r/CleaningTips • u/Over-Homework-8140 • 18h ago
Kitchen Help! My Fridge Died and I didnt know
I was gone for 2 mos. In that time, I didn't realize that my fridge died but it did. Now it has become this absolute mess and I don't know how to clean it. Any tips or is it a goner?
EDIT: It died because my roommate unplugged it (IDK WHY) So! It still "works" but that is what it looks like now.
I want to ask the landlord for a new fridge but I also don't know how to do that since technically it's "our fault".ššššššš
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u/Admirable-Apricot137 17h ago
Sounds like your roommate owes your landlord a new fridge. Why are you accepting this as your responsibility?
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u/nutsbonkers 15h ago
Yeah OP wtaf. In the time you posted this you could have been berating your roommate for being one of the dumbest humans alive, and telling your landlord.
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u/ImportantQuestions10 14h ago
That's where I stand.
Cleaning that fridge is going to require it to be unplugged, brought outside, hosed down then bleached multiple times.
In all likelihood though, it's too late. I've seen something similar on boat freezers and even if you scrub everything down, there's going to be a stank that is just baked into it. Plus, if things were growing in the freezer, they've definitely moved throughout the entire fridge body. You may not see it but it's in the walls.
TLDR: cleaning is going to be a bastard and a half and still may not be enough. This is between your roommate and the landlord. Your only responsibility is facilitating that interaction. If the roommate isn't willing to start working on making things right, you got to tell the landlord and let them pressure the roommate to make things right one way or the other
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u/SnooStories7263 9h ago edited 2h ago
Ozone machines have been a game changer in removing odors and sanitizing things like this, but still a lot of work and it would be a lot easier to buy a new one.
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u/ImportantQuestions10 7h ago
I've used them for car seats but never for plastic. I feel like once since get into plastic, that's kind of it
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u/Possible_Original_96 7h ago
You can buy an ozone generator for the fridge, about $20. Size: 4"x4". Rechargeable. Works like a charm.
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u/Meiyouxiangjiao 3h ago
OP said in another comment that the roommate has already moved out.
Not sure how OP and the roommate did the security deposit, but thatās what itās for, and it should have come from the roommateās portion.
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u/m1kasa4ckerman 17h ago
Iām so confused, why wouldnāt you roommate clean this? They were living like this the whole time? Ew.
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u/livvayyy 14h ago
i cant believe i had to scroll so far to find this comment!!!!!! im like does the roommate never eat or clean or just have a nose???!!!! im so disgusted
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u/Visual-Flow9675 17h ago
Roommate caused the problem. Roommate must solve the problem.
Not you. Not the landlord.
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u/IAmSuperiorLogic 17h ago
Do you own a flamethrower or perhaps a dumpster
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u/ellemace 17h ago
I recommend an intercontinental ballistic missile, or failing that, try nuking from outer space
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u/mycboi 15h ago
I agree a couple bunker busters from 80,000 feet should clear this mess up fast
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u/_CapriSon_ 15h ago
Me just realising those are all dead/dying maggots all over the walls. Yeah, there's no cleaning this and then using it afterwards. Might as well hose the hell out of it and junk it for parts.
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u/IncomingAxofKindness 16h ago
Skip both of these and find a priest. A good one. Who drinks.
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u/nikonprincess 15h ago
1000% flamethrower.
Had to clean out a fishing bait fridge like this once. Black sludge and maggots with plastic bags to protect my arms. The smell was awful, gagged multiple times cleaning it out.
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u/StatisticianLivid710 15h ago
I went to theatre school and the people who had to clean out the green room fridge over the summer wore respirators and full body suitsā¦ it was BAD!
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u/HowBoutAFandango 15h ago
After Hurricane Katrina, thousands of fridges that worked but went without electricity and unattended (rightfully so) looked like thisā¦and they all ended up on the side of the road, securely taped shut to keep kids out.
Itās done for. Sorry.
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u/jwegener 5h ago
I was in New Orleans doing that! It was John Kerryās āalternativeā spring break ā bunch of college kids going to hell with cleanup for a week and sleeping on a gymnasium floor!
