chemical smell in home and freezer not as cold as before

Posted by Joe on October 20, 2009, 2:02 pm

> Hello all,
> Yesterday morning we noticed a very strong chemical smell in the 1st
> floor of the house. It was hard to tell where it was coming from.
> Then I noticed yesterday that the freezer section of our side-by-side
> whirlpool refrigerator is not as cold as it used to be, i.e not
> freezing temps.
> I'm not entirely sure if a problem with the refrigerator would emit a
> chemical odor throughout the home.
> Can anyone advise please and how to diagnose this further?
> Thank you!

Based on how a fridge works, you could have lost some refrigerant. The
freezer section usually supplies a portion of its coolth (new word,
eh?) to the other section. The fan between the sections is perhaps
running constantly to keep the service side cool enough, and the
system no longer has the capacity to keep the freezer temperature in
limits.
Better call a Whirlpool expert for diagnosis/repair as needed. Some
parts of the appliance may be under warranty so check that out.

Joe

Posted by lora on October 20, 2009, 2:34 pm

Thanks for the responses. We've turned the freezer section temp lower
than before and will check to see if the temps will actually lower.

Now, would a refrigerant leak cause the smell to permeate the whole
1st floor of the house or would it be perceptible just near the
appliance?

Today, the smell is not as pungent as yesterday but there is still a
smell that now seems like ham/peas soup cooking or something.

Also, refrigerant is same as freon? I did some google checks and some
folks say that freon leak does not cause a smell.

Thank you!

> > Hello all,
> > Yesterday morning we noticed a very strong chemical smell in the 1st
> > floor of the house. It was hard to tell where it was coming from.
> > Then I noticed yesterday that the freezer section of our side-by-side
> > whirlpool refrigerator is not as cold as it used to be, i.e not
> > freezing temps.
> > I'm not entirely sure if a problem with the refrigerator would emit a
> > chemical odor throughout the home.
> > Can anyone advise please and how to diagnose this further?
> > Thank you!

> Based on how a fridge works, you could have lost some refrigerant. The
> freezer section usually supplies a portion of its coolth (new word,
> eh?) to the other section. The fan between the sections is perhaps
> running constantly to keep the service side cool enough, and the
> system no longer has the capacity to keep the freezer temperature in
> limits.
> Better call a Whirlpool expert for diagnosis/repair as needed. Some
> parts of the appliance may be under warranty so check that out.
> Joe

Posted by Stormin Mormon on October 20, 2009, 2:45 pm

Turning the thermostat on a broken fridge, is like stomping
the gas pedal of a car that's out of gas.

Refrigerant is a generic name. Freon is a brand name, and
should be capitalized. Like Isotron, Genetron, Forane, which
are other brands of refrigerant.

Most refrigerants are odorless, or nearly odorless.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.

Thanks for the responses. We've turned the freezer section
temp lower
than before and will check to see if the temps will actually
lower.

Now, would a refrigerant leak cause the smell to permeate
the whole
1st floor of the house or would it be perceptible just near
the
appliance?

Today, the smell is not as pungent as yesterday but there is
still a
smell that now seems like ham/peas soup cooking or
something.

Also, refrigerant is same as freon? I did some google checks
and some
folks say that freon leak does not cause a smell.

Thank you!

Posted by The Daring Dufas on October 20, 2009, 3:18 pm

Stormin Mormon wrote:

> Turning the thermostat on a broken fridge, is like stomping
> the gas pedal of a car that's out of gas.
>
> Refrigerant is a generic name. Freon is a brand name, and
> should be capitalized. Like Isotron, Genetron, Forane, which
> are other brands of refrigerant.
>
> Most refrigerants are odorless, or nearly odorless.
>

If I sniff it and it burns the hair out of my nose,
I tend to believe there was a compressor burn out.

TDD

Posted by Stormin Mormon on October 20, 2009, 9:43 pm

Hey, nothing like decomposing freon to stink. I mean, I had
a freon die behind the water heater one time, the cat musta
put it there. Wow, that took weeks for it to finish
decomposing. You just can't believe how awful it was, that
freon that dried up and all the mollecules started to go
bad. But, at lest it wasn't out in the field behind my
place, reproducing. One freon can destroy up to 100,000
ozones, we had to learn that for the EPA test. Ozones are on
the endangered species list. If you are digging for a cellar
or something, and you find ozones, you got to call the EPA
and have the area green tagged.

Yow, that was fun to write. I havn't been so full of
blitering idiocy since my last post to news. Which some how
ended up on Usenet by accident.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.

If I sniff it and it burns the hair out of my nose,
I tend to believe there was a compressor burn out.

TDD

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