Ice maker and ice machine
Ice From a Sub-Zero That Tastes or Smells Off
In the owner's words
The ice smells like the freezer and leaves a stale taste in a glass, though water from the kitchen tap tastes fine.
Short answerOff-tasting ice usually carries food odors, an overdue filter, or simply too long in the bin. Sub-Zero Appliance Repair Seattle, (206) 339-4211, separates water problems from freezer problems before anything is replaced.
Signed
- Technician
- Marta Fennimore
- Bench time
- 12 years in the trade
- Title
- Refrigeration technician — ice systems and water supply
- Carries
- EPA 608 certified
- Dated
- Clear cubes
- Ice bin
Pattern Ledger
Ice Tastes Off: how it usually goes
- Most often Ice sitting long enough to pick up freezer odors
-
Gives itself away by Fresh cubes taste clean; the oldest ones at the bottom taste of the freezer
Price band none set for this work — quoted after the diagnosis
- Sometimes Water filter left in past its service life
-
Gives itself away by Every cube tastes flat or musty, fresh or old
Price band none set for this work — quoted after the diagnosis
- Rarely Corroding copper supply line behind the cabinet
-
Gives itself away by A metallic taste, sometimes with a blue or green tint to the ice
Price band Ice maker, water valve or supply line$270–$750
Telling these three apart is what the $89 visit is for. Sub-Zero Appliance Repair Seattle · (206) 339-4211
Where the taste comes from
Ice has two sources of flavor: the water that went into the mold and the air it sat in afterwards. If tap water and a melted cube taste the same, the refrigerator is passing on what it was given. If only the ice is off, the cause is inside the cabinet.
That comparison is worth making before anything else, because it costs nothing and it splits the problem cleanly in two. Melt a few cubes in a glass, let them come up to room temperature, and taste them beside a glass from the tap. Ice also takes up whatever is strongest around it, so a bin standing open beneath a package of fish or a cut onion will taste of it within a day or two.
What we usually find
When cleaning and a fresh cartridge do not help, Sub-Zero’s list of freezer odor causes points further in: standing water in the drain pan, a clogged drain tube, a cracked door seal, or a freezer that ran warm. Each of those puts the smell into the air the ice is stored in rather than into the water it was made from, which is why a new filter on its own so often changes nothing.
What you can check safely
- Switch the ice maker off, discard the ice, then wash, rinse and dry the bin.
- Check the date on the water filter and change it with a genuine cartridge if due.
- Wrap strong-smelling food in the freezer and clear out anything spoiled.
- Taste tap water beside a melted cube; if both taste the same, the cause is upstream.
Owner checks end there. Sealed tubing, wiring behind the grille and anything held by screws belongs on a service call — Sub-Zero Appliance Repair Seattle, (206) 339-4211.
Questions owners ask about this
Why does old ice taste worse than fresh ice?
Ice sits in circulating freezer air for days, and its surface takes up odors from whatever shares the compartment. Cubes at the bottom of a rarely used bin have had the longest exposure. Using ice regularly and emptying the bin now and then keeps it neutral.
My ice tastes metallic and looks faintly blue. What is that?
Sub-Zero links blue or green ice to copper corrosion in the line supplying the refrigerator, and in older kitchens that line is often original. Close the supply if you see a green bloom at the fitting, and call Sub-Zero Appliance Repair Seattle on (206) 339-4211.
Could a change at the water utility explain the new taste?
A little. Seattle Public Utilities treats the city's water before it reaches the tap, and small changes can shift the taste. A sudden, strong change that the kitchen tap does not share points back inside the refrigerator: the filter, stale ice or the freezer.