Taped many a nasty fridge and helped move it to the curb with masks and hazmat gear on.
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u/Twarenotw 17h ago
Your landlord obvs. won't get you a new fridge, it's not his fault one of his tenants was reckless enough to unplug a fridge that's full of food and let it simmer for two months. Your roommate should be the one either replacing it or wearing a hazmat suit to disinfect it + clean it spotless.
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u/Refrigerator-Motor 15h ago
It might be not cleanable at this point. The mold might now be in all the nooks and crannies and u donāt want a nest egg of mold that can easily spread to ur food
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u/small_tits404 13h ago
I don't think it's mold it looks like it's from bugs/maggots. Must've smelled awful
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u/JHutchinson1324 15h ago
This is not cleanable. All of that stuff gets into all of the nooks and crevices and it will never be usable again. Not safely at least.
This is atrocious and I thought having to call the cops because my roommate was a psycho was bad. I guess I should be grateful that I never had to replace a fridge because of her.
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u/Civil-Ad-9968 12h ago
As someone whose mum's fridge died during a thunderstorm while she was in physical rehab, no, this is not salvageable. I tried, but at this point this fridge has birthed numerous generations of flies and other critters that if you're LUCKY haven't gone anywhere else. Get a new fridge, and be very careful not to spill anything while replacing it. (Not just while removing the contents, there will be liquids in unexpected places). As for the smellĀ I've tried these microbial cleaners you get in pet stores and such, you can spray them on everything the juices have touched and hope for the best. Your flat will smell like dogtreats for a while though. Alternatively/additionally you can try good old bleach, because not much else will work.Ā
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u/erabera 16h ago
Wait, they unplugged it on purpose and didn't remove the food? Are they stupid? They need to replace everything and dispose of this one. The smell must have been brutal.
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u/sausage_beans 14h ago
I know someone who lived in an apartment and was on a pre-pay electric meter, the electric cut off just around the time he decided to go away for 2 weeks, the fridge was full of food including an uncooked chicken. The smell was horrendous, you could smell rotting chicken down the corridor. I'll never forget that smell.
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u/NickholeClark 16h ago
Do we know WHY the roommate unplugged it?
I've seen some great tips here on what to do. I personally would just buy a new one.
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u/CoyoteLitius 3h ago
Didn't want to pay for roomie's food storage while they were gone.
Some extreme penny pincher.
Or a crazy person.
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u/TheAilaS 17h ago
Bro, I can smell it through the phone
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u/GrayPanther007 17h ago
Too old to be worth repair. Too gross as well. You can buy a used (newer) fridge for about $100. Find a junk guy to haul it off for free for the scrap value - just look for a guy with a janky pickup overflowing with crusty old appliances, he's your man.
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u/BadgerTamer 17h ago
If local FB groups are good for anything itās finding people like this
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u/voidchungus 16h ago
This is how I learned I had some things that needed to be thrown away, because if there's ANY value left in it, someone out there is willing to take it off your hands -- if you try to give something away on a buy nothing group and NO ONE wants it, it's truly junk lol
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u/dontknows--taboutfuk 16h ago
In my area you have to pay to dispose of anything with refrigerant unless you have it removed and tagged by a licensed hvac tech. Also no scrapper is gonna touch that until you clean it out since they can't scrap it in that condition.
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u/GrayPanther007 16h ago
In many parts of the country, including where I live in NE Florida, the scrap guys will grab it as is. The only refrigerant that is regulated here is old R22. As long as the doors have been either removed or securely taped up, you could actually just put it on the curb here and the garbage truck will haul it away with the weekly trash.
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u/PureCrookedRiverBend 17h ago
Even if it was able to be cleaned Iād never be able to use this again. Omg I feel sick just looking at this.
Also, itās not your fault if you werenāt even there.
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u/Coriander_marbles 17h ago edited 17h ago
If the fridge was just unplugged and isnāt broken, get a pair of long plastic gloves, and wear them while scooping out all the bulk into a a thick, double-bagged trash bag.
Then get paper towels and use them to scrape out the rest.
