I need help removing mold from my refrigerator.
By jackie traylor from Detroit, MI
To remove mold from a refrigerator I found this home-made remedy that could be helpful for you.
Mold and Mildew: Use white vinegar or lemon juice full strength. Apply with a sponge or scrubby.
Here is an eco-friendly website for cleaning.
eartheasy.com/
Happy cleaning! CaressaK
If this is visible mold, like bluegreen mold you might see on bread, just wash it with soap and water, then rinse with bleach. I would use it full strength, but you could dilute it with water.
All those who have had problems with their GE Monogram Refrigerator with mold should post a complaint here. They changed the fan settings which did not work. I cleaned the entire refrigerator with bleach. All the drawers rusted and had to be replaced. The mold is back again. This has been ongoing for 4 years. This is 2010. Refrigerators should not mold! Please post your complaint as I would like to know how many of us are out there when I contact the company again!
I am also having a problem with m y GE Monogram refrigerator. After I clean it, it just continues to grow and grow.
I'm having the same problem with our GE Monogram. We also have a pool of water under the bottom bin in the fridge.
I also have a GE Monogram and no matter how many times I clean it , it comes back. Does anyone know if there is a recall on this product?
I have a GE Profile and am most unhappy with it. It has black mold that I have been cleaning away for years now and it has water that pools at the bottom. I have never had a refrigerator mold like this before.
I purchased my GE Monogram refrigerator in 2004. Within a year or so it was growing mold. I called a repairman and he said I needed a new door gasket which I agreed to even though I felt like the one was perfectly fine that was on it. Well I can't begin to tell you how many times it has molded since then. I wash the entire inside down with full strength bleach, but in a few months it comes right back. Why doesn't GE acknowledge this problem?
I called a friend tonight that works at GE, he said there is a gasket that is allowing air in. This stuff is terrible. Mold getting worse and worse. In a $3000 refrigerator. 4 years old.
I bought a GE Profile refrigerator 3 years ago and have been battling mold for the past 6 months. When I googled "GE Profile refrigerator mold" I was shocked to see how many others were having the same problem. Why hasn't GE taken ownership of this problem and offered to replace the gaskets at no charge?
I too have an expensive ge profile refrigerator with the same black mold problem, have had repairmen out 3 times problem still not fixed, has ruined my floor, etc, giving up, what a waste.
Bleach will not kill mold the green or the black mold. I'm in mitigation and fire restoration. You need an antimicrobea that's kills beneath the surface not just on the top as well.
You need an antimicrobea on green or black mold. Bleach will Not kill mold.
I also have a GE Monogram refrigerator with the same mold rust issue. I keep bleaching it down, but the mold continues. I've lost a lot of food due to this problem.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
How do you get mildew and mold out of a freezer that had food left in it with no electricity? The doors were left open so it is dried on there. The smell is not that great either. Can you pressure wash it out? It is a new fridge with a bottom freezer that is being left in the house we are buying.
Don't pressure wash it because you could ruin the motor, etc. in the unit. Clean it out with some diluted bleach and warm water.
Definitely scrub it well with nonabrasive cleaner and use bleach to remove the mildew and mold. Rinse with baking soda and water and leave a box of soda in the frig. Clean thoroughly the sealant around the door getting under it if possible. A spray bottle of degreaser or bleach may help to loosen it free from the seal if it's caked on.
All you have to do is put a metal bowl inside with boiling water {be careful not to spill it. If you could put some lemon juice that will help. Let it sit {unplugged} for 1/2 an hour w/ door closed.
It will "steam" the inside of the freezer. Now what you do is buy {cheap} paste toothpaste w/whitner. This has bleach in it, use a nail brush or old toothbrush, and work the moldy area's. You can also use this on the rubber seal around the doors {only if white}. After you have washed with the above, make sure you rinse it with some nice warm cloths.
Now if you have a smell which is possible, cut two lemons in quarters, and place in a bowl for atleast a day before turning the freezer on. This can be used either on or off for the fridge. Also if you use freshly ground coffee, place in a cloth napkin and tie a ribbon around it. This also helps take care of odors.
Best of Luck.
Kim
Thanks so much! I hope this works.
Make a mixture of bleach and water and spray it on the mold or pat the mixture on with a rag. The mold will dissolve in a short time then rinse with water and dry. Wear some eye protection and gloves.
Every thing you read says do not use chlorine bleach on the seals of refrigerators. Because it will ruin the rubber seal. So why is everyone saying to use it here? Larry
I left my fridge in my college dorm and they turned the electricity off. I went to my dorm today and there is mold inside my fridge HELP! What do I do?
