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We purchased a 3-door Sears Kenmore Elite w/bottom freezer w/ in- door icemaker&water dispenser on May 31, 2010. This was a new 2010 model. In the middle of Nov. 2010 we smelled a terrible odor coming from the back of the unit when it was running & the fan was on. After a week or two of it smelling, we called Sears repair to have them check it out. Before the repairman could get here, it stopped smelling, so we cancelled the service call. Well, a few weeks later it started to smell again, not as strong this time. It would come and go.
We called Sears repair again and they came to look at it 1/18/11. It was not smelling at the time. They removed the back motor cover, everything was clean. No determination for what it was. Again this morning, 1/23/11, we wake up to a terrible odor again. Smelling up the whole kitchen! Once again we have an appointment for service on 1/25/11. Does anyone know what this could be? It smells awful!
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer's satisfaction.
I'm also having trouble problems with the water dispenser. When you pour a glass of water I notice there are milky floating things in there. So I don't drink the water from there anymore.
Same problem and it's absolutely awful. Our refrigerator is 21 months old. The posts here go back for years. Clearly this is a design defect and Sears has kad knowledge of it for years. I'm wondering whether there are any class action lawsuits pending?
Having the same problem kenmore m#[protected]. brand new installed 5-21-16 I was in my living room smelled what I describe as an electrical type fire/ smoldering actually was burning my eyes. smoke detectors were not going off had everyone in the house looking for smoke or the source of the smell, I mean we were looking everywhere, crawl space, attic, garage I checked breakers looked outside everywhere. after doing a thorough search I actually considered calling the fire department. but didn't want to jump the gun since our fire detectors weren't going off. after a while we determined the smell was isolated to the midsection of the house/ kitchen. finally we isolated the smell at the refrigerator, by that time we had already aired the house out and the smell that at first was electrical smoldering in nature turned to a smell I describe as wet insulation burning or being heated. now on the second day kitchen smells like wet insulation being heated still. smell not as offensive but very concerning, intend to call sears on monday. fridge appears to be working well. by the way, bought kenmore because we had a three year old lg that had been nothing but problems paid $2300 for it. and after the first three months problem after problem until it finally thawed everything in the freezer.
This is extremely frustrating! I, like so many others, have this horrific odor coming from the bottom of my Kenmore Elite 3-door refrigerator. Our refrigerator is only 3 years old. What can I do to get rid of it, besides getting rid of the entire unit? So disappointed that Sears/Kenmore has not done something about this or posted a resolution.
We have a Kenmore. We are having the same problem. Smell is coming from the back and the fan is blowing the smell into our kitchen. Has anyone discovered the problem. We have cleaned it out, vacuumed out the dust and the smell remains!
I'm having the same issue with my Kenmore fridge. I just spoke with Steve at Sears [protected] and he told me that he had never heard of this issue before and perhaps I should clean out my fridge and put in a box of baking soda. Really, Steve? That's your answer? There are 5 plus pages of this same complaint yet he hasn't heard of it? I will never by from Sears or Kenmore ever again!
We have continued to work on the smell. We cleaned out the drip pan. When the refrigerator is unplugged there is no smell. There is no smell inside the refrigerator or freezer, but when plugged back in the smell come from the fan. Sears please figure something out!
I am having the same problem is started a week ago and I have tore out my ice maker cleaned everything. I can't find the source but mine is a whirlpool model # ed5gvexvd03. I don't k now this smell but i'll tell yah i'd hang dead mice up if they would mask it I think they would smell better. if anyone finds a solution please let me know it isn't the drip pan I promise you that.
jacob j page
How can this be possible sears /kenmore hasn't recalled this product I have a 3 door kenmore elite bottom freezer.. I had a cottage cheese looking substance in my drain pan smells sour. my fridge isnt cooling properly the tech wouldn't even test it due to the smell / the technician had the audacity to say this is burning my throat when you get it cleaned up I will work on it. I ask how do I remove the pan? he says oh you cant remove it without taking the condenser and all the freon out of the fridge. I said so now what.? he says well bleach it or take it outside and hose it out! I said that is not possible. he says you got in the house didnt you! he said until its cleaned out I wont touch it! I said that is why I called to you to see why it is smelling and why is there not just moisture instead of stinky goo! he packs his things and says I am done here! kenmore is ridiculous I have spoken to 16 people. the whole warranty is a sham now! sears I hope your failure is evident when looking at your customers complaints! disappointed in sears and kenmore
This is a before and after if my drain pan that is non removable ! Sears Kenmore elite 3 door I had to clean the tech wouldn't even test my fridge to see what was wrong !
