Cleaning a Disgusting Freezer in Preparation for Keezer Project!

Ok, I am extremely excited about my first major homebrewing project. I've been searching craigslist and freecycle for some time now and finally found a very nice, working 20 cu ft chest freezer for FREE! The catch is that there was rotting meat in the bottom of it for about a year (God only knows how this guy left meat in a freezer that was turned off for a year)! The owner said that he cleaned it with soap and water and got all of the solid stuff out of it but it smelled so bad, he couldn't take it anymore and sealed it back up for another year, probably with a small amount of fluid (cleaning solution? meat "juice"?) left in it.

Anyway, I picked it up last night and it is now sitting in my backyard waiting until I get off work to clean it up. Any suggestions for how to go about cleaning this bad boy? I was thinking of scrubbing it down with bleach solution several times and letting it dry in the sun...

wow, I missed the sticky up top about cleaning supplies until just now, but I'd still like to hear what you guys (and girls) have to say about this, as this is one of the most disgusting things I've seen in my life! LOL

You can try a massive soak in "oxyclean free" for a week or so It might help. You can also strip the appliance paint inside, and re-coat with rustoleum appliance epoxy. Once established I would go with using arm and hammer to neutralize any further lingering odors while in use.

My mother and step father had something similar happen to them when they got their freezer. From what I remember, my mom used about a gallon of bleach... Baking Soda is also helpful in removing odors if you make a paste with about 1pt baking soda to 3-5 parts water (depending on the consistency you want) It may be easier to take it apart and clean it than to try and clean it as is... of course that depends on if you CAN take it apart and put it back together...

juvinious said:

You can try a massive soak in "oxyclean free" for a week or so It might help. You can also strip the appliance paint inside, and re-coat with rustoleum appliance epoxy. Once established I would go with using arm and hammer to neutralize any further lingering odors while in use.

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Oh yeah! I forgot to mention that I was going to use rustoleum on it after it was all cleaned up also, but I didn't think of stripping the existing paint. That's a great idea.

As far as taking it apart and putting it back together...being able to do that hinges on whether or not the freezer can physically come apart and be put back together. I live in a house with 5 other engineering students who can surely figure it out, if it is feasible!

Looks like I have a whole lot of work ahead of me! It's a labor of love for great beer though!

That sounds pretty nasty man. I'd definitely be going at that with a spray bottle of strong bleach solution. Stripping the paint and repainting it isn't a half bad idea, either.

Do you guys think I should strip the paint before I clean anything if the smell isn't completely horrendous or should I give it a scrub down with bleach first? I was thinking of scrubbing it down with bleach to remove some of the smell so I could work in there, then stripping the paint off. Then I could soak the thing in oxyclean over the weekend and make sure there is absolutely no smell, and finish up with a coat of rustoleum. Is there any problem with leaving oxyclean or bleach solution for a couple days in the freezer without appliance paint?

Call your local PD and see if they have any enzyme cleaner-the stuff to clean up bloody crime scenes. It's not gonna be cheap, but it will work. Bleach will do most of the work, but you'll always still have a bit of funk.

B

hmm I might look into the enzyme cleaner. I can deal with a bit of funk I suppose. Maybe an open box of baking soda in there will help absorb any remaining funk after I have everything up and running.

I dont think the smell can permeate the metal. to some small degree the paint can take on an odor but the real culprit would be anything plastic and or rubber. I would soak the lid most likely the liner is foul smelling and replace the seal. The plastic sorry to say may never smell fresh again ever try to get the pickle smell out of a bucket?

i had a similar situation. it took me a few cleanings of bleach, bleach, and more bleach. baking soda paste. leaving the door open for a while. keeping baking soda in the fridge when the doors were closed. etc. etc. elbox grease. took a good amount of time, but it's now been in use for 2 years no prob.

Awesome! That gives me hope...My roommate just opened the lid and he just about threw up. T minus 75 minutes until I'm going in, guns blazing. I'm not taking any prisoners! :rockin:

My biggest concern with leaving the cleaning solutions in there with unprotected metal is that the metal might oxidize/rust.

Borax is also a good odor remover. I broke a milk bottle in our car one winter and cleaned as best as I could. When the seasons changed the car began to get funky. Baking soda did nothing. I finally had success when if used a bunch of slightly moist borax and scrubbed the carpet with that and then vacuumed it up. That solved the problem.

Borax is a common laundry additive - it is a color safe bleach

Didn't they do the dead pig in the car thing on Mythbusters?

Did they try to get the smell out?

ETA: Yeah, they did it: 010 007 0107 Stinky Car, Raccoon Rocket Is it possible to de-stink a car after being sealed up with a dead pig, and then sell it?
If you pour gasoline down a drain pipe and light it while in the drainpipe, will you be launched as if from a cannon? December 05, 2003

I used charcoal in my fridge after hurricane Ike. It absorbed the smell pretty quickly.

