Ice From the Ice Machine Tastes Stale, Chemical or Musty
When ice machine ice tastes bad, drinks pick up a musty note, a hint of chlorine or cleaner, a flat stale taste, or the smell of whatever sits near the bin, and customers or staff notice before anyone looks inside the machine.
Mon–Sat, 8am–8pm
- 5 checks before you book
- 5 questions that narrow it
- 6 causes, cheapest first
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What it
usually means.
Ice takes on whatever is in the water and whatever is in the air around it. Clean water, a current filter and a clean bin give ice with no taste at all, so any taste has a source. The most common in a business is a cleaning schedule that slipped: slime and mold grow in the sump, on the curtain and in the bin, and they give a musty or earthy taste long before anyone sees them. A filter past its date lets chlorine and minerals through. A cleaner or sanitizer that was not rinsed as the manual says leaves a chemical taste, as does one used in the wrong strength. Ice held too long in a bin that is rarely emptied goes stale and picks up odors, especially from food stored nearby or from a drain without an air gap that lets sewer gas and backflow into the bin. New water lines and new filters can also give a plastic or carbon taste for the first days. Ice is food, so a taste is treated as a hygiene question first.
The 6 causes, cheapest first
Answer these first
Is the taste musty, chemical, like chlorine, metallic, stale, or like food?
When were the machine and the bin last cleaned and sanitized, and when was the filter last changed?
Does the bin have a smell of its own when opened, and is any film visible on the curtain or the bin walls?
Is food, cleaning product or anything strong-smelling stored near the bin?
Does the bin drain run into a floor drain with an air gap, or is the hose pushed into the drain?
Check these
before you book.
Ice machine ice tastes bad: 5 checks, and none of them costs anything.
Stop serving the ice if the taste is musty or chemical, and empty the bin.
Look at the curtain, the bin walls and the drain for pink or black film, without removing any panel.
Check the filter cartridge date and the date of the last clean and sanitize.
Also worth checking
- Look at where the bin drain ends: there should be an open gap between the hose and the floor drain.
- If cleaning is due, run the maker's clean and sanitize cycle with the approved products exactly as the manual directs, or book it.
How soon does it need a visit?
Ice is food. A musty, chemical or sewer taste means the ice is not served until the machine is cleaned and the source found; a stale taste from ice held too long can be fixed by emptying the bin.
The causes,
cheapest first.
6 things ice from the ice machine tastes stale, chemical or musty turns out to be, from ice held too long, or food stored nearby to a problem in the building's water.
The cost guide-
01 no repair
Ice held too long, or food stored nearby
Ice absorbs odors from the air in the bin and the room. Emptying and refilling the bin regularly and moving strong-smelling items away removes the taste.
-
02 no repair
Cleaner or sanitizer not fully rinsed
A chemical taste right after cleaning usually means the manual's rinse steps were cut short. Discard the first harvests after cleaning as the manual directs.
-
03 lowest
A filter past its date
A spent filter lets chlorine, minerals and earthy tastes through. The cartridge is replaced and the date written on it.
-
04 low to moderate
Slime or mold in the sump, curtain or bin
Growth inside the machine gives a musty, earthy taste well before it is visible. A full clean and sanitize on the maker's schedule removes it.
-
05 low to moderate
A drain without an air gap
A bin drain hose pushed straight into a floor drain lets odors, and in a backup, dirty water, reach the bin. The drain is refitted with a proper air gap.
-
06 varies
A problem in the building's water
Work on the mains, a new line or a problem further up the building can change the water itself. A visit can confirm the machine and filter are fine and point to the plumbing.
What else
it could be.
Most often confused with slime or mold growing in the ice machine bin, then cloudy, soft or wet ice from an ice machine.
All problemsCodes that come with it
Clean and SanitizeFollett · Mode, not a failureFilter Replacement RequiredFollett · Mode, not a failureCleaning NeededKitchenAid · Mode, not a failureOrder FilterKitchenAid · Water supplyICE, NO WATER and DRAIN flicker in turnMarvel · Mode, not a failureReplace FilterMonogram · Water supply
Also related
The makes
it happens on.
20 makes on this site; ice from the ice machine tastes stale, chemical or musty can show up on any of them. Each mark opens that make's own page.
All 20 brandsIce From the Ice Machine Tastes Stale, Chemical or Musty,
where we come out.
9 metros, each with its own page.
All service areasTampa BayFL · 31 areas
Miami / South FloridaFL · 47 areas
New York MetroNY · 75 areas
HoustonTX · 36 areas
ChicagoIL · 50 areas
Los AngelesCA · 95 areas
San DiegoCA · 31 areas
Questions about
ice from the ice machine tastes stale, chemical or musty.
Why does our ice taste like chlorine right after cleaning?
Can a dirty ice machine make people sick?
The ice tastes musty but the bin looks clean. How?
Does the bin drain affect the taste of the ice?
Back to your everyday
Still seeing ice from the ice machine tastes stale, chemical or musty?
Book with what you checked above — 5 answers save the technician the first part of the visit.