Removing Odors from a Freezer

Many years ago, my son unplugged my well stocked freezer to plug in his stereo. Unfortunately, he did not plug the freezer back in when he finished listening to his CD. I didn't realize the freezer was unplugged for close to a month. You have NO idea how sickening the smell and sight was when I opened that freezer door that morning. It was absolutely horrible! I had just bought a hind quarter of beef and had frozen tomatoes and other vegetables for the winter. Everything was gone.

It wasn't easy but somehow I was able to clean out and dispose of everything. Cleaning with bleach, baking soda, ammonia and vinegar did nothing to rid my freezer of the horrible odor. We finally gave up and decided to just take it to the dump.

The very day our friend was due to come over and help load the freezer into the truck to go to the dump, my dear Aunt told me she knew a way to rid freezers of smells, use 'pure' vanilla. She said to take a large bottle of 'pure' vanilla and put it in a bowl and then put the bowl in the freezer and close the door. Leave the freezer closed without opening it for 3-4 days.

I was skeptical but figured why not. I had nothing more to lose. We canceled the dump run and purchased the largest bottle of pure vanilla we could find. Four days later, I opened up the freezer to find absolutely no smell lingering from the rotted meats or vegetables. Absolutely amazing. It was just as fresh as ever.

We lost a ton of meat and produce that day but we used the freezer for another 5 years.

Source: My dear Aunt

By Bayliner from Perry Hall, MD

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Cleaning a Smelly Freezer

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By 08/30/2011

Interesting, I will try this, thanks!

By 08/27/2011

That happened to my friend also. The freezer was full of meat, mostly venison and elk. What a tragedy to lose that food. It was so bad that they just dug a huge hole in the back yard with a backhoe. (They lived in the country, not in the city. *L*) They secured the door with duct tape and pushed the whole thing into the hole and covered it up. That's been 20 years ago...wonder what that stuff in the freezer is like today. Eww!

By 08/27/2011

I'm hoping that the vanilla works for ridding the ice cubes in my dispenser tray from their off taste. Will try it. Why do the ice cubes taste so bad?

By 08/26/2011

Thanks for the tip. I love the smell of vanilla. Your story happened to me only my plug malfunctioned, so I totally understand the loss and shock. Another thing that works is coffee grinds. This was given to me from my "moving company" trucker brother. A client told them about it and from then on he recommended people to do that if they were moving, going on vacation or whenever their refrigerator or freezer would be empty for any length of time. I like vanilla better so I'll try this next time.