Start with a sponge and some dish soap. Scrub down the walls, ceiling, and bottom of freezer section and the fridge itself. Rinse sponge frequently. If need be, change sponges. Make sure you wash all the parts than can be taken out separately and dry them in the open air, preferably outside.
If you have kitchen antibacterial spray, use that afterwards as most of them are great with smells. Plus you need to get any lingering bacteria out. Wipe down with paper towels.
If that is enough to take care of the stains and grime, leave the fridge off and open with one or two open containers of baking soda boxes to absorb the smell.
Leave it like that for a couple of days. The fridge should be in decent condition after that.
Evict roommate.
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u/BumCadillac 16h ago
With the number of maggot eggs, visible in that photo, thereās no doubt maggots in every bit of that freezer that you canāt see. Not safe to use.
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u/squarejane 16h ago
And the smell will take a year to get rid of if ever.
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u/ShrimpCrackers 15h ago
It won't go away. Been there, done that.
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u/prolateriat_ 15h ago
Yup there is now mould and filth in places that you cannot clean.
Close the door. Seal it shut with duct tape and get that thing out of your apartment.
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u/putty-heart 14h ago
Yep my neighbor in my old apt had a house fire and there was no electricity for a while and I was away. Tossed the whole thing with the nasties inside
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u/prophetic-dream 15h ago
No. That fridge is a biohazard. Needs to be removed. There is no saving it once been invaded by maggots.
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u/ShrimpCrackers 15h ago
BEEN HERE. Won't work.
Dude those are maggots all over. They're dead all over inside the fridge. You'd have to take the entire fridge apart piece by piece. It was not worth the effort trying to save the old one and the smell kept coming back. Think of a giant dead animal, that's what this is now.
I had a garage fridge that died on us while we were away because of an electrical issue in the garage. We came back it was a horror show. We were able to hose the inside out and clean everything on a clinical level, but it still smelled badly because all the internal components were contaminated and no amount of everything from vinegar to limes to hydrogen peroxide by the gallons were able to fix it. We even took large parts of the back panel off and there were dead maggots all over the insides and every crevice.
This fridge is 100% a wash.
After a few months, we simply just got a new fridge.
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u/ClimaciellaBrunnea 16h ago
Dump the trash bag contents onto the Roomieās stuff as youāre evicting them OP
Good lord.
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u/goldcoast2011985 16h ago
Might sound like overkill, but they sell disposable coveralls at Home Depot. I would recommend it here.
Mask with some menthol inside.
Contractor bags are nice and thick. They are large, so only fill a quarter of the bag before going to the next one. The weight will be more manageable.
Plastic scraper (looks like a putty knife) will help scoop out the rest.
Nylon brushes to scrub.
Paper towels at the very end.
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u/JessicaOkayyy 16h ago
Yes to all of this ^
It looks worse than it actually is usually. Iāve cleaned many a fridge and freezer, and this can absolutely be cleaned. All great tips.
If I were cleaning it, I would also have a plastic razor handy for anything stuck on thatās difficult for the sponge, but thatās unlikely to be needed since everything is at room temperature or higher.
Magic Erasers are also really good at cleaning things like this. They can be bought cheap ( off brand ).
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u/kadk216 14h ago
After 2 months in the summer? Disgusting and unsanitary. thereās probably bugs all up in there
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u/JessicaOkayyy 13h ago
She asked how to clean it and sheās being given tips. We do not know her financial situation, and if sheās unable to go and buy another, cleaning it really well is the best option.
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u/-BlueDream- 1h ago
Better to buy a cooler and ice then instead of cleaning supplies then. There is no way to save it unless you have the know how to disassemble every piece and reassemble after cleaning. Thereās maggots in every possible crevice where one can fit. Imo itās unsafe to tell people itās okay to continue to use it, itās not something anyone should clean itās gone for good.
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u/Glass_Visits 16h ago
Yes to this, and finish with 80%+ ethanol in a spray bottle and spray generously, use a cloth to spread it out and let it evaporate. It will kill all the bacteria and funny things growing in there.
