<p>The short story: the door on our basement upright freezer was left open for a few days resulting in a lot of spoiled meat. We have cleaned out the freezer and underneath it, but there is a terrible smell. Currently we have a large fan going, but there are no windows to open in that part of the basement (and it’s cold here).</p>
<p>Any suggestions?</p>
<p>( Oops… meant to post this in the cafe - moderators-please move this thread. Thanks!)</p>
<p>Lots of boxes of Arm and Hammer baking soda! (And maybe some fabreeze or something to cover the odor until it dissipates. </p>
<p>We had a horrible and growing odor in the basement. Finally, a contractor in our house searched and discovered lots and lots of acorns under some insulation there. Sure enough, he went outside and saw an opening in the cedar shakes. A family?? (don’t really know how many) squirrels must have had access all winter, urinating on the insulation. He took out lots of insulation and we cleaned and placed lots of A&H boxes, at his suggestion, on the wood. Sometime later he came back and laid new insulation. The odor did not linger long. My guess is your odor will go away much quicker!!!</p>
<p>I love this - it gave me a great laugh (sorry if it’s a bit of gallows humor) and a reminder of those boring grown up problems. Maybe you could turn it into a great essay! Erma Bombeck could have done wonders with this material.</p>
<p>Activated charcoal.</p>
<p>Pet store–buy the cheap loose boxed charcoal that goes into acquarium fish tank filters. Lay newspaper in the freezer (it is empty yet running correct?_ and sprinke the charcoal over it. The charcoal will absorb the odors in the plastic of the freezer. It could take a week. They throw it all out–the charcoal–when shaken/sifted later–will stink!</p>
<p>Once I left a an empty fridge running in a kitchen of a house while having floors refinished–and the smell from the finishing chemicals had been absorbed in the fridge and freezer. This charcoal trick worked great.</p>
<p>Lots of baking soda and time. </p>
<p>We lost power during Hurricane Irene. My husband and son had gone fishing earlier in the summer and caught a lot of fish – it was all in the basement freezer. Everyone was away in the days after Irene. I came home after four days or so to find still no power and a hideous smell. The fish had apparently not been well-wrapped and had leaked rotten fish juice all over the inside of the freezer. Nothing like cleaning up rotten fish juice by flashlight. Even after a thorough, thorough scrubbing, the smell lingered for weeks. So gross.</p>
<p>I asked a similar question a few years ago when my son left his dorm refrigerator plugged in with contents in it over winter break unaware that the school was going to shut off the electricity. Yuk! He tried wiping it down with vinegar and putting charcoal and ground coffee in it to absorb the odors. Others suggested kitty litter, which he didn’t try. He eventually got the smell out. Good luck!</p>
<p>A co-worker bought a bargain house that had been vacant for a couple of years. They discovered that an animal had died somewhere inside a wall. She purchased some powdered substance that removed the odor. I’m not sure what it was, but when we spilled a crock-pot of baked beans in the trunk of our car, she gave me some to use to help get rid of the odor.</p>
<p>She’s on vacation until Tuesday but I’ll try to remember to check with her when she’s back. It might have been something like this product:</p>
<p>[Application</a> Notes For Using OdorXit Concentrate To Remove Garbage Odors](<a href=“OdorXit - Eliminate Pet & Life Odors For Good!”>OdorXit - Eliminate Pet & Life Odors For Good!)</p>
<p>Had a similar experience after the tornadoes last April… eww…</p>
<p>After the basic cleaning, I sprayed the interior with a mix of bleach and water, let it set for a few minutes, and then wiped it out (Clorox Cleanup also would work). Then I “powdered” the interior with baking soda and let set for a few days. Then cleaned the whole thing out. No smell!!!</p>
<p>A&H has a product for removing odor. It is power that you can sprinkle on the affeced area and vacuum. My dog peed on the rug the other day which had an unbearable odor. I washed it first and then used this product. It worked like a charm. if I can remember the name, I’ll post it.</p>
<p>As a temporary cover-up until the odor removers can work, you can make the place smell better by throwing into a big pot of simmering water: cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, orange peels.</p>
<p>Clorox cleanup is my favorite.</p>
<p>The smell was actually worse this AM. H got home from work early and looked over the freezer again. It turns out that there is a sort of drip pan underneath it which was full of stuff. He cleaned that out and also re-cleaned the freezer and the floor with the clorox cleanup. There are now multiple baking soda boxes in the freezer. In addition, I bought the activated charcoal and am spreading it on newspaper on a cookie sheet and putting it in the area. Things are much improved.</p>
<p>Thanks to all for your help.</p>
<p>We used the coffee fix after a refrigerator went out during a vacation, as suggested by a friend in the moving business. Get clean knee-high nylons and fill with cheap ground coffee. Place in 'fridge (or freezer). I think it works because the coffee is so moisture-absorbing that the damp smelly air gets absorbed, and the coffee itself covers some of the lingering odor.
If there was smelly stuff in the drip pan, can you run bleach solution through whatever drain line led to the drip pan?</p>
<p>paint the floor with Klitz–</p>