Pellet Fan

All Things Considered => General Discussion--Non food Related => Topic started by: ylr on January 22, 2018, 04:14:19 PM

Title: How do you get the spoiled meat stink out of a freezer?
Post by: ylr on January 22, 2018, 04:14:19 PM
A couple of months ago, my MIL lost power, and all the meat that was in her upright freezer spoiled, and stayed in there for a week. She got a new one for Christmas this year, so she gave us the old one. Until today, it had been sitting on our garage porch with the door open, in an attempt to air it out. Today, I took inside the garage, tilted it on its back, and scrubbed it with a solution of TSP, Oxiclean, and a couple of dissolved dishwasher tablets. My plan is to swish the detergent water around in it once a day for a week, then rinse it out, and maybe the repeat the process once.

Does anyone else here have any ideas, because I'm basically just winging it here. If I can get it smelling good, it'll more than double our freezer storing space....... :cool:
Title: Re: How do you get the spoiled meat stink out of a freezer?
Post by: Bentley on January 22, 2018, 04:16:45 PM
Mix water and a 4% solution of chlorine bleach...or appx 2oz. of bleach to 1qt. of water...
Title: Re: How do you get the spoiled meat stink out of a freezer?
Post by: ylr on January 22, 2018, 04:29:32 PM
My SIL supposedly did this, to no avail, but I've no confidence in her cleaning skills......
Title: Re: How do you get the spoiled meat stink out of a freezer?
Post by: Bentley on January 22, 2018, 04:42:05 PM
Go 10%!   :pig:
Title: Re: How do you get the spoiled meat stink out of a freezer?
Post by: mowin on January 22, 2018, 05:33:32 PM
I'm wondering if the plastic will ever release all the smell?

But bleach would be my choice to.
Title: Re: How do you get the spoiled meat stink out of a freezer?
Post by: silverbullet on January 22, 2018, 06:08:37 PM
An open box of Baking Soda??
Title: Re: How do you get the spoiled meat stink out of a freezer?
Post by: Bar-B-Lew on January 22, 2018, 06:21:21 PM
charcoal?  supposedly it is an absorbent of odors
Title: Re: How do you get the spoiled meat stink out of a freezer?
Post by: Quadman750 on January 22, 2018, 06:28:29 PM
charcoal?  supposedly it is an absorbent of odors

Shame on you. This is a pellet forum. :rotf:
Title: Re: How do you get the spoiled meat stink out of a freezer?
Post by: Bar-B-Lew on January 22, 2018, 06:31:58 PM
charcoal?  supposedly it is an absorbent of odors

Shame on you. This is a pellet forum. :rotf:

Well, maybe some people still have the bags of charcoal leftover in their garage when they went to the dark side with pellets. ;D
Title: Re: How do you get the spoiled meat stink out of a freezer?
Post by: Kristin Meredith on January 22, 2018, 06:35:20 PM
Strong bleach rinse first and then a box of baking soda in a pan of water and rinse and scrub with it.
Title: Re: How do you get the spoiled meat stink out of a freezer?
Post by: Bobitis on January 22, 2018, 06:37:39 PM
Whenever my brother went on a 'dead body' call, everyone would slather copious amounts of vapo-rub under/around their noses and puff on cigars.  :puke:

I don't see how one could get rid of it short of complete immersion for a long period of time. I can think of a few other options.
Remove the surface of the plastic to a depth that may be suitable (wag), or rough it up and paint it with a urethane based product.
Perhaps glue in new panels and caulk the seams?

Whatever you do, make sure the freezer sits upright for a few days before you plug it in.
Title: Re: How do you get the spoiled meat stink out of a freezer?
Post by: GrillinGlen on January 22, 2018, 07:39:15 PM
I had this same problem and here is what worked... I had a container of activated charcoal for putting in aquarium filters.  I spread this out a an inch or 2 deep on a sheet pan and with in a few days the smell was gone.  Its the same idea as baking soda,but the charcoal has more surface area and spreading it out increases surface contact with the nasty air.
Title: Re: How do you get the spoiled meat stink out of a freezer?
Post by: KNIGHTDAD on January 22, 2018, 10:11:02 PM
Shady car dealers use cat litter to get swampy smells out of flooded vehicles, it also works for stale smoke. You never know, it’s cheep, just dump a bag in and close the door. You could also try remedies for skunk sprayed.
Title: Re: How do you get the spoiled meat stink out of a freezer?
Post by: pmillen on January 23, 2018, 08:52:42 AM
You could also try remedies for skunk sprayed.

