Smelly Fridge!! Help!

[missdixie245]

Greetings once again all,

So, I've had my 1999 Excella 34' for a few weeks now. I cleaned everything very throughly including the fridge. It still smells so very bad. I have 2 boxes of baking soda in it and it still smells! I can barely stand to open it! Any ideas? Do the "fins" in the back top shelf need to come out and be cleaned? Did I miss an old piece of cheese from the previous owner that may have fallen into a unseen nook or crannie? I am at a loss…HELP me and my smelly fridge live a long and fresh life together! Thanks in advance!

[Protagonist]

Without knowing what it smells like, it's hard to tell you what the most likely solution is. If the smell is mold and/or mildew, washing the interior surfaces with white wine vinegar should help.

[Petethefeet]

My mum suggested for me to clean the interior of a smelly fridge with Vanilla essence. It did work on the fridge in question, but my fridge may not be featuring so high in the " smelly " ratings as your own. Could be worth a try at least.

Pete

[PaulnGina]

Get a pie plate, fill it with a couple of inches of ground coffee (can be the cheap stuff), put the pie plate in the smelly fridge for 3 days with the fridge running. Presto, no stink!
(I would not have believed it if I had not tried it in an upright freezer. Charcoal works, too. WITHOUT starter fluid in it!!!))

[Aage]

It seems to me that we used baking soda (a box left open) supposedly to remove odours in our fridge.

YMMV, of course.

[PaulnGina]

We bought our upright freezer from a neighbor for a song because their power had gone out and everything in the freezer spoiled, including meat. Nasty, rotten smell. Cleaned and wiped down the inside with bleach and water, did the coffee trick, and in three days we had a freezer that smelled BETTER than new.

[BassCan]

My antidote about a smelly fridge involved our old pop up and a son who borrowed it for a camping and fishing trip. The camper came back in one piece and we placed it back in the carport and did not use it for a couple months.
Then spring arrived and the camping urge took hold. We pulled the pop up out of the carport and popped it up.
When we open the fridge...OMG...
Our son had left his fishing bait of dead shrimp in the fridge when he packed up two months ago!!
Couldn't get within 12 feet of the camper before the smell would overwhelm you.
It took bleach water,baking soda, coffee grinds and time before the smell finally disappeared.
Needless to say we had a smelly camping trip using an ice chest, and keeping the fridge closed with a fan circulating the air.
Good luck!!!

[oldiesel]

Does it smell like ammonia? If so that is bad news,usually means replacement of at least the entire cooling unit!

[missdixie245]

It doesn't smell like ammonia. I can't even put into words what it smells like…all I know is the whole trailer smells every time I open it. Some good ideas here, thanks to all…keep em comin'

[Glenritas]

This from "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" ... Windex its not just for windows.

Spray the entire interior of the refer and wipe down everything , dry thoroughly and leave the door open. Spray Fabreze on the soft goods in the trailer and leave some windows open.

That ought to do it

[vinstream]

bLeach, BLeaCH, and BLEACH...

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Originally Posted by missdixie245

It doesn't smell like ammonia. I can't even put into words what it smells like…all I know is the whole trailer smells every time I open it. Some good ideas here, thanks to all…keep em comin'

Hi, take everything out of the refrigerator, clean it with Windex, wipe everything with paper towels until dry, and leave the doors open.

I do this and let it sit for several days. Then I put a box of baking soda in it and close the doors while in storage. If you close the doors with it still smelling, the smell has no way to escape/vent.

[scamp]

Are you sure the smell is from the fridge? Could there be some dead rodends behind some cabinets, etc. rotting away.

Don

[paiceman]

Wipe down with Clorox which will kill anything that might be lurking in there. Then we use baking soda and close the door for a short period, about 48 hours. Then open and when in storage always leave the doors open. BUT, Scamp could be right on. YEARS ago my parents had a 30 International and after a long winter took it west on a business trip, my mother fired up the oven and cooked three mice. I remember the smell could not be removed, so we replaced it when I came home on leave one time. Check for dead animals as Scamp suggested, a mouse can get into almost anyplace.

Good Luck