HB -- I have a Whirlpool of about the same vintage and am having exactly the same problem (or, my tenant is).

Did you determine the problem? Was there anything you could do other than trash the thing?

On Thursday, September 5, 2013 at 7:06:34 PM UTC-6, Higgs Boson wrote:
Desperate! For over a month there has been a terrible smell coming from the refrigerator AND the freezer!!!

Frig. is a medium-end Whirlpool w/top freezer, about 6-7 years old.

I took EVERY item out of the frig, smelled it (nothing) washed the entire frig. section. Did the same with the freezer - where the smell, oddly enough, seems STRONGER! No change; smell still there.

IMPORTANT: When I was cleaning out the freezer, the blast of air SEEMED to be carrying the odor. By now, I am so crazy that I'm not even sure of THAT!

I asked a handyman who was doing some work for me to smell the frig/freezer. Asked him whether an animal could have crawled behind and died. He sensibly replied that if that were the case, the whole kitchen would smell.

So has something gotten into the ?? lines ??? that cool the frig/freezer?

Any suggestions gratefully accepted.

HB