I bought a used kenmore bottom freezer 74043 model (2015 model) before I knew about this issue. the unit has been in the storage for 6 months. anyway, for my case it is not the drain pan. the foul smell comes from the inside (ref and freezer). I disassembled everything (bins, rails, wall attachments, vent/wiring covers, etc and washed them and sprayed with clorox with bleach spray. didn't even rinse, just wiped down with paper towels. put activate carbon in containers and open baking soda inside the ref and turned it on. it has been 24 hours that the ref has been running. almost no foul smell anymore but I can still smell the clorox. I hope this fixes the foul smell
After wiping down everything again with vinegar/baking soda/water mixture, the smell has been reduced significantly. When the ref is ON and cold, I can't smell anything. But when it is OFF, I can still smell the stench not as bad as before but detectable.
As I read all these responses I can not believe that since 2011 there have been the same complaints of stench and kenmore has not fixed it or recalled it. we are now in the same stinky boat as everyone in this complaint string, fairly new kenmore elite - I think 2 year old, 3 days ago started stinking bad I mean like fans blowing, candles lit, can't have anyone in our house. we took the back off and there is no water in the bottom of the drip tray - which we wouldn't be able to change or dump or clean if we wanted to - no rotted food inside and yet here we are, sitting and stewing in our stinky house all weekend long just waiting for monday morning to arrive so we can call sears/kenmore only to probably find out that they will do nothing about it. has anyone successfully gotten sears to replace the stinky fridge? thank you for any assistance - sadly looking at new ones, any suggestions?
We bought our kenmore elite french door
About 2 years ago. we absolutely loved it up until
Last week. we suddenly have the most god awful smell in our kitchen. the best I can describe it smells like rodent urine. it turns my stomach. disgusting! we have never had a problem with rodents in our house. I cleaned under around and inside everything in our kitchen and finally came to the conclusion that it is blowing out from under the refrigerator. so I googled how to clean the dip
Pan-only to find that there is no real way to clean it! and no solution offered from sears. I am really angry. thanksgiving is coming up. no way am I going to be able to have family dinner at my house with it smelling this way! it reeks through out the kitchen and dining room. sometimes into the living room and laundry room too! I am done purchasing anything kenmore! we purchased a new washer/dryer set about the same time as the refrigerator. and the washer has turned out to be just absolute junk too! never again!
We are having the same problem with our Kenmore side by side refrigerator. It's a chemical smell and permeates not only the refrigerator but all the food, ice & water. We've completely cleaned it out and have baking soda & coffee grounds in bowls throughout. I changed the filter early last month and the red light is already on to be changed again. Normally lasts 6 months. What makes this more frustrating is Sears replaced this 1 1/2 years ago because of years of problems we had with an LG refrigerator that we had a warranty on. All of our food is ruined and no repair person coming until Nov. 15!
-- SOLVED --
I just spent a week trying to figure out what on this very earth was making my apartment smell like strange Martian urine. I searched high and low, especially under the fridge where the smell seemed to be coming from. My initial attempts to locate the source of this horrific odour were in vain. However, I decided to check again under the fridge tonight, and here is what I discovered:
There was a dead mouse in the tray beneath the freezer side of the fridge.
I have no clue how long it was there, but it appears that the fan must have engaged while the mouse was between the two sides of the unit, mortally mounding the plague ridden creature and forcing it to find its final resting place: my refrigerator's drip tray. Then, whenever the fridge fan would engage the putrid scent of death would diffuse throughout my humble abode.
Two litres of bleach, a vacuum bag full of god knows what, and a thorough shower later and here we are, spic and span, smelling about as sterile as a public pool. *Deep Inhale* ahhhhhhhh (No offence to those of you who fought in WWI).