I came back to this thread to post a good recipe to use for ridding a dog of skunk spray odor.  It's about 5 years old and has spread through every dog forum and veterinarian office so there probably isn't one better.

Here are the ratios.  Mix as much as you need, maybe a half gallon.

1 quart of 3-percent hydrogen peroxide (drug store item)
¼ cup baking soda
1 teaspoon liquid dishwashing soap (for a dog, don't use the strong grease cutters)

Also for a dog, don't leave it on them very long.  Wash more than once rather than letting it dwell.

I need to use this on my dogs about once a year.  Yeah, Nebraska upland game hunting.
Title: Re: How do you get the spoiled meat stink out of a freezer?
Post by: pmillen on January 23, 2018, 09:33:03 AM
As I think about this—it's a formula for washing the contaminants off.

I don't see how you can wash the insulation that's holding the odor.  I suspect that the odor-absorbing suggestions have more merit.

To the dog owners among us—keep the components handy.  You don't want to go shopping for them when they're needed.
Title: Re: How do you get the spoiled meat stink out of a freezer?
Post by: Canadian John on January 23, 2018, 10:17:08 AM
  A friend inadvertently left meat in his BBQ trailer for a couple weeks during the summer..The meat had gone mushy and the stench out of this world..It was so bad the trailer was almost scrapped..

 It was saved by a good clean-up (the stench lingered ),followed with baking soda spread over all the horizontal surfaces and the doors shut..As I recall the baking soda was removed and replaced with new a couple of times..The result was no lingering smell -

 none. The trick was to spread the baking soda over as much area as possible and replacing w/ new.

 Please let us know your outcome.
Title: Re: How do you get the spoiled meat stink out of a freezer?
Post by: ylr on January 24, 2018, 10:59:17 AM
Thanks, everyone, for responding; I basically had time to open the door (it's laying on its back) and swish the solution back onto all the surfaces. It was at "dead mouse" level of smell, which is an improvement. Today, I'll hose it out, and either go with the bleach route next, or the baking soda route.
Title: Re: How do you get the spoiled meat stink out of a freezer?
Post by: jdmessner on January 24, 2018, 09:31:21 PM
Glad to see the problem was solved. If there is a need in the future, here is one more possibility. I ran this past my son who works at a funeral home. He said they use a product called "Smelleze" it is a natural embalming smell removal deodorizer. You can get a 2 lb. bag of it for $13 online at Walmart. Who knew?
Title: Re: How do you get the spoiled meat stink out of a freezer?
Post by: DB on January 25, 2018, 11:10:51 PM
A estate sale guy told me that crumpled up newspaper works well . Stuff it full and close it. I have never tried it so     ?  As for skunk smell I bought a bottle of special soap at Petsmart that worked wonders for my dog.  It might work in the fridge also.
Title: Re: How do you get the spoiled meat stink out of a freezer?
Post by: ylr on January 26, 2018, 09:37:30 AM
Yesterday, I sprayed a strong(I asked my wife, who uses it to disinfect counters, how much bleach in it, and she said "a lot") solution of bleach water in it, and left it in there overnight. I'll check it again this afternoon.

Glad to see the problem was solved. If there is a need in the future, here is one more possibility. I ran this past my son who works at a funeral home. He said they use a product called "Smelleze" it is a natural embalming smell removal deodorizer. You can get a 2 lb. bag of it for $13 online at Walmart. Who knew?

I Googled it, and it got mixed reviews at Amazon; don't think I'd want to chance the time and $.....I do appreciate yours (and everyone else's)  :2cents:, though!
Title: Re: How do you get the spoiled meat stink out of a freezer?
Post by: Bentley on January 26, 2018, 10:29:58 AM
Right!  On to the important stuff, will it be used to hang sausage and to Dry and Wet Age Meat?  To cure Bacon?
Title: Re: How do you get the spoiled meat stink out of a freezer?
Post by: WayneB on January 26, 2018, 01:23:17 PM
You can't get it out most of the time because it gets into the insulation in the walls of the unit.

