Ice Cube Trays

This one's for all the amateur scientists and butt-crack refrigerator repairmen out there.

I bought a new refrigerator, ran the ice cube trays through my dishwasher, and made an inaugural batch of ice cubes.

Why do my ice cube trays already stank like a skank after the first batch of cubes?

It's enough to drive me to :w: , which is the ultimate goal of my making decent ice cubes in the first place.

I honestly have no idea why they smell but it could be the dishwashing detergent? Maybe a reaction with the plastic the ice cube trays are made of ? I am not fond of dishwashers myself. We have one now in our new apartment but I still like to wash by hand.

A handy tip to keep the freezer (and refrigerator), as well as the food stored, fresh and smelling good is to place a box of arm & hammer baking soda in there. They have them specifically for fridge and freezer so grab a couple of those and see how you go

I'll tell you what I do for fresh icecubes every time. I buy disposable ice cube bags. The type that you fill up. they're not that expensive and you can get about 24 ice cubes per bag and about 20 bags per packet.

New refrigerators always have that new plasticy smell...is that what you're talking about?

When I got a new one with an automatic ice maker, the manual said to throw away the first batches and draw a lot of water out the door dispenser to clean the system.

Also, did it recommend that you run the trays through the dishwasher? Sometimes those plastics used in a refrigerator aren't meant for use in an automatic dishwasher.

It's not the dishwasher. It doesn't matter how clean a refrigerator is or how clean the cube trays are ~ the trays develop that same stench.

I can't be the only person who's noticed this. I've smelled the same damn thing in every refrigerator at every place I've worked and everywhere I used to rent. It's a problem common to refrigerators.