Smelly freezer

[zoo]

A midnight mover flipped off some breakers, upon skipping, including the refrigerator. Of course the place was a mess including the inside of the fridge. When my mangement Co. discovered the situation the unit was pretty high inside. The fridge itself is pretty well cleared up after thourough cleaning. However the upper freezer is still very foul. It is very difficult to clean the cooling coils under the bottom panel in the frezer box.

We have used the product called `Arm and Hammer` that is specifically designed for keepiong the air in there fresh but it still doesn`t cut it.

There have been discussions about using ozone machines to take the smell out of fowl carpets etc in entire condos. I am wondering if anyone knows of a smaller unit that could be put into the fridge to purify the entire unit. It is still a very good (almost new) quailty appliance otherwise. It is located in Red Deer. Any helful suggestions would be appreciated.

Phil Peters

 

[Ready4Rent]

I have heard, but not tested. Put a few paper plates with coffee grounds in the freezer for a few days, then the Arm and Hammer

Hope this helps.

John

 

[invst4profit]

I have tried the coffee grounds remedy with only limited success. The smell seems to get into the plastic and continues to transfer to frozen foods.
I have heard that some auto detailers advertise ozone treatments so you may want to call around in your area.

 

[zoo]

Thanks to both of your ideas. I`ll follow up on that today.

Phil

 

[kfort]

if you believe it is in the plastic price out new plastics... i know fridge door shelves etc are in the neighbourhood of about $12 or so... you`d have to investigate how easily they are put into place as well though. just a thought.

other than that, I assume you have left vinegar in there in a bowl for a few days and changed it every 24 hrs? Vinegar absorbs smells very well.

 

[dplummer]

Ozone will do the trick. As a restoration contractor we do this all the time.

Doug

 

[InvestorGabe]

Try using a solution of hydrogen peroxide, about the same strength you buy at a drugstore, maybe cut with a bit of water. It really incinerates and eats organic material, especially the smelly bits... No chemical smell or residue

 

[alyna]

Switch off the fridge first. Take out the shelves and wash any removable bits in washing up liquid, then rinse with the white spirit vinegar solution. Let it all dry well before putting it back.Clean all awkward bits with a small spiral brush/pipe cleaners. white spirit vinegar is really good to clean all sorts of stuff.For the inside of the fridge, use a solution of cold water and white spirit vinegar (I would say 2 eggcups of vinegar for a 4 litres of water-can`t be quite sure). I heard, a charcoal could also be an alternative!

 

[zoo]

It does one good to realize how anxious people are to help. Update here. My appliance guy had a spray container called Ozium he has used. We sprayed that in there yesterday and then washed it out last night. It didn`t totally take it away but it has a smell of it`s own, kind of bitter sweet that has to go. We`ll try the charcoal treatment next, possibly vinegar. Another appliance repairmen said he used kitty litter on a tray when something ran onto the coils.

Doug could you elaberate on the ozone equipment? Nobody around here seemed to know what I was talking about. Years ago we had a small `Alphine` electic household ozone maker that has since bit the dust. But if you put it into a smoky room after a few hours it would disipate the smell. I bought it from a multi level sale person. Fortunately/unfortunately there is no tenant in there now so we have time. Thanks.

Phil

 

[dplummer]

Phil, You could call up a restoration contractor in your area they`ll have them. The multi-level guys had to stop selling them as they can be harmful to humans & pets. Some motels will use them to rid rooms of smoke smell.

Doug

 

[Berubeland]

I don`t mean to be unhelpful, but I have found that if a freezer get seriously moldy, it will never lose that smell. I have tossed many a perfectly good fridge that just kept reeking.

Once I opened one up that had been left for a while in the heat full of food and what I found was that behind the plastic you see inside the fridge there is a layer of styrofoam and in that case the styrofoam had mold on it even penetrating the foam in between the little bubbles. So even if you wiped it off it will be stuck in the foam.

So if the fridge or freezer gets stuck full of rotten food for a while chances are it`s ruined. Maybe it`s time for an upgrade?