On 11/26/2004 11:21 AM US(ET), zxcvbob took fingers to keys, and typed
the following:

Dan K wrote:

We figure a couple days into our 2 week vacation the circuit breaker
tripped
on our refrigerator (due to a light on a timer plugged into the same
circuit, but thats another story). You can imagine the mess and
smell that
greeted us when we got back. We have removed everything, washed the
inside
of the refrig/freezer down with a germacide (that works great in the
laundry
for perspiration smells), and left baking soda in for 24 hours but it
still
stinks to high heaven. The smell seems to be in everything plastic, and
theres a lot of plastic in the 2 year old (brand new as far as I'm
concerned) fridge. Any tips to get the smell out?



There's a hospital disinfectant called "quaternary ammonia", or quat
for short. I buy the stuff at Fleet Farm in the dairy supplies under
the brand name "Steramine". The active ingredient is something like
"n-alkyl (50% C-50) benzyl ammonium chloride" or benzalkonium
chloride. It kills bacteria, fungi, and even virus, and it has an
oddly "fresh" smell. It does a tremendous job of deodorizing things.
Don't splash the concentrate in your eyes. If you can't find the
stuff, look for a humidifier algicide or waterbed conditioner with the
same active ingredient

Also, a lot of the smell will disappear just by turning on the fridge
and getting it cold again.

Good luck,
Bob

It's also the active ingredient in "OdoBan" available in almost any
supermarket or household product stores.