How do I get the musky smell out of my used "new" fridge?

Question

My husband surprised me with a stainless steel fridge last night. The guy that sold it to him told him that it was about a year old. He got it home and it was filled with a bunch of medical random stuff. All that is going to be donated to my church, but the fridge stinks. Not a smell like something died or rotted in it, just a musky, been sitting in the garage for a year smell. I already took everything out of it and cleaned it really well as well as wiping everything else inside down with an antibacterial/bleach cleaner. Is there anything else I can do to make the fridge smell better? I already have some baking soda in there..

Answer 1

Put food in there and it will dissipate the smell.

Answer 2

I would wash it down with the baking soda-

(you can make a paste of it)

and let it sit for an hour or so-

then wipe it down again

with an anitbacterial cleaner

and/or lemon juice.

After that- just leave the door(s) wide open

and the fridge empty and unplugged for several days,

and see if that doesn't do the trick for you.

Answer 3

i found you some research hun..

http://www.fixya.com/tags/smell

Answer 4

Scrub it out with Comet w/ Bleach Scouring Powder. Rinse. Get a hot bucket, and apply a good amount of Original Scent Pine Sol to the water. Apply extra Pine Sol to the sponge and wipe it out throughly. Rinse thoroughly with hot water. Put two things of Baking Powder in fridge and allow it to deoderize.

Answer 5

best way to sanitize a fridge is to un-plug it, cut a lemon in half and coat the flat side with baking soda, then use it as you would a sponge, wiping it on every surface.... then you must rinse any remaining residue, with a bucket of warm water with a few drops of bleach in it and a sponge untill clean to the touch, it may take a while but it will smell clean.....

Answer 6

Arm & Hammer baking soda.

Answer 7

good luck

Answer 8

try wiping it all down in pure bleach water then let it air dry and put you a couple boxes of baking soda in it hope it helps you some good luck with it

Answer 9

Apparently charcoal.

http://www.gomestic.com/Homemaking/10-Ef...

Answer 10

I would use baking soda and water to clean the whole refrigerator -- leave the door open until it's dry, and then pour about a cup of white vinegar in a bowl and place it on the middle shelf. Close the door and leave it in the fridge for a day. Vinegar takes odors like that away, and it also works for your microwave. The vinegar smell will also evaporate.

Answer 11

dunno but baking soda gets rid of that stuff.

Answer 12

wipe the inside with vanilla (extract will do but is not as good)

this will work on any plastic or metal surface that has picked up an odor.

baking soda is good but is an abrasive be careful scrubbing with it.

Answer 13

Baking soda will usually take the musky smell out. Thats why when you are storing a fridge you should always tie the door open so it can stay aired out.

Answer 14

i normally clean my fridge with a little toothpaste and then put some baking soda into a glass of water, it should absorb any other smells, good luckx

Answer 15

I had the same problem when we got a new one the person had left it sit with the door closed for a year or so. It was real musky smelling. I plugged it in and just used it. Letting it run alone will help because that serculates the air. Also the food will help the smell as well. Its just something that has to be worked out. I also keep baking soda in my fridge all the time so that might have helped.

Answer 16

This is going to sound very weird, but if the smell is in the plastic then using peanut butter to draw out the smell and then cleaning with a disinfectant might work. It would take a lot of peanut butter to do the entire inside of your fridge but if you can pinpoint a certain spot then it might help.

Answer 17

Wash it down with a high concentration of OXYCLEAN. Do not rinse it off - just let it dry with the door slightly open. After it dries there will be a powdery residue. Simply wipe that off and then rinse the inside. Any odours should be gone.

Answer 18

I worked at whirlpool in the factory, we recommend rubbing alcohol on the inner liner.

Answer 19

put food in it, that makes my fridge smell