Ok, I just talked with the previous owners who admitted to leaving deli meat and cheese in there for months on end before finding it.
I will try a combination of all the above to rid that smell. Should we have the fridge turned on during this process of coffee grounds, charcoal, newspaper, etc??
The professionals use vanilla extract full strength. I saw broken freezers in for repair that made you leave the building, after they were repaired and washed, then wiped down with vanilla extract they were re-sold with no smell.
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Please, please try the vanilla! Use the real stuff, wet down a rag with water, wring out then re-wet with the vanilla. Wipe down EVERYTHING in the fridge. Close the door, with the rag in it, and leave overnight. Next morning open, wash out rag with water and re-wet with vanilla. Keep doing this as long as it takes, normally only a couple of times. This comes from Igloo and has saved a lot of ice chest, fridge's, etc. on boats, RV's and in homes. When the smell is gone just wash the fridge with water to get rid of the vanilla and you're good to go!
Be interested in hearing your progress or results.
I have fought this problem twice....and nearly divorced my wife twice for leaving meat in the freezer and allowing it to thaw out and age. I was close to replacing the entire unit because the odor was so bad.
The odor is caused by bacteria and in my experience, no amount of newspaper, coffee, baking soda, charcoal, vanilla, commercial odor eater nor any other type of deodorant will really solve the problem. They may mask the odor some but won't eliminate it.
What I finally did was visit a commercial supply house and bought a spray can of hospital strength disinfectant. I used it lavishly thruout the interior of the freezer and refrigerator....several times ...with soap and hot water washouts and air dryings in between sprayings. Problem solved.
Good luck,
Roger
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tnman wrote: I've researched on the internet and found several reports of some fridges smelling like ammonia because of an evaporator leak. I don't really think that is what ours smells like but might be. Would you be able to smell the ammonia even with the fridge turned off?
I had the cooler spring a leak and the fridge smelled like ammonia. There is no mistaking the smell. It is overpowering. You'll know immediately when it happens and you won't mistake it for some old lunchmeat. I'm guessing that you do not have this expensive problem.
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Hey, everyone has there own opinions but I KNOW the vanilla works. I have saved an ice chest that had fish rot in it, a boat fridge that died full of meat, not discovered for a week. Saved it with the vanilla treatment. I know this works and it's a lot easier to get than some other things!
Don't forget the nooks and crannies around the door gaskets. If the slightest bit of something is still there, the smell can return.
I've used baking soda, charcoal, coffee grounds, and vanilla over the years. They've all worked; you just have to find the one that will work this time.
"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." -- Mahatma Gandhi
I tried baking soda, charcoal, coffee grounds, newspaper and vanilla. The vanilla seemed to work the best. The fridge smells like vanilla, but that's a lot better than the smell of death.
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