Dometic leaks ammonia inside fridge

[Rockwood gayle]

My Rockwood trailer warranty expired June 1 and nine days later I had ammonia leak inside my fridge, I tossed all my food and lived out of the cooler for the remainder of the trip. My dealer submitted a claim for a new fridge and I was only approved for a new compressor. My question here is how do I clean the inside of the fridge? I am concerned that the ammonia has penetrated the fridge walls. The ammonia was so strong it burned my eyes!
Is my fridge still safe to put food in? After it is cleaned?
I used the incorrect name for the part being replaced in my dometic fridge, i said compresso, but that is not correct. All I want to know is how to clean out the ammonia smell and is it safe to use even after cleaning.

 

[JayArr]

???

Compressor fridges usually don't use ammonia.

Leave the fridge open and the smell should go away, ammonia has a very low boiling point so it'll just dissipate.

 

[Rockwood gayle]

Apparently most Trailer RV Fridges use Ammonia, who knew, until you smell it
No compressors , this is a Dometic for a Travel Trailer not one of the big 5th Wheel ones.

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Thanks, hope it dissipates.

 

[Rene T]

Maybe spread a box of baking soda on a cookie sheet and see if it absorbs the smaell. Other than that, leave the door open for a few days like JayArr said along with opening some windows to get the air moving.

 

[Rockwood gayle]

Thanks - someone also suggested Coffee Grounds?
I guess it cannot hurt and maybe will end up smelling like Coffee ...nom.
Yes - Close door and use Baking soda should ahave some impact.

 

[JayArr]

Ammonia is a chemical, nitrogen and hydrogen, it's not likely to be "absorbed" by anything the way a smell from an organic compound might. It boils at 29 below zero so it will dissipate by itself with a little help from air flow.

I sort of figured it was an absorption fridge but you mentioned getting warranty to replace a compressor and that threw me.

 

[cully]

Don't/Didn't some people clean around the home with ammonia? As a child growing up in the 50's i remember seeing ammonia in glass bottles in my mothers utility room. I remember the smell but i didn't remember it lingering.

 

[JayArr]

I still clean windows with it and it's an ingredient in Windex.

 

[Kirk]

Ammonia is a very commonly used ingredient of household cleaners and all that you need to do is to clean the interior well and then prop the door open for a time to allow it to dissipate. Do not use any chlorine bleach to clean it as adding ammonia to bleach creates chloramine, a toxic gas.

Ammonia and distilled water are the main components of the refrigerant used in absorption refrigerators, in RVs and other off grid situations. The RV refrigerant also had anticorrosive chemicals and some hydrogen added to the mixture. Most likely what the warranty is doing is to replace the cooling unit of your refrigerator.

 

[Lou Schneider]

An ammonia leak means the cooling unit has failed, and it has to be replaced as a whole unit. When you include the time and effort to eliminate the ammonia smell that's soaked into the interior of the box it may make more sense just to replace the whole refrigerator.

 

[Kirk]

When you include the time and effort to eliminate the ammonia smell that's soaked into the interior of the box it may make more sense just to replace the whole refrigerator.

Since it is a warranty situation, he probably has no choice.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

This isn't a civilization-ending problem. The old cooling unit may still be leaking some residual ammonia. Once the cooling unit is replaced, that source will be gone. Then you just need to wash the interior with your favorite household detergent. As others have explained, ammonia is a common household cleaning chemical and it doesn't "penetrate" plastic or metal. Your fridge will be fine once it is repaired and cleaned.