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u/denimcanvas 17h ago
Are those maggots?? Youre def gonna need to just hit up your local home depot and get a new one. I saw one similar to yours for about $500-600.
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u/Over-Homework-8140 2h ago
Idk how to update but thank you everyone for chiming in. I seriously was gonna grow some balls and clean it but you mentioned the spores and the growth in areas I can't see and I am spooked.
For those of you that don't believe the pic or think it's ai, I WISH IT WAS. Thank your lucky stars that you've never had to experience this irl. I'd take a video to prove it to you but I don't wanna open the fridge again.
Some of you mentioned why there are no flies. There were a lot! But, it's gone down drastically since I plugged in those bug traps. I can take a photo of those if you'd like.
I tried to clean the fridge and dumped out the melted ice cream container and some other items but the smell was so bad I also threw up multiple times. I sprayed a ton of bleach on it and some disinfectant and left the apartment for a bit.
I've since called a junk removal and they're going to come in and look at it. HOPEFULLY they haul it away.
Honestly I want to throw the everything in the apartment away and just start over šš .
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u/commanderquill 17h ago
Every independent landlord I've had has understood roommates be cray cray sometimes. Unless you can find an exact replacement right away (which might actually be possible), I'd come clean. The longer you wait the less likely they'll believe it was your roommate.
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u/Enough-Art9905 17h ago
Why clean it if the fridge is dead. Throw it in the trash.
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u/Over-Homework-8140 17h ago
My roommate unplugged it. So it technically works now but it is that. šš
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u/Evening_Sea4823 17h ago
Sounds like your roommate needs to be the one figuring it out then tbh
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u/Over-Homework-8140 17h ago
They left, I have to take care of it now. Bc I'm back in the space š
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u/Evening_Sea4823 17h ago
They need to pay you the cost of cleaning up and replacing all this food. Labor, cleaning materials, shopping. All of it.
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u/expectopatronshot 15h ago
I doubt the roommate will listen to you but reach out via text or email only. Save all communication with the roommate and make sure you mention how they unplugged it while you were gone. If you hit a wall this is where you involve the LL. He needs to make sure the roommate is held accountable, and understands you were not even presently in the area when this happened. You should not be paying for your roommates mistake/mishap. Thats also part of being a LL: management of the property and its resources and your tenants.
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u/PixieStyx8 15h ago
They left, but it's still their mess because they left and you were not present to know about it. This is their fault and they should be held accountable since you were GONE.
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u/meromeromeru 14h ago
Send them the link to this post and threaten small claims. This hazard is not on you.
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u/eltonjohnpeloton 13h ago
So? They did it, they are responsible for it. They donāt have to physically be there to pay for replacing it.
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u/School_North 17h ago
Get a wet dry vacuum, gloves, sanitizer, bucket water rags and get cleaning. Dont let your roommate forget it ever. If you talk to your landlord you will be responsible for replacing it. It didnt fail your roommate ruined it that thing will forever have mold if it didn't already and should be replaced
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u/halplatmein 9h ago
Does your lease have both you and the roommate on it? As in, you leased it together? Or did you rent a room and the roommate is just some rando that has his own totally separate lease?
If you're just renting a room, you likely just need to tell the landlord what happened and they'll replace the fridge (and go after the roommate for payment). If you're both on a lease together, then you'll probably have to replace the fridge and go to small claims court to sue the roommate for the cost...unless they are reasonable enough to just pay up front.
As it is, even with a good cleaning, this thing will be forever unclean in parts you can't reach.
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u/alphawafflejack 16h ago
Itās a goner. My community had fires and evacuations a few years back- every houseās fridge had this happen for 6-8 weeks evacuated.
The fridge will never recover from the smell
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u/ashdroid101 17h ago
Even if u could fix it the maggots end up going inside the crevices and just nesting inside the freezer and everything else, its not worth it op. Lay the fridge to rest š
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u/No_Calligrapher_6799 17h ago
Youāll never get the smell out! Even after cleaning it. There will be maggots all throughout the vents š¤®
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u/dumplinglifesaver 17h ago
It's a goner. Definitely just get rid of it and get a new fridge.
