Eww! How would one clean that?

[logixx]

While taking something out of the fridge, I noticed some dark stuff in the drain hole at the lower back of the fridge. It is black mold! *squeal* Don't know how it got there... Maybe because the former couple living here got kicked out by the landlord for being way to messy (he had to "wash the ceiling" after they left - whatever THAT means).

Anyway, how would one clean that? I don't want to pour bleach down there as I don't know what would happen to the reservoir (above the compressor) that catches the water during self-defrost. Maybe a steam cleaner on low pressure - I have a Karcher. Or do nothing at all and just ignore it?

This is a built-in fridge/freezer, unfortunately.

Alex

 

[omono]

if not bleach then a 3% peroxide solution ,that should kill it

 

[laundromat]

Spray-9 would do a great job and kill 99.9% of any bacteria in just 15 seconds.

 

[whirlykenmore78]

Vital Oxide

Is an excellent mold and mildew killer.   Unsure if it is sold in Europe though. 

The company that makes it is located in Florida USA.   Their website is WWW.vitaltechnologies.com

Nick     WK78

 

[iheartmaytag]

I like bleach myself. Ten you may have to pull the drain pan and clean it out as well. I used to have to do this with our GE Self-Defrost about every 6 months or so. If you didn't the frig could start to smell like a dead mouse.
We aren't messy people, but spills do happen.

 

[stan]

what if you

soaked a cotton ball with bleach, and just set it there for a couple of hours??

 

[whirlpolf]

3 ways to use the chemical bomb

Didn't even have to read it: Have seen it myself here (just coming from those pictures): We buy a lot of used fridges here, so these occurences are pretty common and nothing to worry about in the first place. Sure you want to have them out of your life.

Just NUKE that with

a) chlorine bleach (do NOT use that crappy German Klorix stuff, it is diluted with water and Zickengestank à la Feng Shui = prissy girl's fav. wellness scents), get real French Eau de Javel or American Chlorox or Italian or Turkish shop based REAL chlorine bleach. Dilute with water, spray, wait, scrub down. It it cheaper anyway, Klorox fake crap is 3,50 a litre, REAL chlorine is no more than 1.00 € a litre.

b) Wasserstoffperoxid (hydrogenated peroxide) Can be had in African hairdresser's shops or similar.
Dilute with water, spray, wait, scrub down. (Same thing).

c) if none of those can be had, use some oven cleaner spray or drain pipe dislodger, spray, wait, scrub down.

Basically all of the above use a highly basic liquid to kill and destroy the filthy fungus, denaturating its proteins. Just take care the concentration is not too harsh.

Fungus hates acids just by taste (vinegar, lemon juice) but it gets killed and disfigurated by severe basic solutions. If you want to shrivel the roots of it for good: Chemical baseball bat on its head. Done.

Been doing some 20 fridges now with Javel. No reoccurrence.
France, supermarket "E.Leclerc" -> house brand "marque repère" Eco+ = 5 litres for 1.01 €
Aldi France sells similar canisters.

 

[whirlpolf]

oh and that evaporator tray on top of the compressor

Sure, that is where all the liquid will land in the end.
Take it out, rinse under a tap (you can see how the black fungus stuff will fly off after a Javel's "bonjour Messieurs", click it back in and that was that. Residual water will be gone in 1-2 days after that, no sun nor heating required.
Believe me, I've been doing so many of them, it gets a routine.

 

[mrboilwash]

Spiritus (pure alcohol) and a Q-Tip. Kills the mold and leaves no residue, but I wouldn`t pour that much into the evaporator tray, might be a fire hazard.
You could even use vodka if you have nothing else on hand.

 

[omono]

an other option is oil of cloves or sage boht are great at killing moulds and mildew on all kinds of surfaces
mix 10 drops in half a litre of warm water in a spray bottle ,shake spray and leave it sit for an hour then clean it with a damp cloth, then reapply the solution as an added bonus they both smell great but I'd go the sage oil , the cloves could be very overpowering in the fridge

 

[logixx]

Thanks so far!

I have hydrogenated peroxide at hand, actually. No Vodka, though. Also 95% (or so) pure alcohol and Dan Klorix in the blue bottle.

Thing is, I can't remove the appliance. It's fully built-in and pretty tall. Only way to get to the drain is via the inside of the frigde. Q-Tip might be a good idea. Will see...

 

[tolivac]

I would be hesitant to use bleach on a plastic surface such as that-Chlorine bleach can attack plastic-If you wiped the bleach on-then off again and rinsed-should be no problem.I wouldn't leave the bleach on the plastic for a prolonged period-the chlorine content of bleach attacks some plastics-weakens them or causes them to crack.The non chlorine cleaners should be fine.Wonder if the drain "scupper" in my fridge looks like that-in the South-wouldn't be surprized.

 

[rolls_rapide]

You could try a very narrow bottle brush, and a chlorine bleach trigger spray: Dettol do one as a "mould & mildew" remover. So does Domestos.

Or: dip the bottle brush into a bleach solution, then rinse with a tiny amount of water.

Wet-wall appliances are known for mouldy problems. Remember that mould spores are always present in the air and are opportunistic lifeforms; i.e. they grow where they can.

 

[COWBOY]

vodka toclean???

I always mix the vodka with cranberry juice. a coupla of these and u r ready to clean anything........

cheers

 

[hotpoint95622]

hotpoint 95622

Forget the cranberry juice, just the vodka.