Best regards,
Some Random Bachelor
Older americans working class income bought this beautiful almost new 3 door kenmore... we were thrilled that we could afford this used fridge at such a bargain! then the water started freezing over in the bottom and melting on the floor... then the smell that cannot be found nor fixed but does go away after 2 weeks or so, only to come back on odd occasions. not a bagain, and now people are passing off their defective units onto unsuspecting fellows on account of no recall. you are shameless kenmore... as for my wife and i, l clean out the ice when the floor gets a little wet as best l can, and give thanks that the smell will go away eventually.
I have the same problem but I have no idea what it is and mine is just over year old and under warranty but smell wont go away. Im starting with filter and hopefully that helps if not I will be back.
We also have the same problem. foul smelling leakage from somewhere under the fridge on the opposite side of the drip pan. service tech came out twice and said they had never heard of this problem. of course it wasn't leaking at the time but I saved the soaked area rug in a plastic bag so he could get a whiff. no resolution, left the back panel off so we could monitor future leaks. at a loss and wish we'd never purchased this fridge! we are definitely done with sears.
They all seem to say they never heard of this problem.
We noticed a foul smell, also, in our kitchen a few days ago. I cleaned everything! still smelled it... one of my daughters suggested checking tray under frig. that was it! shew! tray does not remove like it did in the older models we have had. very hard to try to clean. added warm water and bleach, letting it set, then trying to soak it up with paper towels. very bad design. husband is not happy. frig is less than year old. it is a kenmore
Elite bottom freezer refrigerator. have always purchased kenmore appliances. will not buy another one.
We are having the exact same thing. Have had multiple technicians come out and have never seen anything like this before. We purchased 3 door Kenmore Elite in 2013. Trying to clean it as best as I can. There needs to be a class action lawsuit. I hope that if there is, everyone on this thread will be contacted to file suit. This is terrible and disgusting.
Since Sears has done nothing to resolve this issue does anyone know where I might find a 39x39 plastic drip pan/tray about 1 inch high? I'm sick of my floor boards getting wet and moldy. We have a moisture monitor which alerts us each time it leaks and am keeping track. Will contact Sears service one more time (3rd time) then escalate. Meanwhile, I need to save my floor!
We purchased a Kenmore Elite french door refrigerator with water in the door and in freezer ice maker several months ago. The smell coming from the fridge is horrible. Just like the posts above, it smells like a dead mouse which is impossible since it started smelling almost immediately after installation. It is most strong when the fan runs or you open the doors. I saved and waited a long time to get the right frigde to fit in the small space in our condo kitchen, now I am so dissappointed - can't afford to place a service call, although it doesn't sound like they are much help anyway. Would love to see if anyone has found a solution yet. Sounds like this is a huge problem for Kenmore as some of these posts are 7 years old. I'll never buy another Kenmore/Sears appliance, no wonder they are closing a lot of their stores.
Same problem. Fridge less than two months old. (2017) going to have service tech's at my house everyday until my warranty is up. This is b.s.
That would be great if I could afford it as I'm sure they will charge you every time. Plus make you wait for a 4 hour window for arrival of the tech. I'm beside myself, just don't know what to do about it.
We purchased a sears kenmore elite french door refrigerator in 2014. now we have the same problem as all of the previous posts. there is a horrible odor coming from the refrigerator, the drip pan is not removable for cleaning. this is a serious health concern, since mold can build in the drip pan. we have always purchased kenmore appliances, but this is the last! if others are interested in filing a class action lawsuit, we are willing to participate.
Unbelievable! Just found were the horrible oder was coming from in our kitchen! We bought our kenmore elite 3 door bottom freezer under 2 years ago. Horrible smell coming from the back of the unit, I did find it was stinky water in the drip pan that is near impossible to get out to clean!, , we keep ou r fridge very clean and there have been no spills, just old mildu stagnant water in the drip pan.
Our fridge is in a very hard area to get behind . This is absolutely insane to see we are all having the same issue and I have not seen any resolve from sears. Please count me in on any action against sears. This fridge Is still like new and they want to charge alot just to come out here! Even after hearing we have the same problem as so many others. I have bought kenmore products for years..never again, I am not done blasting this unit on social media until I see some sort of resolve of at least acknowledgement..
