Best way to remove rotten meat smell from referigerator

[KodiakJack]

Just got back to Arizona after almost 2 months north. Long story short the refrigerator was out when we returned. It was bad...very bad. We have cleaned it through and through with soap and water, vinegar, Clorox and water and all the other disinfectants at hand. I currently have charcoal (BBQ type) setting inside on paper plates and hope to find some activated charcoal in Parker tomorrow along with anything else that might get rid of the smell. I have read about coffee, new paper, vanilla, and various other cures but thought I see what folks here thought might work.

Later,

J

 

[GeorgiaHybrid]

Good old baking soda will work over time but the only way I have ever gotten rid of that smell the one time it happened to us was to open it up and set it outside for a month to air out.......

[DuffMan]

Whole thread on this topic with what works & what doesn't

 

http://www.rvnetwork.com/index.php?showtopic=107578

[bigjim]

I don't know if this would work in a refrigerator so consider it well for yourself and maybe some experience people here will comment.

 

I had and issue with a partial package of frozen bait shrimp being left on the floorboard of a car for over 2 weeks with the windows rolled up in the summer in Texas. I tried everything. I was down to cutting out a section of floorboard carpet and even sheet metal and replacing it as I could not afford another car. I ended up putting straight pine oil on it every day for a week. The pine oil masked the smell but was so strong for a while I could hardly deal with it. No windows rolled up and no air conditioning as I didn't want the smell getting into the ductwork of the AC. After a week or two the pine oil smell disipated and the rotten shrimp smell never returned even in the carpet. Of course I was able to mostly keep the windows open to let it air out. I am not sure if this would work inside a refrigerator but I throw this out there as I would think too many options are better than not enough. If you try something like this modified remember that pine oil can remove oil based paint. I have used it to clean paint brushes and keep them soft but have to be rinsed well. Best wishes on this issue.

[coachmac9]

bigjim, there is nothing like finding out you left shrimp or cut shad in the wrong place in the summer heat of Tx!!! I had to throw away a cooler after trying everything I could think of and then just letting it sit outside for a long time...still had that odor!!! Valuable and expensive lesson learned and those are not forgotten!!!!

[Kirk W]

Do not forget that your household refrigerators have a drain line from the freezer compartment that goes down into the compressor area somewhere and there is probably also residue in that line which may be a part of the problem. Many years ago we had a similar experience to yours but there was no meat left, it was a can of frozen orange juice which thawed out and spoiled. The smell was so bad that we noticed it before we even got the front door of the house opened.

 

It took Pam a great deal of work to get rid of that odor and she tried pretty much all of the various solutions suggested in the thread, but once she discovered that drain line, there was progress. You will need to pull the refrigerator out so and locate the lower end of the drain so that you can put some sort of catch pan under it to receive the nasty stuff. We also had to find something flexible that we were able to run through the line in order to get everything out of it. I don't remember now what it was that we used to open the line but as I recall the drain line of our present home refrigerator is along the back of the refrigerator and it may be possible to just replace it. I do know that once we discovered that drain we began to make progress in ridding the refrigerator of that odor.

[warroland]

Check with your local power company to see if they have ozone generator to loan you. A friend had this happen and the ozone generator took care of the odor.

[skp093018]

Best way to remove rotten meat smell and refrigerator....donate

[kurtsara]

The charcoal will work, ours went out while we were in Sturgis one year, our son still uses the fridge 8 years later.

[skp51443]

Old school charcoal NOT the fancy easy-light stuff unless you like the taste of the accelerator they use on your food!

 

One of the odor eliminator products might be of some help, I don't have one to recommend as it has been a while since we used one. A couple Amazon offers to consider:

 

http://smile.amazon.com/X-O-Odor-Neutralizer-Concentrate-32-Ounce/dp/B0002XJ15U/ref=sr_1_5

 

http://smile.amazon.com/Fresh-Wave-Natural-Neutralizing-Spray/dp/B0016PS3I4/ref=sr_1_6

[Mariner]

When this happened to our outside freezer, we tried everything to no avail. After two weeks of futile attempts we gave up and tossed it. At least it was a simple replacement, not like getting a new fridge. This might be a good time to consider a residential.

[Ray,IN]

If any liquid leaked down into the insulation, yep,, time to donate it to whoever will accept a smelly frig.

[Rick & Alana]

We used fish tank filter charcoal.

[KodiakJack]

Short update. The smell from the refrigerator area is now gone. The freezer smell on the on the other hand is still not good but better. Thanks Duff man for the link on the topic. Read through it all. Kirk our freezer does not appear to have a drain. Only the refer portion does and it is connected up to a tray to catch drips from the cooling fins and direct them out. We purchased some activated charcoal for fish tank filters along with some cat litter with this as a component but have yet to try either. At this time anything that goes into the freezer is sealed in plastic bags. We're due to depart today but will continue to seek a solution other than donation when we land for a while. Thanks all for your help.

Later,

J

[Sr Fox]

I used to own a auto reconditioning shop and when we got cars in that had been in accidents with lots of blood and the smell was horrible, we shampooed the area and applied a product called Nilodor. I just checked and they are still in business. This took out all the smells. You might try that.

[KodiakJack]

I used to own a auto reconditioning shop and when we got cars in that had been in accidents with lots of blood and the smell was horrible, we shampooed the area and applied a product called Nilodor. I just checked and they are still in business. This took out all the smells. You might try that.

Thanks for the heads up on Nilodor. I checked their website and they offer many products. So I sent them and email and asked which would work best for eliminating the smell form out freezer. I will post their reply.

Later,

J

[KodiakJack]

Thanks for the heads up on Nilodor. I checked their website and they offer many products. So I sent them and email and asked which would work best for eliminating the smell form out freezer. I will post their reply.

Later,

J

I got a nice email back from Nilodor suggesting one of their products and explaining why. That being Oxy-Force.

Thanks to all your help the smell is now almost gone.

Later,

J

[Sr Fox]

Good to hear. Thanks for getting back to us.

[AprilWhine]

 

Best way to remove rotten meat smell and refrigerator....donate

 

 

 

+1

[jerryneal]

Brew a large pot of coffee and put the wet grounds in a plate. Place one in the freezer and another in the frig. Works everytime, plus it doesn't make the frig smell like coffee. Some kinda' chemical reaction occurs the kills the smell. Usually works in 24 hours.