I have a smell coming from the fan in my refrigerator that is causing a musty sweat smell in the kitchen. The inside of the frig does not smell and is clean. I cleaned out the drip pan 6 months ago and it went away. now I am smelling it again but the drip pan is still clean. Don't know what else I can do to get rid of the smell.

Some of them do have a drip pan under them ,at the bottom of the frig there is a cover that will come off may be screwed on may snap off when you pull on it.Take a flashlight and shine under it after you get plate off you should see it .You can put a cap full of bleach in it should take care of your problem.

check defrost element wire maybe burning

Is it a musty smell or that of something / (rodent) decomposing? If you only smell it when it is running then look for BLACK gunk that will probably appear almost like a paste. Even things like cat or dog hair will collect in damp areas. There should be a white plastic drip pan under your unit. Look for the freezer white plastic drain hose on the rear bottom of your unit on the freezer side and follow that hose to the drip pan. It catches water every time the unit defrosts which is 3 - 4 times a day depending on which defrost timer your unit has.

Usually there is a build up in the drip pan that gets mucky and then stinks like mold. It will of course need cleaned.

Also look at the fan area for the coils. Sometimes there are unwanterd home critters that attempt to get through the running fan blades and end dead up inside the cooling coil metal radiator area.

No. The coolant cannot leak as a liquid and soak into the floor. Also, the smell of the coolant (refrigerant) does not have the acetone/ketone/laquer thinner smell that you are describing, and if someway the smell originated from the frig, the smell would without a doubt be inside the frig as well. You need to look frosome container stored in a cabinet or stored on conrete floor that has rusted or opened some way and the thinner/cleaner/solvent has leaked from such a containerwithout notice. Goodluck, Macgivor

since it is working ok . i am wondering if you dont have mold growing in the drip pan ... condensation from inside the refrigerator goes down a small tube in the back bottom of the frig ... that tube goes to a pan under the refrigerator and normally the water just evaporates .. if there is a lot of condensate from the frig then the pan may stay wet long enough for mold to get established ... a large amount of condensate from the frig usually indicates a leaky seal around the door .. or a door that doesnt close completely .. you might want to clean everything under the frig including any fans, coils and that pan (unplug first) ... now this all assumes that the smell is coming from the outside not inside the refrigerator .. if the smell is inside then you may have to defrost and clean the evaporator (the coils inside the freezer (somtimes also in the refrigerator) ... there are some kinds of mold that actually grow in that cold environment .. some hot soapy water with a little bleach usually does the job .. or if you have one, a steam cleaner, those do great .. it allows you to get down in the little places and clean everything ... make sure the frig is at room temp first so plastic doesnt crack ..
the refrigerant r22 or r134a have very little smell so even if you had a leak it wouldnt smell strong .. a few refrigerators use ammonia and that would have a distinctive smell easily recognized if there was a leak .

Bad door seals. Air is getting in.

bad door seals. humid air coming in

in drip pan under refrigerator

The water smells funny and taste moldy/musty. Where is the filter to change it? I've looked inside and out and can't find it.

There is a very bad smell from the bottom of the refrigerator . There is a pan under the refrigerator with a very bad smelly Liquid , How can I clean that pan I couldn`t pull it out ? Thank you