I unplugged our freezer a few years ago to use the cord for a project. I had every intent on plugging it back in within an hour. Well of coarse I forgot and after a few weeks my wife asked where is that smell comming from. THE FREEZER !!!! Well to get to the point I cleaned it with lots of bleach, lemon juice, baking soda and then put a pie tin with coffee in it in the freezer. I don't know where the idea of using the coffee came from, but it did help mask the smell. Good Luck

Haha I guess I'm not the only one who's been in this boat. Thanks for the encouragement. I did my initial clean yesterday afternoon and it smells a whole lot better now...all I can really smell at this point is bleach, but I'm sure there will be some noticeable, lingering gross smell when I come home today.

luckylindy345 said:

Haha I guess I'm not the only one who's been in this boat. Thanks for the encouragement. I did my initial clean yesterday afternoon and it smells a whole lot better now...all I can really smell at this point is bleach, but I'm sure there will be some noticeable, lingering gross smell when I come home today.

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My CL beater fridge smelled like a nursing home when I got it. Nothing like rotten meat, but it would almost make you hurl.

Removing the drawers and shelves, removing the BROWN cheese stick from the bottom, and scraping and washing the sticky grunge off has made it smell about 90% better.

Since I will be using cobra taps at first, I am still worried about my beer smelling. I plan on keeping a big box or two of baking soda inside it.

Power washer???

+1 on the baking powder scrub... Has the smell come back since the bleaching?

Power washer? Haha I wish I had even a hose...I just moved into my new rented house at college and just found out yesterday that there is no spigot anywhere outside to hook up a hose. I've been hauling bleach water from the kitchen to the back yard in 5 gallon batches! I won't know if the smell is still there until about 4 o'clock today. I'll let ya know when I find out. On Tuesday, she's gettin her paint stripped on the inside and getting repainted with rustoleum appliance epoxy That should take care of the smell for good I would think. Then I can get down to the real work!

I had a refrigerator in a mountain cabin that vandals cut the power lines for copper, I found out 6 weeks later. Had over 5 hour time cleaning it with every cleaner I can find. The refrigerator had that bad smell in the fiberglass no matter how much cleaning and days cooking in 95 degrees sun on its back. Smelled good and clean when cooled but was nasty when at room temp with the door shut, had to junk it. Yours for "Free" was for a reason, bet the PO is happy it's gone. Sorry to tell you this been there.

Yeah we'll see if the smell ever goes away...I'm not giving up that easy. Hope it doesn't turn out that way though, that's for sure!

If they lid smells, you can always junk the lid and replace it with foam and plywood.

My Keezer (which i also got for free) had a lid that was falling apart, so we just replaced.

worked out pretty well.

beer 001

If you use the rustoleum.....

Let it cure for like a month before you put any beer in it, seriously (okay, a month is too long, maybe).

I refinished a gas bottle, after 4 days in summer garage temps, I put the bottle in the box with the kegged beer.

Lemme tell ya man, Yummm. The #7555838 - Safety Orange was peppery with just a faint right hook of burnt rubber. The perfect complement to the well fermented 3rd runnings from my "Assume the fetal position Scotch /160" batch.







You realize the last part was a joke, right?

haha yeah I'll be sure to let it cure for a couple weeks at least! I won't be able to buy kegs for a month or two anyway, so I'm in no hurry.

Thanks for the tip Shockerengr. The lid doesn't seem to be the problem, but if the smell remains after tonight, I'll be willing to try anything!

+1 on the smell going away when it is cool. My freezer still had a faint smell even after cleaning and letting it sit for a long time (1 month +/-). It has no bad odors now.

Oven cleaner, bleach bath, then some backing soda with lemon juice (anything acidic to get the bubbly). Just be careful how long you let the oven cleaner go if there is a lot of plastic (also be sure the fridges is left open in a well ventilated area).

MoRoToRiUm said:

Oven cleaner, bleach bath, then some backing soda with lemon juice (anything acidic to get the bubbly). Just be careful how long you let the oven cleaner go if there is a lot of plastic (also be sure the fridges is left open in a well ventilated area).

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Oven cleaner! I didn't even think of that. I'm gonna hit it with a bunch of stuff this afternoon. It doesn't smell at all when there is bleach or any cleaning solution in the bottom, but after it dries it still smells horrible! It had oxy clean in there over night, we'll see if that helps.

I use oven cleaner to clean anything that is STUPID dirty! That stuff will eat anything. you're supposed to "heat" the surface before use but its not thing really. The other thing you can use is "Scrubbing Bubbles" that is used to clean crazy crap off of your shower floor. That stuff is REALLY powerful too. Good Luck.

+1 on well ventilated

eschatz said:

I use oven cleaner to clean anything that is STUPID dirty! That stuff will eat anything. you're supposed to "heat" the surface before use but its not thing really. The other thing you can use is "Scrubbing Bubbles" that is used to clean crazy crap off of your shower floor. That stuff is REALLY powerful too. Good Luck.

+1 on well ventilated

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Awesome. I'll go at it with some oven cleaner as soon as I can get my hands on some.

I have a friend who goes to Rose Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute!

Engine block cleaner???.....