A Different Stink in the Fridge - Help??

[matthewza]

Hi all!
So today my parents were given a really nice side by side fridge/freezer from a friend who is down sizing, but there is the strangest of smells inside it...Ciggarettes.

My mom and I scrubbed it inside with hot water and grapefruit dish liquid, and have put a bowl containing bicarb and a tea bag inside the fridge and freezer side as well as some kitty litter to try absorb the odors (luckily our food is in the other fridge).

Here's my question - what would be the best way to remove Cigarette odour from a fridge/freezer?? I never had this smell in a fridge before and we would like it gone ASAP so we can start using this lovely piece of equipment.

Thankx in advance
Matt

 

[kb0nes]

I have cleaned a few radios and guitar amplifiers that were used in a HEAVY smoking environment. In my case the interior surfaces and wires were actually sticky with tar residue! The owner was a heavy smoker and he always had a cigarette burning in the ashtray in front of the radio. The cooling fan in the radio pulled the smoke straight into the unit. A $2000 smokeless ashtray...

Be sure whatever you use to do the cleaning removes any residue, the odor will remain as long as the tar remains. I used a strong detergent on any surfaces that was safe to get wet. Other surfaces I cleaned with denatured alcohol. Once I had them clean the odor was gone.

The problem with a refrigerator will be that a lot of the tar will likely be built up on the evaporator coil and on the surfaces of the cavity containing it. Unless you disassemble the appliance and clean those surfaces you will just have to wait for the odor to fade with time.

Years ago I recall looking into a refrigerator that was in a household of a couple heavy smokers. I remember seeing visible tar on the inside of the unit where the air flowed out of the evaporator!

 

[donprohel]

Might be worth trying

Ammonia is a good degreaser and deodorizer, and it is cheap. Once used, it evaporates and leaves no residue (ammonia is a gas).

Maybe a bowl of ammonia inside the fridge would cause the vapour to pass through the ventilation system and helps solving the issue. Maybe...

Might not work, but might be worth trying

 

[stan]

Maybe

Straight vinigar?

 

[sudsmaster]

Might be mold somewhere.

When I bought this house it had a vintage '78 GE Filter Flo washer. But I couldn't understand why it always smelled like old cigars. Finally when I lifted the top panel off, I found quite a build-up of brown mold all around the top of the basket. Once I cleaned that off, the smell went away.

Perhaps there is a condensate leak into the insulation on the fridge, and that is growing the mold? Check the drop tray under the fridge as well.

Also check the nooks and crannies, such as the area where the cooling coil for the fresh water dispenser (if present) is located. Something could have fallen in there and rotted.

 

[goatfarmer]

Try baking soda. Make sure the 'fridge is scrubbed clean, you may end up partially disassembling the insides, to clean the evaporator fan, inside panels, etc. I get refrigerators in that have spent their lives in a bar, or a restaurant, and sometimes you just can't remove the smell.

 

[matthewza]

Thanks everyone! I forgot to mention that a while ago my mom's aunt managed to import some Fairy Power Spray and gave us a bottle. That stuff is the only stuff I've come across that can remove yellowing on white appliances and I used that on the fridge too to remove the yellow residue that smoking also causes.

luckily there's no water dispenser in this fridge so no need to worry about things going bad there.

Upon sniffing investigation this morning (we scrubbed and did the bicarb/tea bag/kitty litter yesterday afternoon), it seems to be going away (last night it seemed like I would need to do something drastic so I'm relived that it seems better this morning). The Fairy Power Spray smell is still there and it seems the cigarettes are fading, so hopefully by late this afternoon we'll be able to transfer our food stuffs from the little fridge to this one.

If I ever have an issue with a smelly fridge again, I will definitely try the ammonia and alcohol.

Thanks again and all the best with everybody's appliances
Matt