Left something in the freezer......…

[wagon52]

So two weeks ago when we came home from our last trip we cleaned out the camper as usual. Usually I leave the camper plugged in to shore power and keep the outside fridge running as I keep my beer in it. Well my wife told me she cleaned all the refrigerator/freezers out so I turned off all the power. Fast forward two weeks later and I turned on the outside fridge to put some beer in it. (easier to walk to the camper and get a beer when outside working) open the fridge and get knocked over by a horrible stench. DW forgot to check the freezer that had some pork chops and sausages in it. Anyone ever had this problem? If so, what did you do to get rid of the stench?

[Rsgtivr6]

Baking soda in the freezer after Lysol wipe down. Febreeze or other quality air freshner in the cabin and open the windows when you can. Also, leave the door cracked open as you normaly should when defrosting/cooling down a fridge to get/keep the moisture out.

[PrairieBoy]

I once put a turkey in an old refrigerator as I was digging in the deep freezer for something and forgot to put it back in the freezer. The refrigerator was not plugged in and it was about 2 months later that I found it. That was the worst smell that I have ever smelt. After some strategic planning I decided the best course of action was to simply grab it with an open garbage back and run for the door and launch it. Good thing I lived on a farm LOL. It disappeared after a couple of days, not sure if a coyote picked it up or it simply walked away on its own.

[GASPEDDLER]

We came home on Sunday and left a pack of sausage in the outside fridge too. We discovered it yesterday after the TT sat unplugged in the sun for a couple of days. It smelled like road kill in the fridge. We wiped it down with a Clorox and water mix followed by kitchen spray cleaner. We left the fridge door opened and today the smell was much less noticeable. I'll leave it opened until the smell is gone. Good luck

[DAISY BOYKIN]

I sympathize with you and the bad smell in the fridge. A couple years ago, we had the same problem, well almost! We live in Florida, have a second home on a lake about 100 miles away near Interlachen, FL. We keep a lot of food in the fridge and freezer combination because we use the second home quite often. Well we had about a 2 month gap of using the lake home, but when we did go to it we found the power off and great stuff was oozing out of the fridge onto the floor. After disposing of all the steaks, vegetables etc (insurance covered the loss). But the smell was removed by a good scrubbing of hot soapy water and six dinner plates heaped with baking soda placed inside of the fridge and freezer. We let set for 12 hours with the door closed. After the 12 hours the smell was completely gone from the baking soda.

Good luck and

[Herk7769]

The Baking Soda in the fridge was a marketing ploy by Arm and Hammer many years ago (in the 1930s). It does not and never has worked.

http://lifehacker.com/5583068/kitche...y-leave-behind

However, if you stop at an aquarium store and buy a bag of "activated" charcoal; that WILL work. In a pinch, charcoal "briquettes" will do to remove odors but the activated kind is way better.

To clean out and "de-stink" a fridge or freezer:

1) Remove what was causing the stink.
2) Wash the complete inside with 409 or other potent spray cleaner.
3) Make sure you get into all the crevases and drain lines.
4) Rinse with clean water and dry very well with paper towels.
5) Using flat aluminum trays (like cookie sheets), spread out the activated charcoal on the shelves or in the case of a chest freezer use wire shelving to make shelves.
6) close the lid and wait a week

The idea is to expose as much surface area of the charcoal to the atmosphere of the container as possible.

[cootr68]

Fresh coffee grounds will also help.

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by cootr68

Fresh coffee grounds will also help.

For a similar reason as the Baking Soda, coffee grounds will absorb a tiny amount of the odor (limited absorbtion surface) but unlike the Baking Soda, fresh ground coffee will mask the stink with "coffee smell" which everyone loves.

Activated charcoal is still the chemists solution of choice...

[Hob]

Originally Posted by herk7769

The Baking Soda in the fridge was a marketing ploy by Arm and Hammer many years ago (in the 1930s). It does not and never has worked.

Common Cooking Myths You Can Easily Dispel

However, if you stop at an aquarium store and buy a bag of "activated" charcoal; that WILL work. In a pinch, charcoal "briquettes" will do to remove odors but the activated kind is way better.

To clean out and "de-stink" a fridge or freezer:

1) Remove what was causing the stink.
2) Wash the complete inside with 409 or other potent spray cleaner.
3) Make sure you get into all the crevases and drain lines.
4) Rinse with clean water and dry very well with paper towels.
5) Using flat aluminum trays (like cookie sheets), spread out the activated charcoal on the shelves or in the case of a chest freezer use wire shelving to make shelves.
6) close the lid and wait a week

The idea is to expose as much surface area of the charcoal to the atmosphere of the container as possible.

With household hints like this your wife must live like a queen. I won't even show my wife all the things you do, I'm retired and she is a lot younger than I am. I plan on being a kept man the rest of my life. I'm sure you have heard something about the best laid plans of mice and men.

[Herk7769]

Don't even know how to respond to that...

[bruce10]

The best and cheapest way after cleaning out all the rotten food and cleaning with soap and water is crumple up a lot of news papers (not real tight) . Fill up the space and close the door for a few days. You can check it after two or three. I had one that was as rotten as any you could find and the smell disappeared after a few days. The reason I said check it was I don't remember how long it took but I was surprised at how well it worked. Make sure to put paper in the freezer and veg. drawers.