New minifridge - persistent plasticy/chemical smell

I bought a new 1.6 cubic ft minifridge off Amazon, and it has a persistent smell coming from it after it's been running for a little while. It smells somewhat chemical or like plastic. It works fine, though, so I don't think it's a refrigerant leak or anything like that. The smell transfers to food if I keep it in there, so I've only been putting sealed drinks or tupperware in it. It seems like it could be off-gassing from the plastic inside, but I've had it for 3 weeks and let it air out while turned off more than once, including for 3 days last week, and it still persists.

Is it possibly off-gassing still, and I just need to wait awhile, or should I get it replaced? Never owned a fridge before so not sure if this is normal.

Posted May 25, 2026, 5:46 PM UTC

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