Your best bet will cost $40 and is a product called AQM by OdorXIt. Here's a link to the vendor. odorxit.com/shop-now-odorxit-products
Title: Re: How do you get the spoiled meat stink out of a freezer?
Post by: ylr on January 26, 2018, 05:21:12 PM
Wiped out the bleach in it with warm water, dried out the inner surface with paper towels, and plugged it in. Don't smell anything except bleach at this point, will put a paper plate with baking soda(bigger surface area to absorb odors) in it, and let it cool down overnight. Will check it tomorrow!

Right!  On to the important stuff, will it be used to hang sausage and to Dry and Wet Age Meat?  To cure Bacon?

In a freezer????

You can't get it out most of the time because it gets into the insulation in the walls of the unit.

Your best bet will cost $40 and is a product called AQM by OdorXIt. Here's a link to the vendor. odorxit.com/shop-now-odorxit-products


That's an "If all else fails" scenario. I have less than $5 invested in it all, so if can it get done cheap....... :cool:

Update: Wife brought home the baking soda, so I have two paper plates with 2 lbs. of baking soda sitting in the freezer. Will update tomorrow.
Title: Re: How do you get the spoiled meat stink out of a freezer?
Post by: Bentley on January 26, 2018, 05:27:20 PM
Had refridge on my mine....
Title: Re: How do you get the spoiled meat stink out of a freezer?
Post by: ylr on January 26, 2018, 05:41:00 PM
This is a small 4.5 cu.ft upright freezer that was my MILs. I have a small chest freezer in the house, so this will increase our extra freezer space by about a third.

Title: Re: How do you get the spoiled meat stink out of a freezer?
Post by: Bentley on January 26, 2018, 08:38:04 PM
I thought 4.5cu ft that is ridiculously small...the photo is of a 4.9...not small.

Will these be used to take advantage of meat specials?

(https://i.imgur.com/TlCCs2Rh.jpg)
Title: Re: How do you get the spoiled meat stink out of a freezer?
Post by: ylr on January 27, 2018, 09:44:39 AM
That's freakin' creepy, Bentley!   :o That's the Kenmore freezer we have! I guess it is a 4.9?  And yes, I hope to fill it with really cheap meat....

This morning, I went out and checked it, and NO SMELL!!! :cool: :cool: I had to turn it down(or is it up?) though, it was showing -10F. on the thermometer.
Title: Re: How do you get the spoiled meat stink out of a freezer?
Post by: Bar-B-Lew on January 27, 2018, 09:50:26 AM
Glad you resolved the issue and have new space for freezing meats.
Title: Re: How do you get the spoiled meat stink out of a freezer?
Post by: Bentley on January 27, 2018, 12:02:18 PM
Comment I heard many times when 1st meeting woman...

Yeah, I personally have never found anything that can defeat a correct percentage of Chlorine Bleach!

That's freakin' creepy, Bentley! 
Title: Re: How do you get the spoiled meat stink out of a freezer?
Post by: Ssteppe on January 27, 2018, 12:36:08 PM
Reminds me of a chest freezer we had in the garage for years. We had boxes piled on top and kind of forgot about it. One day we noticed it wasn't working - have no idea for how long, but it must've been months if not a year or more.
When we opened it up, all we could see was a pool of black liquid in the bottom, and the stench was overpowering. We donned huge rubber gloves and took turns holding our breath and scooping plastic bags out of it. One must've been ribs, because the only thing left was bones.

It was so bad, we finally gave up and closed it back up. A couple of weeks later, the county was holding a "get rid of your old appliance" day at the county fairgrounds. So I borrowed my dad's truck and we loaded the freezer up.

After waiting in line, we pulled up to the unloading area and a couple of guys jumped into the back of the truck to unload the freezer for us. Unfortunately, they were trying to keep things moving along, and as they slid the freezer out the back, they let it tip onto one end, and the door opened, letting out all that black liquid putrescence.
We were mortified, and as the two guys jumped out, we high-tailed it out of there.
True story.