It's time to play "Guess that odor!"
By blueskies
@blueskies (1186)
United States
February 17, 2007 2:13pm CST
I am sad to say that the time has come to play that game so familiar to everyone. That game is: "Guess that odor!"
I noticed the unpleasant aroma emanating from within my freezer yesterday morning. I was distracted by my kids, so I didn't investigate further. This morning, to my dismay, I discovered that the odor has now infiltrated my refridgerator.
I'm waiting for my husband to get home from work so he can share the fridge-cleaning fun with me. Anyone care to take a guess at the source of the odor? Who knows what we will find once we start to investigate the frosty nether regions of our favorite appliance.
Keep me in your thoughts, folks. I'm sure this won't be pretty :(
11 people like this
33 responses
@Willowlady (10658)
• United States
17 Feb 07
Since I don't know the kind of refrigerator/freezer you have I can hazard a guess. A bacterial growth on the coils or drain pan part. The ice maker if there is one would also be a bet. So sweet of you to share this experience with the hubby, it is quality time for sure. I often want to take the frig out the door and hose it down good. It is just too heavy for that sort of cleaning. Keep us posted!!
4 people like this
@blueskies (1186)
• United States
17 Feb 07
Darn it, now you've reminded me that I also need to clean the coils. That should be fun, considering how much cat and dog hair I clean off the floors every day.
No icemaker, so that is ruled out. It has sort of a diary-ish smell to it. I just threw away some questionable coolwhip, but it didn't have an odor. I'll check back later.
3 people like this
@Willowlady (10658)
• United States
18 Feb 07
Ok, then our next guess with this information is old ice cream. Thanks for responding to me and I await your next sharing.
2 people like this
@crickethear (1417)
• United States
17 Feb 07
LOL, when I went to my brothers house, the smell in the whole house was unbeliveable. We tracked it to the kitchen. He had so many things in the freezer, that were rotten, we had to throw everything out. We were afraid it could contaminate other items in the freezer. Then on top of it, he had hamburger in the frig, that the stench isn't describable, and it was black and green, and had hair on it. It took a couple of days for the odor to leave.
4 people like this
@blueskies (1186)
• United States
17 Feb 07
Ack! Hair and fur in the fridge are a dealbreaker. If my fridge ever got that bad, I would chain it shut and have it hauled away!
3 people like this
@quispy (572)
• United States
18 Feb 07
I have friends that actually burried a freezer in their backyard. They were having work done in their garage and in the garage they had a full freezer that they keep bait for fishing as well as any fish that they caught. You guessed it, the workers unplugged the freezer, finished their work and left! It was not discovered for a few weeks! Allrighty then. Nobody would take the freezer, the neighborhood (the whole neighborhood) smelled awful! He finally rented a backhoe and burried it!
2 people like this
@ladygator (3465)
• United States
21 Feb 07
well its tomorrow, what was it? I would guess the water that runs to that little catch pan under the fridge.
@blueskies (1186)
• United States
21 Feb 07
Well, I cleaned the fridge and put in new baking soda boxes (both the fridge and freezer) and it still smells. I haven't been able to get hubby to take out the catch pan yet, so I'm guessing that you are right about that being the source of the odor. I will be after him again, tonight, to take the pan out and clean it with bleach. I would do it myself, but I can't get to it.
1 person likes this
@ItTakesAllSorts (4096)
•
17 Feb 07
wow, it must be bad if it is frozen and still stinking!!!
I guess you were cooking, opened the freezer to get something, didn't shut it properly and an enormous rat has walked in there just before you closed it.
I hope you have eye protectors and masks at the ready for the defrosting!!!!!
:O)
@blueskies (1186)
• United States
17 Feb 07
LMAO! You're too funny. If a rat ever made it into this house and stayed alive more than 30 seconds, it deserves to feast on anything in my fridge that it wants! I have 2 dogs and 4 cats. You could say that our home is definitely not rodent-friendly.
2 people like this
@irisheyes (4370)
• United States
17 Feb 07
Yep. When you can't tell from the smell what it started out as, it's definitely time to get rid of it. Another good indicator is when it starts to grow fuzz. Hate to admit it but I've had it at that stage more than once. LOL
3 people like this
@blueskies (1186)
• United States
17 Feb 07
I know it's not fish, as there is none in the fridge or the freezer section. Good guess, tho!
1 person likes this
@brendalee (6082)
• United States
17 Feb 07
I get to play that game all through the house sometimes. I have many animals and two lazy males in this house. Your lucky in a way as you have it narrowed down to one certain area. I'm glad you are including your husband in such a quality way. I'm sure he will be pleased that you waited for him.lol. Good luck.
1 person likes this
@fabwisp (1327)
•
18 Feb 07
LOL! Have fun! Even once you have located and removed the source, the smell may still linger. I don't really understand it but summat to do with the workings. Anyway a good tip i got told and it works....put some bicarb and lemon in there, soaks up the smell. If you have the chance another way is to put some lemon in a bowl of boiling water and put it in and shut the door (whilst appliance off. Depending on strength of odour put a couple of extra bowls in!
Good luck!
1 person likes this
@Ruralchook (538)
• Australia
18 Feb 07
Dont forget to check behind the fridge. That little tray can go mouldy and let off the most awful stench......
1 person likes this
@driverofheart (3)
• Pakistan
18 Feb 07
means its time dto do somthing
which u tell the whole world yeah i m here im i can do this
and i have done this
1 person likes this
@wolfie34 (26771)
• United Kingdom
18 Feb 07
Is it anything vinegary? There was a horrid stench in our fridge a while back and I couldn't work out what it was, every time I went to the fridge I would be hit with this awful smell, eventually after going through everything, I found some out of date beetroot in there, pooh it answered my question, I didn't realize vegetables could reek that much!
1 person likes this
@not4me (1711)
• United States
18 Feb 07
Wow! I've had lemons and limes turn green in the bottom of my fridge on accident and that smell was horrible and took forever to remove but I've never had anything go rotten in my freezer! I didn't think things could rot in the freezer. Interesting!
1 person likes this
@queenajasmina (449)
• United States
17 Feb 07
hmm. I'm gonna guess old molded over leftovers. Its always the container in the very back that has been forgotten and is remebered by the smell. I'm putting my money on old mac and cheese in the back of the fridge.
1 person likes this
@villageanne (8553)
• United States
18 Feb 07
LOL I hate when I have a smell like that. You are correct, it cant be good. Make sure you have lots of baking soda to get rid of the smell. LOL
1 person likes this
@LandonB665 (176)
• United States
18 Feb 07
????????????????????????????????????
1 person likes this
