Smelly Fridge

[lenny]

Opened the door of my van tonight and, whoooof, smelt like North Shields fish quay,No matter how hard I clean the fridge after a weekend away it still pongs.I know you're meant to leave the door open whilst it's off. but I use the van daily and this would be awkward.
I noticed a drain off point in the fridge whilst cleaning it out (AGAIN) and just wondered where exactly it drained off to (Maybe the grey water tank), Any advice welcome

Thought about sticking a cork in the little drain hole when not in use, what do you think?

 

[hillwalker]

lenny,just keep ur door open,when the van is parked and not in use

 

[Deleted member 207]

Half a lemon left in the fridge will keep the fish odour down. Just dont forget it, otherwise fish odour becomes rotten lemon odour!!

The drain hole needs to be clean and free running, usually it just discharges onto the heater element so it can evaporate, or in the luxury ones the hose will exit through the floor so that it can be clogged up by road grime. A piece of fencing wire is usually enough to clean out the hole.

 

[Bigmerc]

Use some vanilla custard powder in the fridge it gets rid of the smells i've used that in trucks after carrying fish and it works sounds strange i know

 

[wildman]

wash out with bicarbonate of soda then fix the door part open when not in use.

 

[jimmnlizz]

We used to throw coffe on the floor of the fridge trailers after we had been carrying tyres------just before we put the fish in!!
Jim

 

[GARY ENGLISH]

lenny

Most of the fridges have a double lock ,so you can lock it slightly open when travelling..The fridges freshners work quite well ,use them in me bait fridge.

 

[Davesport]

If there's a pong it's due to bacteria or mould somewhere. The drain hole normally drains down into a little cup that sits on top of one of the tubes in the back of the fridge. The idea being that any collected fluid will be evaporated off by the rejected heat from the fridge. That's the theory. In reality there's little or no evaporation, the cup can then overflow & the area below gets damp. The solution is to extend the tube outside the vehicle.

This tube can become blocked or lined with smelly residue. If it's smelly I'd give the inside a clean with mould & mildew remover. This will kill any nasties in there & also take the skin off your hands


Good luck, Dave.

 

[lenny]

Most of the fridges have a double lock ,so you can lock it slightly open when travelling..The fridges freshners work quite well ,use them in me bait fridge.

Thanks,Gary, you're so right, just noticed today that there are 2 holes in the fridge door to lock it shut when travelling, lock it into the first hole and this leaves the fridge ajar about half an inch,problem solved I think,well I hope so otherwise I'm off to buy some Bicabonate soda,,a lemon,,vanilla custard powder,,coffee and fridge fresheners, thanks all for your kind advice.....

I wondered why there were two holes there

 

[wildandwelsh]

I have so enjoyed reading all this advice! fascinating. thanks for asking the question Lenny

 

[Deleted member 2636]

As wildman recommends: Bicarbonate of soda is the old remedy for stinky fridges. Leaving the door a-jar using the hole stops provided and sown in your excellent photo is the answer. Also, when the fridge is in use one of these CLICKY They're cheap enough and they work

 

[Don]

My method as mentioned before.
Wash out with a mixture of bicarb and hot water, dry out then leave a small amount of dry bicarb in a saucer. jobs a good one.

 

[Don]

Always use a bowl of bi-carb when not in use.Cheaper than Fridge Fresheners.

Don

 

[cipro]

wrape up

Anything like smelly cheese or fish wrap up in tin foil or sealing bags
seems to work or buy and eat smelly things daily

 

[tresrikay]

Thanks,Gary, you're so right, just noticed today that there are 2 holes in the fridge door to lock it shut when travelling, lock it into the first hole and this leaves the fridge ajar about half an inch,problem solved I think,well I hope so otherwise I'm off to buy some Bicabonate soda,,a lemon,,vanilla custard powder,,coffee and fridge fresheners, thanks all for your kind advice.....

I wondered why there were two holes there

I allways find that if you grind up a load of tyres, then sprinkle all over the fridge it will take away the coffee smell but only if its instant, If its real then get some Kippers, I find Whitby ones best, though Loch Fyne come a second best. Grind those up with some Lemon Juice and sit them under the fridge door for three days.
Bicarbonate of soda is wonderfull for combatting the dried up kipper and tyre residue but when using Whitby ones then use an Arbroth Smoky Instead
If you decide to use custerd powder, make sure it is Birds. Aldi custerd powder tastes like bicarb of soda so I suggest a muller Light fruit corner instead.
Personnally though the easiest way to combat fridge smell, is to use another one of your fleet untill the advert for the van with the smelly fridge can be sold to a retired Callcutta latrine emptier whose sense of smell might be somewhat challenged.......... Hope I get 5 stars for this (FREE) advice.

 

[lenny]

5 stars it is

LOL, Excellent ,Rick, You should have been a writer, I laughed right through reading this post

 

[Belgian]

LOL, Excellent ,Rick, You should have been a writer, I laughed right through reading this post

Did you get your 5 * now, Rick ?
and Lenny did you find that fish back ???