On Thu, 05 Sep 2013 21:22:46 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

Did you pull out the drain pan? They are easily forgotten and can get
nasty

Exactly. Especially in units in the 50's - 60's. Areas with high
humidity. After cleaning the pan, Mom would add about 1/3 cup of
bleach in the pan that seemed to reduce any lingering smell.

Another nasty smell came from fish, Black Mullet. Due to the mercury
content the fish would not freeze completely and eventually was able
to rot in the freezer. Folks would salt cure the fish in an wooden
barrel before they had refrigerators.