Cinnamon oil. Especially if the smell persists after you've cleaned the interior thoroughly.
I accidentally unplugged our fridge/freezer for two weeks while we were gone for Christmas, and when we came back, the entire interior was coated in mold. We cleaned the fridge in and out with bleach and warm water, then left it open (keeping our food outside) for a week. There was no visible mold, but it still smelled so strong that you could smell it from outside the apartment. We tried putting the food back in, but everything smelled and tasted of mold, even when we kept it in ziplock bags. We cleaned it again with bleach and water. The next day we cleaned it with lemon juice, salt, and water. Slightly better. But still terrible. The problem was that the mold had grown into the air duct systems, and there was no way we could access those areas to clean them. When we would plug the fridge in after cleaning the air that would blast out would be noxious and overwhelming.
Finally, I told my girlfriend that we would get a new fridge if the smell wasn't completely gone in 5 days. This seemed impossible. I found some studies saying that cinnamon oil is a superb antiseptic, and has been shown to slow mold growth in moldy bread by more than 10 days when the oil coats the paper around the bread. Why not give it a try, I thought, since nothing else was working.
I bought 2 oz of cinnamon oil in Manhattan for $30 (you can get it somewhat cheaper on the internet). I covered the bottoms of two mall porcelain bowls with cinnamon oil and placed the bowls in the fridge. A couple of times a day I would blow a hair dryer, on high hot, into the bowls so that the oil was heated and diffused (use a face mask--this stuff is strong!) throughout the fridge and freezer. I kept it up until the bowls were very hot. Then I would close the doors. The smell was very nice compared to the mold smell that we'd lived with for the previous 3 weeks. I tried to blow the oil especially into the hidden areas that were accessible to air/mold.
Within 2 days, the mold smell was almost completely gone. Within 4 days all you could smell was cinnamon. I continued the treatment for about 5 days. It's been about 3 weeks now, and the fridge and freezer both smell impeccable, if cinnamony. My girlfriend is amazed and very pleased.
The research supports this stuff. It's a little work, and the cinnamon oil is expensive, but it's a miracle. I promise it works.
Cinnamon oil. Especially if the smell persists after you've cleaned the interior thoroughly.
I accidentally unplugged our fridge/freezer for two weeks while we were gone for Christmas, and when we came back, the entire interior was coated in mold. We cleaned the fridge in and out with bleach and warm water, then left it open (keeping our food outside) for a week. There was no visible mold, but it still smelled so strong that you could smell it from outside the apartment. We tried putting the food back in, but everything smelled and tasted of mold, even when we kept it in ziplock bags. We cleaned it again with bleach and water. The next day we cleaned it with lemon juice, salt, and water. Slightly better. But still terrible. The problem was that the mold had grown into the air duct systems, and there was no way we could access those areas to clean them. When we would plug the fridge in after cleaning the air that would blast out would be noxious and overwhelming.
Finally, I told my girlfriend that we would get a new fridge if the smell wasn't completely gone in 5 days. This seemed impossible. I found some studies saying that cinnamon oil is a superb antiseptic, and has been shown to slow mold growth in moldy bread by more than 10 days when the oil coats the paper around the bread. Why not give it a try, I thought, since nothing else was working.
I bought 2 oz of cinnamon oil in Manhattan for $30 (you can get it somewhat cheaper on the internet). I covered the bottoms of two mall porcelain bowls with cinnamon oil and placed the bowls in the fridge. A couple of times a day I would blow a hair dryer, on high hot, into the bowls so that the oil was heated and diffused (use a face mask--this stuff is strong!) throughout the fridge and freezer. I kept it up until the bowls were very hot. Then I would close the doors. The smell was very nice compared to the mold smell that we'd lived with for the previous 3 weeks. I tried to blow the oil especially into the hidden areas that were accessible to air/mold.
Within 2 days, the mold smell was almost completely gone. Within 4 days all you could smell was cinnamon. I continued the treatment for about 5 days. It's been about 3 weeks now, and the fridge and freezer both smell impeccable, if cinnamony. My girlfriend is amazed and very pleased.
The research supports this stuff. It's a little work, and the cinnamon oil is expensive, but it's a miracle. I promise it works.
I had my fridge off last Wednesday before bed time planning to turn it on the next morning before leaving for work. Unfortunately, I missed out and got back home only in time for bed, and had totally forgotten.
Before leaving home again on Friday morning, my son opened the fridge and that's when we found there was spoiled food. Could not do much. Was busy again the whole weekend, and have been busy beginning this week due to opening of new school year.