SUCCESS IN ODOR REMOVAL. Recently I bought a house that came with a Kenmore French-door refrigerator, 106.[protected], and it had the dead-mouse smell when I opened the refrigerator door. I couldn't see any sign of food that would cause the smell. After about a month, I noticed the coil of plastic tubing in the lower back of the refrigerator side; that is where the drinking water is cooled on its way to the outside dispenser. The coil had reddish-brown spots in between the tubing. I gave the refrigerator side a thorough cleaning with warm water and baking soda, and when I cleaned the plastic coil, the water turned a reddish brown. A day later I can no longer detect the offensive odor. I think the previous owner let blood from meat drip down into the plastic coil, and that was the source of the odor. So, if you have this plastic coil in your refrigerator, you might give it a close look.
Most of our complaints are not coming from inside the refrigerator or freezer. The smell is outside of it and smelling up our house. I might be able to bear it if it was just when I opened the unit, but it is permeating the whole living area!
I too have a Kenmore refrigerator, small model, for a second fridge that has been stinking apparently. The fowl smell was coming from the basement where the fridge is, but I thought that it was the drain in the basement floor, then I thought it was the laundry tub that hadn't been used very often, and that the s trap had dried out and was letting the sewar smell come up. I put water down both drains, aired the basement out today, and but the smell is still there. Tomorrow my husband and I will tip the fridge and try to clean the drip pan. This fridge has been stinking for five years now, and I have tried everything. After reading the many comments tonight I think that I have found the culprit. No wonder Sears is about to go out of business. I have an LG as my main fridge and have not had any problems whatsoever, I guess that it's true that you only get what you pay for, but most unfortunately aren't able to spend that much.
Unbelievable! It took two weeks to figure out where the smell was coming from and it was my Kenmore elite. Elite smell all right! I'll be damn if I'm going to put up with this refrigerator from Sears! I had guest over and this was embarrassing and now I'm going to tell everyone on God's green earth not to buy a Kenmore elite from Sears. I'm glad this complaint board is available because this is the start of many complaints from me.
My Husband and I too are experiencing this gross smell from under the fridge. We have had our fridge for six years and never had a problem until the drip pan froze and my husband had to clean it out due to water leaking all over the floor from the pan overflowing over the frozen part. The gross sludge that came out of the pan and the tube to the pan sounds about on par with everyone else's issues. I am pregnant with our first child and the smell is literally making me sick on a daily basis as it smells like dirty gym socks or gross stinky shoes. It is definitely coming from under the fridge and when the fan is on it is more noticeable. We have tried pouring bleach into the drip pan three times. This would mask the smell for a couple days and then it is back. We have tried natures cure orange in it and still it persists. Finally poured odor eliminator into pan and still it smells like dirty socks. When I walk in our house it's the first thing I smell. I can hardly cook dinner in the kitchen or sit in our living room without first lighting candles because the rancid smell just makes my stomach churn. I know I am super sensistive with smells anyways and being pregnant it is even worse. I would be so grateful if anyone could suggest how to get rid of this smell. Otherwise my poor husband is going to have to replace a perfectly working fridge because his pregnant wife can't handle the smell permeating from the bottom. Sigh. Please help before my husband up and leaves me because this pregnant hormonal wife complains on a daily basis about how horrible the house, kitchen and specifically fridge smells!
Same problem on a 2017 dutch door sears kenmore fridge with freezer slideout on bottom. The [censor] still have not fixed the engineering. Cant remove drip pan. No wonder sears going bankrupt. Wont buy a kenmore again. They have had at least 7 years to fix this and have not.
Same problem.. smells like a dead mouse. I unscrewed the back of the refrigerator and cleaned what I could searching for that dead mouse NOTHING.! Poured bleach set out baking soda and only temporary results. The smell is making our family sick to our stomachs. I cant believe years and years of the same problem and Sears or Kenmore does nothing... #gutgaggingodor
Its not blood. Its not a mouse. It is a defect in the product that sears will not address. The standard answer is "I have never heard of this".
This is making me physically ill.
Same problem...bought in 2015, Sears Kenmore Elite fridge, two doors with a bottom freezer. Called for 3 different things in 3 years and now we have this problem about the smell. I don't know if I called they will do something about the smell.
Call, and don't stop calling. They have done this to people for too long.
We got a Kenmore side-by-side refrigerator a few months ago. Started smelling a few weeks ago. It was replaced by Sears with the same model. Replacement has the same problem. It smells up the kitchen and living room. Any unsealed food absorbs the smell/taste.
