In one of my overzealous fits last year, I bought too much frozen fish, stashed them in the back of the freezer section of my side by side and forgot about them..who knew frozen fish could go bad???? LOL..anyway, when one day last month the iced tea began smelling like fish, and I dug around and cleaned out the freezer, I threw the fish out....since then I have scrubbed the interior of the whole thing, have place containers of baking soda and coffee beans in both sides and it STILL has an awful smell! Anybody have an more ideas? I have never had an refrigerator odors which couldn't be overcome by either coffee beans or baking soda before..this is GROSS! HELP!

-- lesley (martchas@bellsouth.net), May 06, 2002

Answers

Try this method. Take EVERYTHING out of the both sides - including the shelves and drawers. Make a paste of baking soda and water. Wipe it all over the entire surface, on the shelves and drawers, etc. Be sure you completely cover all surfaces - including the areas around the gasket and doors. Let is set for a 15 minutes. Wipe it all off with a solution of vinegar and water. Wipe that out with plain water. This method works every time! Be sure that some of the smell is also not in things like your butter dish, egg holders, etc.

-- Karen (mountains_mama2@hotmail.com), May 06, 2002.

You might try charcoal...Just put some in a brown paper bag, and place in freezer. I would do Karen's idea first!!

-- Melissa in SE Ohio (me@home.net), May 06, 2002.

I do what Karen does, but I have never used vinegar. Baking soda and water seem to do the trick.

-- Elizabeth (ekfla@aol.com), May 06, 2002.

Try newspaper--it's free! Or kitty litter

-- Ann Markson (tngreenacres@hotmail.com), May 06, 2002.

Thank you! Since I have nothing else to do, I'll try ALL of these ideas..something has to work.LOL...will let you know!

-- lesley (martchas@bellsouth.net), May 06, 2002.

My ice chests, which I keep my catch in, get really smelly. I use bleach to get the smell out. I fill a spray bottle with bleach and water solution and then spray the insides of the coolers with it. I let the cooler sit for about 15 minutes, then rinse with fresh water. Gets rid of the fish smell, pronto!

--Happy trails, Cabin Fever

P.S. Does anyone know how to get the bleach smell out of fish?

-- Cabin Fever (cabinfever_MN@yahoo.com), May 06, 2002.

After I use a cooler I place newspaper in it. It keeps it from getting moldy and musty. Wish I'd known that all the years I scubbed mold with bleach....

-- Ann Markson (tngreenacres@hotmail.com), May 06, 2002.

Lesley, don't forget to clean the condensation drain tube and the drip pan under the fridge.

-- Laura (Ladybugwrangler@hotmail.com), May 06, 2002.

Laura..on the Christian Forum, Diane came up with the same idea and lo and behold, Neil almost needed ammomnia capsules after he pulled the drain pan out.....super yucky!!!!!! we had forgotten all about that!!!!!!! Thanks to all of you....I guess after this post, everyones' refrigerators will smell squeaky clean!

-- lesley (martchas@bellsouth.net), May 06, 2002.