Today I opened it to remove trays from the bottom and when checking the top, found small worms crawling around. What do I do with this stinky fridge? It is still good? Can I clean it and reuse it? How?
By Jay R from Suva, Fiji
Take all the removable pieces, i.e. drawers, shelves and such outside to the patio and give them a good scrub with bleach water. You'll need to give the inside a good bleach wash too. This is what I did while living in Houston and had several power outages during hurricane season. I remember once we had a block party behind our building which ran for 6 blocks on a street behind a golf course. All the neighbors emptied all the perishables from their fridges and we invited a few stray golfers over and had a great time! There were several kinds of meat and chicken on BBQs all up and down the row.
You must certainly toss all the contents of your fridge, and I hope that you now know that you can not leave a fridge unplugged with food in it. After you clean out the fridge and wash it thoroughly, you should likely let it air out to let any foul odors and the bleach odors dissipate. I would also use a couple of boxes of baking soda in the fridge to help eliminate odors after you have plugged it in again. Hopefully, you will be able to clean this well enough to use it again. I would use hot soapy water first, and then a dilute bleach solution or perhaps baking soda dissolved in water as a rinse solution. Never, ever unplug a fridge if you have food in it.
power out during hurricane for 6 days rotten meat smell cant get rid of it
My power was off and the refrigerator was full of food. How can I clean and remove mold from it? It has been sitting for 6 months.
By tami from Valpo, IN
www.ehow.com/
The Archives at the bottom of the page and also the website I posted will help you clean your refrigerator.
Use bicarbonate of soda mixed to a paste with water and a scouring pad for non-stick pans so you don't scratch the surfaces. Then wipe it out with white vinegar. If you fill a small open container with bicarb powder and leave it the closed fridge it will also absorb the smells as well as the things you buy for this purpose.
One of my good friends had to leave her house in a hurry because of a hurricane (Katrina). Her house was okay, but the fridge was a loss. And that was after a few weeks. I can't imagine what it would be like after 6 months.
And I remember on an episode of the BBC show How Clean is Your House they tested the inside of a woman's fridge, and it came back that the fridge should no longer be used. Besides the yuck in the dirty fridge, the chemicals they'd have to use to clean it would make the fridge unsafe to use afterwards.
So please be careful. Six months is a long time. If, after you clean it up, you have any doubts, you should probably let it go.
How does copper help in killing mold?
By lilian selma odoyo from Kenya
What kind of mold are you trying to remove? Actually, copper can create green mold on the copper itself.
The green that can develop on copper is known as Verdigris. Verdigris is formed as a reaction to acids and salts in the air. By sea air, mostly Copper Chloride is formed, and in inland areas, Copper Carbonate is formed. Both appear as a green crumbly crust. The green found on copper is not a 'mould'.
(Submitted via email)
The green that can develop on copper is known as Verdigris. Verdigris is formed as a reaction to acids and salts in the air. By sea air, mostly Copper Chloride is formed, and in inland areas, Copper Carbonate is mainly formed. Both appear as a green crumbly crust. The green found on copper is NOT a mould.
James
How do I clean moldy fridge seals and keep it from rusting?
I am not sure about the seals, but bleach kills mould on most anything. But it may be harmful to your seals. I suggest to try bleach on a little area and clean it off. Then look at it after a day or two and see if there is any damage. If it looks OK, use it on the rest of the area.
Change your seals to silicone seals and they can get clean with soap and water.
Hydrogen peroxide is also a mold destroyer. I would try regular household chlorine bleach. What is it that is rusting? Painting over exposed metal will keep it from rusting. I don't really understand where you are getting rust.
The power was off at one of my rental properties for three months. The tenants left a small amount of food and one container in the fridge. There were fruit flies all over the house. I haven't dared open the fridge since I put the power back on. Should I clean it out at this point, or get another fridge?
By Yve W.
I can help with the flies and the fridge. Yes, you can clean it, but it must be done before any smell permeates the lining of the fridge walls. After that, and you won't win.
You can use a couple boxes of baking soda. Wad up some news paper and put several pieces on each shelf. The paper will absorb the odors as will the B/Soda. Clean down with bleach water and you are good to go.
If you still have the flies, put a 1/2 c. of apple cider vinegar in a plastic cup, and drop in 2 drops of dish washing liquid. This breaks up the surface adhesion of the water and they dive in and drown. If you don't have any cider vinegar, put some water and sugar in the cup, and chop up some apple bits.
I hope these helped. PBP
ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.
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