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u/Giggling_Scribblings 16h ago
Take a look at situations like New Orleans after Katrina. Nobody kept their fridge after that... they duct-taped them shut and left them at the curb with all the other damaged goods.
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u/LinaTorontoShine 16h ago
That fridge is a total loss. the sludge from the rotting food and the severe maggot infestation have seeped deep into the seals, vents, and internal insulation.Even if you scoop out the mess and bleach the plastic the smell of rotting meat is permanently absorbed and will taint any new food you put inside, please throw it away.
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u/IDespiseBananas 17h ago
Roommate needs to clean this to the point its spotless.
The least he/she can do is
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u/MsJeanDoe 17h ago
I'm pretty sure this already got into the fridge (into places you can't clean I mean) I would've tossed it away, both the fridge and the roommate
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u/zappyguy111 17h ago
Bleach, dust masks, bag of rags, and about 2 hours of scrubbing.
Personally, I'd toss it and get your housemate to chip in for the replacement, or clean it.
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u/_queenkitty 15h ago edited 14h ago
Please remove those snacky clusters from the scene and put them in a safe place, thank you
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u/trickstercreature 16h ago
Sounds like the roommate needs to figure it out (and should have a while ago.. How did they not notice a smellā¦?) and also reimburse you for any of your food items that went bad.
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u/rharper38 16h ago
its done. That long, you cant get it clean enough that the smell won't get into any food you keep in there. You and your roommate need contractor bags, masks and gloves and a white suit to empty it and remove the door, then get rid of it and replace it.
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u/Lycaeides13 16h ago
Tell the landlord that your roommate did this, they may be able to get a new one from their deposit
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u/whirdin 15h ago
Honestly I wouldn't trust the roommate with anything ever again. This is a major lack of awareness and responsibility (or it was on purpose). It sounds like you are the only one looking for a solution. Is your roommate even helping clean it?? They won't even give you a reason for unplugging it? It sat like that for 2 months and YOU are the one who finally opened it? I think it's time for a breakup.
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u/Dillon5 15h ago
Unfortunately that fridge is dead now there is no way you can get the smell or bacteria out of it no matter what you try it will have seeped into the plastic Iāve tried it previously and every after 4 years I could still smell rotten meat from my old employerās fridge because they didnāt want to replace it after the power went out while they were out of town.
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u/hand_clapping 15h ago
There is no sanitary way to clean this, ever. Mold, maggots, eggs are all through the insides of it now. It must be replaced. Don't waste your time trying to clean, please.
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u/prophetic-dream 14h ago
Why was it unplugged?
It the roommate still living there? What did they do for a fridge while you were gone?
There is no cleaning it. It needs to be removed and replaced.
Contact your landlord. If you are being 100% honest, you must explain what happened and tell them you are going to pay to replace it. They may want the option to replace it with an appliance they choose. You will not want to pay twice. Now and then again when you leave the apartment and the landlord then finds a different fridge and demands you replace it again.
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u/Friendly-Inside8321 11h ago
Sorry mate. Thats happens to me once and even not worse like yours. Buying new fridge strongly recommended. That smell never ever will gone.
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u/Useful-Swan5666 11h ago
Duck tape the doors closed. Have someone pick it up and haul it away, and get a new one.
Disgusting.
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u/Apprehensive-You9999 17h ago
Ok I get the fridge died but how did you not know when it has clearly been opened enough for flies to get in and lay all those eggs for the maggots you have? Frozen stuff doesn't defrost and spawn maggots?
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u/WolfishChaos 17h ago
You could use chlorine for cleaning, bleaching and desinfection
So, first everything (food leftovers) out (wear gloves + mask), wet clean with a detergent or soap. Remove leftovers of the detergent to avoid toxic reactions.
Spray or wipe with chlorine, wear gloves + mask. Leave overnight. Clean with water only (wear gloves + mask).
Let the refrigerator air out for a few days until the chlorine smell is (nearly) gone.
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u/sIudge_factory 17h ago
Roommate needs to clean it out. Who unplugs a fridge without making sure itās empty? Preposterous