how do you get rid of a bad smell in a freezer?

Question

I went away on holiday and left some meat in the freezer. During my time away there was a power cut so my freezer stopped working. When i arrived home there was the most disgusting smell... the meat in freezer had been rotting, there were maggots and flies everywhere! Thank goodness the smell in the house has gone.... but the smell in the freezer will not go away!

I dont want to put any food in the frezzer in case it gets contaminated with the smell too. So im living on fresh/tinned food only. Which is annoying. What can I do! I must get rid of this smell!!! help!!!!

Answer 1

First, remove the body! All right, a smell indicates bacteria, which must be destroyed. Use a good 20% bleach/water solution, which will probably require more than one application. Air it thoroughly by leaving the door open. The plastic has absorbed the smell because plastic is porous on a molecular level, and hangs onto odours. So then the bleach smell will be the problem. Get rid of that smell by washing down with baking soda and water. Actually make a paste of it first and slather it on and leave overnight, then wash. This is not an everyday maintenance job, so be patient and expect many washings and rinsings before you can use it. Quite frankly, you can get a new freezer quite reasonable in cost now, so I would just pitch this one and get a new one if the smell persists beyond your willingness to put out time and energy toward cleaning this one. If discarding, it is the law in most areas, that the doors of fridges and freezers must be removed when you put them out for pickup.

Answer 2

check for foods that have expired. packaged foods will have an expiration date, and anything you pacaged and put in there should not stay in for more than 3-6 months. if you can't remember what it is or when you put it in there, throw it out. after you've done that, take everything that's left out of the freezer. take a sponge or rag with HOT water and bleach or other household cleaner (lysol cleaner works well) and wipe down the entire inside of the freezer. then go back over with warm water and then again with a dry rag to pick up any extra water and/or cleaner that might be left. you can put everything back into the freezer at this point ... and go to the grocery and get a box of baking soda. arm and hammer (the orange box) has one you can buy where the side panels come off, which is handy. if not, just open up the top of the box and put the entirte box of soda far back into the freezer. this will prevent new odors. you should clean out the freezer every 3 or so months, getting rid of old stuff as you go along and replace the baking soda.

Answer 3

You can try a number of things, and the smell may be in the fam motor that blows that stink right back in. First, try a thorough wash with bleack and hot water, let stand, wipe and dry, let remaining liquid stand in bowl with door closed while letting fan blow through system. Try baking soda in a wash of warm water, let dry, then wipe down thoroughly. Wad up clean newspapers and stuff freezer and close door and leave for a few days. Also, some coffee grounds opened in a can or bowl with the freezer door closed may help. The trick is it may take more than one method to eliminate the odor, chances are, its more in the system, then the actual freezer space if you have cleaned it out half way decent. Good luck!

Answer 4

Give the freezer a good clean with bicarbonate of soda and hot water, it should get rid of the smell, keep the door open till it disappears.

Answer 5

Once it is as clean as it gets , get a bag of barbecue charcoal, crush a few lumps up....then get some old tights, use the legs/toes as bags, fill up your bags with crushed charcoal(the more you do, the better it works) put the bags in the freezer, leave for a couple of days. The charcoal will absorb the smell. If it still smells a bit, more charcoal. Whatever you do do not barbecue with this charcoal...the smell will come out in one as it burns!!!!!!

Answer 6

You may have to leave a quantity of vanilla essence in the freezer and keep replacing it. Or try rubbing a sliced lemon over the surface and leaving it for a while. This happened to me years ago - it really is putrid, but in my case, I think the freezer went on the blink.

Answer 7

I'd wash it down with diluted chlorine bleach and let it air out for a few days. Keeping an open container of bicarbonate of soda in the freezer and refrigerator will help with odors generally.

Answer 8

I would unplug it for one spray 50/50 bleach and water with the lid open let it sit for a half hour then come back do it again and wipe it down then put a box of baking soda in there and plug it bak in close the lid and let it sit for a day if you smell it after that I'm lost I guess get a new one?

Answer 9

Take an old nylon, (knee high), put some coffee grounds in it, not used coffee grounds, and hang it in the freezer, tied to a rack, and shut the door and leave it over night, the smell will go away....works for refrigerators too.....

Answer 10

i'd advise removing everything from the freezer, allowing all of the ice or frost to thaw, then wipe the freezer with bleach or some sort of cleaning product. Then use a wet cloth to wipe the freezer thouroughly. After that you should be able to use it again.