Cleaning the stench out of a freezer can be difficult especially if you have a lot of built up ice. With these tips you will have your freezer smelling fresh again. This is a guide about cleaning a smelly 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
If you have ever had a freezer lose power and have had the stench of rotten meat--here's a tip I learned from my Grandmother. Not sure why but their freezer shut down. They always bought their meat in later year, in halves. Before that they were farmers and raised their own.
After cleaning their freezer out with baking soda, they put a large bag of charcoal in the bottom of the fridge for several days. The smell was gone and they were able to use the freezer again. Before the charcoal, they thought they were going to have to get rid of it.
Several years after this happened to them, my husband needing a 3 prong adapter, unplugged our freezer and forgot to plug it back in. I used Grandma's advise and it worked for me. Appliances are very expensive so I appreciated Grandma's knowledge in the matter. I'm kind of new to this site and imagine that this may have been posted before but thought maybe there are other people out there like me. Speaking of this site - IT IS AWESOME! I'm addicted to it!
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