the stinky fridge problem
So I'm not sure if this is a common problem or not, but I figured I would put it out there and see if anyone else had encountered it...
I live in a house with six other people, and there are so many of us and so much of our food that we have three fridges: one normal-sized for general use, one mini fridge for beverages (beer/iced tea/kool aid, etc) and one mini fridge exclusively for produce. But the produce one always smells kinda funky, no matter what we do. Even if someone completely emptys it out, scrubs it down and makes it smell good, after only a few days of being full of produce (even if the produce itself isn't bad) the fridge starts to smell weird again. We do the standard box o' baking soda, but that doesn't seem to make a difference.
Does anyone else have this problem? I realize that most people don't live with so many people they have to have segregated fridges for different kinds of food, but since most people here eat mostly produce anyway, I figured it was a good place to ask :)
I had this problem in the past when I lived with several roomies and we had 2 regular fridges. The inside of the fridge is plastic, and it is porous enough to absorb odors, so even after you scrub it, the smell comes back. Two things that really help, if possible, is completely empty it, unplug it and scrub it out, then let outside in the sun to dry for several hours, sunlight is the best natural bleach I know. This trick even de stinks the diaper pail for me!
The other thing could be the coolant system and that may be harder to fix. We once had a prob with mildew in the coils, and had to have them flushed and refilled before the odor completely went away.
The only other thing could be mold growing somewhere you can't see, like in the light, or under a drawer. Remove everything you can, and use a full strength vinegar to clean out, even outside and underneath, then sun bleach.
Hope this helps.