Fridge Odor

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nodak

Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2006
Posts
7
Location
North Dakota
Hello all,

Had a horrible experience this past weekend.? A storm went through where we park our camper and tripped the breaker, causing our camper to lose all power.? The propane backup did not kick in so our camper fridge was without power for 2 weeks in 90+ temperatures.? The freezer had ground venison in it that thawed and the wife about vomited trying to clean it up.? We tried all sorts of cleaners on it (baking soda, Nature's Miracle, vinegar) but the odor is still there.? Since there are seams where the freezer wall meets the floor, I believe the blood got into the seams as well.? I don't know if there is any possible way to get this unit deodorized or cleaned.? Is a full fridge replacement our only option?? The fridge is a Dometic Americana RM-2652.

Thanks!
 
Try placing an open bag of charcoal in the fridge and closing the door for a couple days.  Had a neighbor in Tx that had power go off in the garage where they had a deep freeze and was about to toss the freezer but tried the charcoal firstr and worked for them.
 
Ron,

I hadn't heard about the charcoal trick. Is that  the black charcoal folks put on the BBQ?
 
Tom said:
Ron,

I hadn't heard about the charcoal trick. Is that? the black charcoal folks put on the BBQ?

Yep same kinda Charcoal but not the self lighting kind.  I

When we put our stuff in storage before going to Japan for 18 months we put plain BBQ charcoal in the fridge and closed the door.  Over 13 years later when we had our goods delivered to Texas the fridge had no odor at all after being closed up for all those years.  When the neighbor had the power go out in his garage where the freezer was kept he couldn't get the smell out using baking soda and other things.  I suggested the charcoal thing and after several days after putting in the charcoal the odor was gone. 
Oh by the way to my amazement the fridge still worked when we plugged it in.
 
We've used the charcoal bit ourselves a couple of times and it definitely works.
 
I too have used this same "trick" for different types of enclosed areas. My folks used to put some in the closets at home for years. It works, don't know why, (we'll leave that to someone else) it just does.
 
I had the wife pick up some charcoal this evening and we'll get it into the camper fridge tomorrow afternoon.? We'll check it again on Thursday night and see how well it worked.

Thanks Ron!
 
For best results, use plain hardwood charcoal, not charcoal briquettes as they contain a binder (various types of starches), and usually anthracite coal, softwood sawdust (for more heat), and waste vegetable matter - possibly ignition improvers (wax, hydrocarbons, etc.) that may impart their own distinctive odor in the fridge.
 
Charcoal is very good at absorbing odors, but it won't clean out the source of the odors. If you've got decayed matter in the seams or in the pores of the plastic, it's still a long wait for it to fully decompose. Meanwhile, though, the charcoal will absorb the odor.

Granular or chrushed activated charcoal is available wherever aquarium filters are sold - it is used in water filters.  Much cleaner to handle/use than chunks of fire-type charcoal and the small pieces increase the surface area and thus do a better job.
 
Question - should the refrigerator be ON or OFF for the charcoal to work best?

--  RayB  --
 
Sorry to butt in but it really doesn't make any difference if it is on or off. It helps to put a fan in there to circulate the air though.

When you get your new one a small battery powered fan helps then too.

Woody
 
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