threw out food, cleaned fridge, tossed ice, etc. After reading all of your posts, we will now try removing the filters on the back wall. If that doesn't resolve it, we will be contacting Home Depot for a service call. I WILL STRONGLY TELL EVERYONE I KNOW....DO NOT BUY A KITCHENAID REFRIGERATOR !!!!

  • psg318
    3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    Problem solved. After scrubbing out every square inch of my Kitchenaid French door refrigerator (freezer on the bottom), the growing stench of fish was really upsetting! I called my mechanical engineer ex boyfriend for help. He discovered the problem and fixed it! He said that when one opens the big French refrigerator doors, a large air exchange occurs. Couple that with we live in a humid climate. This causes condensation. At some point, a small amount of water pooled at the bottom of the frig area. (Not all that easy to access, but can be done.) The water had bacteria growing in it, which caused the fishy odor. That’s why the smell was worse when the fan was blowing. We sprayed it with some bleach water, dried it up thoroughly, put it back together and voila! Problem solved. I owe the man big time!

  • Carrie Sublette Wood
    3 years ago

    THIS!! This is exactly what happened to us. After weeks of smelling “rotten shrimp” and cleaning and wiping everything in the fridge, we discovered a small pool of water under the bottom drawer unit that smelled horrible! It was nearly impossible to access but we managed to pull out and lift the drawer unit just enough to dry it up and wipe it down with disinfectant cleaner. Fridge is only two years old. Terrible design for such an expensive appliance.

  • juliediehl
    3 years ago

    I have also tried everything to get the smell out of my kitchen aid fridge. I have noticed that the door seals get very hot and I believe the rubber is emitting the odor into the fridge and freezer. I am thinking about changing the seals out to see if that helps. Very disappointing for sure.

  • HU-905759587
    2 years ago

    Unfortunately we fell victim to the same issue. After reading everyones post, we decided to take the back panel off our french door with freezer on bottom fridge. I didnt take a before picture but to give you a visual, it looked like yellow snot. the grosest thing and the smell was intense. The only way we figured to clean it was the pour some water with vinegar mixture into the pan and scratch the paper towel around with a wood dowel from both the front and back side, soaking up the water as you go. I reallu cant explain why or what caused it but we cleaned up the problem and smell for now.

  • dadoes
    2 years ago

    Very common that condensate (defrost) water and collection pan gets moldy. An odor may or may not develop depending on the local characteristics. Auto-defrosting refrigerators and freezers, room and central air conditioners ... it's a thing.

  • Mario
    7 months ago

    We had this issues and it drove us nuts for days. Refrigerator is a Kitchenaid Model #: KRM706ESS only 7 months old. After pulling out everting in both the refrigerator and freezer and sanitizing every removable/non removable component, we fount the issue on Day 5. It was the drip pan. After removing the bottom panel this is what we found. The drip pan is not removable and took some time and delicate movements to clean- but the problem was immediately resolved. The drip pan is right by the fan so when ever you open the door and the fan kicks on, then the smell becomes much stronger. See photo - hope this helps someone as we were going crazy trying to figure this out.