NEED to un-stink!

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Phrasty

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I desperately need to un-stink a VERY stinky fridge!! It was unknowingly plugged out with meat inside... thats all im saying! Not good! Please help Anyone!

Cheers
 
Have you tried bleach, a rag, and a lot of time? I've cleaned some pretty nasty fridges in my younger days as a janitor and elbow grease is usually the only solution to fight the funk. Disassemble the shelves and anything you can and scrub it all.

Afterwards, leave it open for a few days to air out.
 
I have seen something similar happen with a picnic cooler (not my own). The only thing that worked was soaking the whole cooler full of strong, bleachy water, followed by a thorough rinse and a soak with OxyClean, and another thorough rinse or two.

I am not sure that this approach could be adapted to your fridge, however, since you can't really soak it. Sorry. You could try a good wash with this stuff, but I am not sure that will cut it.
 
Bleach and water. Wash it down and let it sit and air dry. If you can pull shelves and what not, give them a good wash with bleach/water and dry in the sun.
Then use baking soda and give it another good wash.
Best of luck!
 
olllllo said:

Yeah, come to think of it, there is this great enzyme based cleaner you can use to clean (and de-stink) pet messes... That stuff may help. Sorry, I don't have a brand name.

Bleach is probably faster, easier, and cheaper though. Get a spray bottle of the stuff (diluted) and a good mask and ventilation... then go nuts. Watch where it's draining, you might kill everything downstream for a few yards.
 
Try wiping it down with a strong vinegar-water solution. That should cut through the stench.
 
kvh said:
Yeah, come to think of it, there is this great enzyme based cleaner you can use to clean (and de-stink) pet messes... That stuff may help. Sorry, I don't have a brand name.

"Nature's Miracle"

works wonders for pet stains on the carpet. don't know how practical it would be for a whole fridge, tho.
 
Wow, got some great responses here. Ok so far I've tried bleach wipe down (obviously not thorough enuf) then leaving coffee in the fridge, Baking soda in the fridge, kitty litter in the fridge LOL... opening it up in backyard (sun) for a bit... nothings woorked to satisfaction. I guess this weekend ill open it up in the backyard and give it a spraydown this time with a bleach solution and leave it for a while. Hopefully it will work.

Cheers
 
The odor has probably penetrated the insulation so efforts to clean the surface will not effect the insulation layer behind the plastic inside the fridge.

Here's a couple of suggestions:

Turn it off and leave the door(s) open for a couple of weeks use a fan blow air into the fridge.

Once you turn it back on make sure it still works then

After that once you close and start to operate the fridge again open a few boxes of baking soda and leave them in the fridge that will absorb some odors. Put new boxes in every month. For as long as it take.

Good Luck
 
abracadabra said:
After that once you close and start to operate the fridge again open a few boxes of baking soda and leave them in the fridge that will absorb some odors. Put new boxes in every month. For as long as it take.

Good Luck

Actually, that won't do much. Baking soda curing odors in the fridge is all a myth, read here: http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/chem00/chem00388.htm

That said, I'm pretty confident I have some in my fridge right now with just that intent.

kvh
 
Kept grandma in there a little too long? Anyway, after the major cleaning, you might also want to try a few boxes of baking soda. That stuff will trap all kinds of odors...
 
kvh said:
Actually, that won't do much. Baking soda curing odors in the fridge is all a myth, read here: http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/chem00/chem00388.htm

That said, I'm pretty confident I have some in my fridge right now with just that intent.

kvh

I did read it. He did not state it was a myth.

I do agree that activated carbon aka acitvated charcoal would be more effective. Although I would suspect that activated carbon is more expensive.

And I agree that the limited surface area of a box especially if crusted over by moisture would hamper it's absortion abilty. That could easily be remedied by placing the baking soda in a container with a large surface area such as a plate or by removing any crusted over baking soda periodically from the surface of any container.

Futhermore he stated that if the odor were acidic in nature the baking soda would absorb it. Although not as effectively as activated carbon.
 
abracadabra said:
I did read it. He did not state it was a myth.

I do agree that activated carbon aka acitvated charcoal would be more effective. Although I would suspect that activated carbon is more expensive.

And I agree that the limited surface area of a box especially if crusted over by moisture would hamper it's absortion abilty. That could easily be remedied by placing the baking soda in a container with a large surface area such as a plate or by removing any crusted over baking soda periodically from the surface of any container.

Futhermore he stated that if the odor were acidic in nature the baking soda would absorb it. Although not as effectively as activated carbon.

Try it sometime. It works. When I got my fridge for my kegarator, It rank, and I dumped two boxes of baking soda on the bottom and it helped the smell a lot. It did not remove it completely but it sure as hell help. You do have to remove the baking soda at some point though, otherwise the smell is coming from the powder too....
 
Fingers said:
After you clean it, pack it full of newspaper. It will absorb the aroma.

When I bought my new fridge, it suggested the same thing for curing even the worst stank. I imagine that you will have to pack it and leave it for a good long while though.
 
$3,000 at Lowes.

Refridge.jpg
 
Who says you need to 'activate' charcoal? Plain old briquets work at least as well as baking soda. Then, plug it in, and turn it on. The cold will dampen the production of steeenkh.
 
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