Sorry but more information is needed. Brand and model number needed. Is the water filtered prior to entering the ice machine? Is this a traditional ice maker or a "clear-ice" machine?

It's a U-Line BI1215, which creates crescent shaped traditional (non clear) ice "cubes." It's brand new so I was instructed to toss the first several batches. We are waaayyy beyond the first few batches, four days of batches to be honest. I'd expect the newness to be gone, wouldn't you? I am not using it since it smells and tastes so icky. My best description is a strong plastic-y smell and taste. (I haven't swallowed any, just tasted melted "cubes")

It was connected using a braided water line supply kit, hooked to my sink water line. The water is not filtered.

I called U-Line and spoke with a person who suggested putting vinegar in the ice tray and then trying the Ice Machine Cleaning packet if the vinegar doesn't work. I tried the vinegar and now the ice is really gross. I will have to wait for the cleaner to arrive.

Until then, has anyone else had a similar problem? What was the cause? And the solution? Even though my sink water tastes ok, would filtering the water help?

Thank goodness my fridge icemaker still works. It's a typical blisteringly hot summer here.

Thanks for reading and responding!

Do you know what the line leading to the ice maker is made of? Braided what? Does the line have a liner?

If you're tasting plastic, your problem is probably plastic. The question is whether it's in the water, in your sink, in the line or in the ice maker. One experiment you can do is to make different trays of ice (or use small plastic cups) for the different stages. Tap water, water from the line, and water from where it gets into the ice molds in the machine if you can get at it. Freeze them and taste.

It also may be that the factory ugh hasn't cleaned off as well as it should have. That you can taste the vinegar seems to support that. I'd try the cleaning packet.

Another possibility is that there's something growing in the line or in the machine. When I was in college our formerly delicious water cooler water started tasting really terrible. The guys complained about it but didn't do anything. I took it apart and found that even though every other part of the cooler looked spotless, there was something green (algae) growing in the crock. Not particularly harmful, but nasty tasting.

Hey, do you have the capacity to 'run the water' before the ice-maker? Yeah, I know you are smart enough to do that, but I assume that the ice maker is patched into the line, etc, and that you could turn a tap on and run water to get rid of any stale water. Agree with the comment above concerning connections- plastic? Copper? Could it be solder?