I have a bad odor coming from my new refrigerator. I called Sears to get an appointment and was told to pull my refrigerator out and clean the filters with my vacuum cleaner. Mind you, I have paid for an extended service at the time I purchased the refrigerator (which both were costly). I asked to have a technician come out and was told the first appointment was more than 3 weeks from now. I'm suppose to smell this awful smell (similar to a dead animal) for more than three weeks before someone can come out to take a look at it. No wonder Sears is struggling. I have been a faithful consumer of Sears appliances for years but after my experience with the customer service representative and the smell (had to cancel Christmas at my house year because of the smell), this is my last purchase that I will make with them. Also, with the new refrigerators, they have you either sign up and purchase in store, filters for the refrigerator (that are also costly). In incurring this type of expense, I feel their service could be a lot better.
Has anyone found a solution for this problem? My Kenmore Elite is not quite 2 years old. A few weeks ago I noticed an overwhelming sweet smell coming from the area by my refrigerator. Thinking a mouse got stuck underneath and died, we pulled it out, jacked it up (to see if anything was stuck underneath somehow) and found nothing. I took off the back panel and the drip pan was DISGUSTING! There was a thick mold cheese in the drip pan. I could not figure out anyway to get the drip pan out, so I googled it and found that it can’t be taken out (WHO CAME UP WITH SUCH A STUPID DESIGN?). I sucked it all out with a shop vac, poured hot water in there and let it sit awhile to loosen anything that didn’t come out the first time. I vacuumed that out and used some long skinny cleaning brushes I had and cleaned the best I could. I then filled the drip pan with 50/50 hot water & bleach and let sit for 30 minutes. I vacuumed this out and repeated the bleaching a 2nd time. By the time I was done, the smell was fading so I thought we’d gotten it taken careful of. Next morning I walked into my kitchen and was immediately hit with that nasty smell. We pulled it out again and checked the drip pan. Nothing. I unplugged refrigerator, pulled out freezer compartments and sprayed bleach solution into the drain for what I’m assuming is how the freezer gets rid of any condensation from defrosting the freezer. The smell seemed to be gone, so I reassembled the freezer compartments and plugged the unit back in. A couple hours later the smell was back just as strong. I am assuming that the smell is coming from a fan. When I have unplugged the unit, the smell dissipates, but comes back after it has been running for awhile again. I have tried to ignore the smell for a couple weeks now hoping that maybe it would just dry out and go away. It is not working and I am gagging every time I get anywhere near my kitchen. I have tried to call sears to talk to someone and find out if there’s anything more I can try, but I cannot talk to a service professional. I have to make a home service call appointment. I live over an hour away from the closest sears service representative. This is a ridiculous designed refrigerator when a drip pan in not removable, and horrible customer service. I feel like sears is only out to get money, not take care of their customers. I sure would appreciate any feedback from anyone with suggestions! I am ready to kick this stinky thing out the door.
Update:
The bad smell did go away after a few days and I thought maybe the problem fixed itself. It didn’t. It was fine for a few weeks and then the rancid smell came back strong as ever. At this point I moved the refrigerator outside on the deck where I can’t smell it and put an older, smaller refrigerator in my house.
I have the same issue with a six month old Kenmore. Smells like something died underneath it, I can't access anything to bleach it out or clean the drain pan. As with some other posters here, I am more than an hour from the nearest service provider. After seeing how obvious it is that these products are improperly built and the failure to be willing to correct the manufacturing by Sears I wlil be throwing out my fridge and doing a whole lot more research before I buy a brand that won't stink me out of my kitchen. No more Kenmore products for me, in fact no Sears anything. A six month old fridge that can't be used due to idioticly poor design is inexcusible.
This worked for us! Simple solution. We used the huge kitchen bulb syringe to suck out all the nasty drippings and super dirty drippings from the pan. Then we made a solution of baking soda & vinegar and rinse the driiping pans multiple times and use the syringe to suck out again until it was all clear and then we finally pour liquid bleach in the dripping pans and left it over night. And next day use the synringe again to suck it all out. Done! No more nasty smell. That did the magic! Or at least it worked for us very well. Removing the dripping pans were impossible so easy solution was this. I hope it works for yall.