Refrigerator smell

[Happycamper30]

We are a seasonal camper and for some reason there was a power outage and our refrigerator quit working, and we had this produce, meat,etc. now we have this awful smell we cannot get out of the refrigerator we have tried Baking soda but to no avail, we do know the refrigerator does work on gas.so we know it does work, any good tips on how to get the rotten fowl smell out,some people say charcoal, but would like some home grown ideas.

Thank you

[dcmac214]

Probably not as bad as what you have. We were given a refrigerator we put on the back porch for cold drinks. Smelled like something had died in it. Using a VERY liberal amount of Clorox Clean-Up, we scrubbed (and I do mean scrubbed) everything twice, then shut it up for a few days with wet Clean-Up all over the insides. Sometimes we still catch a slight disagreeable smell but very faint.

[Bipeflier]

jamway wrote:
The folks on R V Net told us to do this.

We put about a cup of this in a small dish in the our refrigerator and freezer for a week. Worked great no bad smell.

TST RV Septic System Ultra-Concentrated Liquid Treatment

RV black tank treatment is the only thing we found that removed the smell when our cooling unit quit 3 years ago. Pour out into a dish and close it up in the freezer and frig. for 4 days WITHOUT OPENING. Finish up with bleach mix..

[jamway]

The folks on R V Net told us to do this.

We put about a cup of this in a small dish in the our refrigerator and freezer for a week. Worked great no bad smell.

TST RV Septic System Ultra-Concentrated Liquid Treatment

[Happycamper30]

Thanks everyone for the replies and just to let you all you know I would advise not to come over for a cook out with Brats and burgers they might have a funny taste to them, as always thank you all for the advice and will try them,

Happy RVing.Be safe.
Ron.

[jetboater454]

Maybe as a last resort,let an onion burn in a pan on the stove,then at least the fridge will smell better than the trailer. :h

Sorry,just had to add a little humor to your situation.:B :W

[Humpty]

The very same thing just happened to us :S We cleaned everything with bleach once discovered and it still smelled bad.

Went away for 2 weeks with the fridge empty, off and doors open. Wiped it out with a lot of bleach upon return. It is better, but still stinks.

Unit is currently empty, off, with doors open. It will have been like this for 3 weeks before our next trip. I was planning to hit it hard with bleach again. I may also try straight lemon juice.

I guess I will keep doing this until it passes a smell test.

It sure is a pain waiting on the fridge to cool from off.

On but empty may be the new normal for us.

[wa8yxm]

I have been known to use an industerial size Steam Cleaner (Back when Dinos walked the earth and I worked for Sears at the warehouse, it was THEIR steamer) Since then I've used a personal steamer on another frig but these were Residential type. not RV type.. However if it's just the fridge not the freezer.. Same steamer should work.

Then baking soda water mix.

[Charlie_D_]

Odo-Ban. I helped friends and neighbors save their fridges after hurricanes. Remove all panels that have screws. If you don't you will never salvage. Mix a strong solution and wipe down. Be sure to check and clean the defrost pan under the fridge AND the drain tube. Spray a solution into all cracks and crevices. Use wadded up newspaper and spray lightly. Close the door and next day throw away newspaper. Spray into crevices and other surfaces again and leave open. Allow to dry between spraying. Maybe put a small fan in the opening. May need to repeat several times

[jetboater454]

doxiemom11 wrote:
Would kitty liter absorb the smell? Leave open airing out with containers of litter sitting inside.

The "new" versions of cat litter actually only absorb liquid smells. I remember using it while trailer was in storage in humid weather a few decades ago long before these clumping,flushable ones came out.


On a side note,wonder if lemons and baking soda made up into like a soup,put in the fridge and left closed a few days in a hot trailer...ie.. no power to it,would have the reverse effects of bad food. :h

[mobeewan]

Lemon juice by itself.

You can also make a paste out of baking soda and lemon juice.

[doxiemom11]

Would kitty liter absorb the smell? Leave open airing out with containers of litter sitting inside.

[naturist]

Oh, man, I feel ya!

That smell is really very hard to get rid of. Wiping down with a little bleach will help. but the smell gets absorbed into the plastic liner, and will soon be back. If there's any way you can turn the fridge off, and leave the door open wide, with all the windows open and let the whole thing air out for, oh, the next year or two . . . .

Just plain charcoal wouldn't do much. I would think you'd need activated charcoal, and lots of it. Go down to the aquarium/pet store and buy several boxes of the activated charcoal they sell for aquarium filters. Spread it out on paper towels, after wiping the fridge with diluted bleach.

Good luck.

[Moderator]

Moved from ATC

[jetboater454]

Charcoal or coffee is what I have always heard. Wipe it down with a good cleaner first,maybe some mild bleach. Good luck.