Ever cleaned out a refridgerator/freezer, full of food, that quit working?

[fastfredracing]

Don't know exactly when it gave up the ghost, but it was more than a month, I am sure. It is our spare, we keep it on our back porch, and mostly just for soft drinks/beer, but the freezer was full of meat and seafood.
Immediately upon opening the freezer door, instant gag reflex. I managed to shovel it all out, with out hurling. Good times

[Rick V]

When I bought the rental property the power was turned off and the fridge yielded a rather nice bouquet of wretch

[azasadny]

Do you have a face mask, like you use when sanding, etc... Put it on after swabbing a tiny bit of perfume or cologne on it. We use tincture of camphor...

[peppy]

Never cleaned one out, but I know people that have left them on the side of the road.

[Instrument 41]

Does Hurricane Katrina ring a bell?? Its about the worst I have ever smelled

[fred cook]

I had to move one once that had suffered a lightning strike while the owner was off on a months vacation. While driving it back to the appliance store we had to stop frequently in traffic. Keeping in mind that this was the middle of summer in Atlanta, Ga. and in 1966 there were lots of folks driving with their windows down. We would come to a halt in traffic and almost immediately people would get this awful look on their face and start looking for the source of the stench. Several drivers almost ran over other cars trying to get away. By the time we got back to Marietta, we were in tears from laughing so hard. Almost made it worth the trip. Just wish I had a video of the trip!

[ronster]

Bought a quarter pig once, put it in the freezer of my fridge and went off on a fishing trip for a week. Sometime during the time I was gone the fridge gave up and I knew instantly what had happened the minute I opened the front door. To make matters worse after I opened the fridge door and checked the carnage out I slammed the door in disgust. I forgot about the dozen eggs in the door, that were now rotten, and they ended up smashed all over the rotten food.

[id10t]

When it happened to me - lots of meat - I got it at the lots of grubs stage. Closed it back up, duct taped it to keep it from opening accidentally, used a dolly and got it out in the yard, got it open again and let it sit for a week, giving it daily long distance hose outs. Last hose out had lots of chlorine in it, then let it set in the sun open for a few days, then all stank was gone. Removed door, took it to the curb.

I could only leave it in the yard because I have several acres, it was off in the corner, and very far from neighbors and where I go out in the yard.

[Hugh R]

Happened to me last week. Fortunately, I caught it when it was only a day after failing. Tossed a bunch of stuff, but not reeking.

[URY914]

I had a friend that was allowed to use a beach front condo here in Florida. The owner hadn't been there in months. You guessed it........fridge not running upon entry. They spent two days cleaning it out.

[Cdnone1]

Happened to me yesterday. I drove up to our place in the mountains to check on it as I haven't been there in 6 months. Well the fridge and freezer gave up the ghost sometime since then andI walked into one of the largest mold and rotted food experiments I have ever seen.
So much for having a quick look at the place then spending the afternoon driving the mountain roads.
What a disgusting job cleaning that out
Steve

[nynor]

yeah, with a turkey in the freezer. there was 'jelly' congealed in the freezer and it connected to the refrigerator portion. i threw up in the trash several times.

[Scott Douglas]

Funny, after reading this thread I'm no longer hungry for lunch.

[lisa_spyder]

Ugh...been through that only recently.

The junior football club chest freezer had been turned off by some bright spark at the end of last season and left closed. One of the other Mums and I were the bunnies who opened it .

Gag reflex on overload - we managed to clear it out with passing out and then I asked Mike to bring the high pressure water cleaner down. Took the freezer outside; turned it on its side and hit the thing inside. Then I doused it oil of cloves mixed with water to kill off any of the mould spores after we gave it a good scrub.

Worked like a charm .

[rattlsnak]

Originally Posted by instrument 41

does hurricane katrina ring a bell?? Its about the worst i have ever smelled

+1,000

[GWN7]

Cinnamon works to kill the smell. The "smell" gets absorbed into the plastic of coolers, fridges & freezers. Cinnamom counter acts it.

[legion]

Yes. Sort of. Except that in my case something else on the circuit had tripped the circuit breaker, so the fridge itself was fine. It still took us days to notice. And it was our garage fridge, during a hot August.

I pulled every shelf from the inside and hosed them down with a garden house to get rid of the food residue. I used paper towels to clean up the food debris inside the fridge. Finally, I diluted some bleach in water and put it in a spray bottle. I sprayed and wiped down every surface inside the fridge. Twice. That took care of the smell.

It took a few hours, but we still use the fridge.

[944Larry]

buy a surplus gas mask next time you're around a surplus store. They're cheap enough to keep around for the day when you need it.

[nynor]

bleach kills smells very well.

[billybek]

There was a fish shop that moved from downtown a few years back. They left behind some product that was in a formerly refrigerated space.
I remember a warm summer day when someone was power washing out the bays the shop once occupied. Poor guy, it was more than nasty just driving by...