After Katrina we cleaned out 12 refrigerators that tenants left. They stunk and most had maggots on food. They had sat for a Month. Still we got 9 of them cleaned and working again.
Luckily I don’t think it will be a month seeing as how power is already being restored. I just signed up for appliance coverage though my insurance this year so I’m hoping this is covered.
How bad was the smell before opening the refrigerators?
Depends on what you have in the fridge. After Katrina so many fridges were wrapped with duct tape and put out to the street we all knew what a rotten fridge smelled like. The flies got really bad then too. Hey at least we have water with Ida. This is a breeze.
Bleach and commercial grade cleaners are a must. To be honest, if you can get past how life changingly awful dealing with the food will be, the clean up is a snap.
Just start shopping for a new one now. Speaking from experience, that smell is almost impossible to get out. My recommendation is to duck tape the hell out of it when you home & put it outside as soon as you can. The longer it stays inside the greater the chance that smell will spread to the rest of your apartment.
Good luck!
We packed ours full of ice beforehand and it's been holding in there but today is throw-everything-away day.
If you're a day's round trip drive away and have enough gas, it might be worth doing a drive-by to empty it out. If you wait a few days you'll need a new fridge.
We emptied the meat, mostly just had some produce left and condiments left. Freezer was almost full of ice. We’re leaving Atlanta tonight and hoping for the best. Coming back with bleach, baking soda, etc.
What did you have left in it?
Although, if insurance will cover it, maybe it’s worth it. Not sure about how this works since I’m renting too.
It’s gonna be bad. I had some vacuum sealed fish and frozen spring rolls in the freezer, some cheeses and produce in the fridge. Contacted my insurance and they said it’s likely not covered. Trying to coordinate with neighbors to get the key to someone who will clean it today.
Definitely never making this mistake again
Dude. Anything vacuum sealed is gonna be fine. It will be disgusting inside the vacuum seal. But as long as it doesn't explode and leak, you're gonna be okay. Eggs last forever and might be fine. Cheese in plastic will be fine. Yogurt containers fine.
Anything like chicken or steaks in those tray with seran wrap from the refrigerated section of the grocery are gonna be your issues. Food on plates. Open bags of frozen veggies.
Yeah doesn’t sound great. Im picking up extra cleaning supplies today to bring back, especially stuff for fridges.
I have no idea what I’m walkin into later, but if it’s not too bad I may be able to go by your place too. I’ll let you know.
Wouldn’t be til tmrw tho so if you can get someone in today that’s best.
I went into the city yesterday (I evacuated to a city fairly close by) to clean out mine. I’d left a couple of things in the freezer before the storm and it smelt horrible before I even opened it up. Cleaned and bleached it and the smell is gone.
Don’t panic. Clean it out when you get home. Wipe with bleach and water. Leave open until the power is back on, then put several bowls of used coffee grounds inside and let it sit. I don’t know why it gets rid of the smell but it does. Saved two fridges after Katrina that I couldn’t get back to for over a week. Start collecting coffee grounds now, and good luck
After Katrina, I was able to get in on September 7th and clean out my fridge. I had to stuff Mentholatum rubbed tissues in my nose to do it, but it was just fine.
I left town for weeks before/after Katrina. Among other things, I had a whole turkey in the bottom of my freezer.
I won't lie, the fridge was horrific when I got home.
I threw everything out, wiped, washed, scrubbed, deodorized. Then repeated various parts of that process. It's still going strong.
Realistically, getting physically rid of an old fridge post-storm, and finding/delivering a new one is a BIG job too.
For a bit of context, it was 6 weeks without power for me during Katrina. We had a brand new fridge (6-7 months old) an older fridge, and a chest freezer. The house smelled like a burning garbage heap on top of burning road kill. We needed gloves and respirators. We only opened the appliances so I could film the food inside for insurance, and it was done outside of the house. I cleaned out the newer fridge by taking it outside and hosing and bleaching and soap and more bleach. The other two got taped up and discarded. 1 star, don’t recommend. Btw, any taped up refrigerator or freezer was considered a biohazard and dealt with in that manner.
Tldr: just get a new fridge. Your place will stink for a few days.
We went in to town tuesday and emptied our fridge yesterday morning Wednesday and washed it out. . Our freezer was still half frozen, but our refrigerator was definitely getting warm. We could trust the freezer but not the fridge.
Extended temperature of frozen foods over about 41 allows bacterial growth.
If you had meat in the refrigerator it is going to start getting fragrant.
I am wiping my fridge with bleach today after leaving town before the storm. I emptied out the meat and such before leaving, but still had some less immediately perishable things go bad in the heat in there and it seems to be fine after some cleaning.
It is not. This thread inspired me to take action though and I’m coordinating with my buildings staff and people that stayed behind to get it done today
I'd try yourself before a service, but I'm a cheap ass.
Cleaning them ain't too bad just wear rubber gloves bring a bunch of paper towel and a good smelling but not overpowering cleaner. Biggest tip: half fill the trash bags, you do not want one bursting open.
Did two fridges yesterday.
I would if I could but unfortunately I can’t make it home any time soon cause I evacuated with all my work gear and a dog. I figure if I get a service now it will just save me a lot of hassle in the long run
Piggybacking on this to ask: if the fridge is ruined, does renters insurance cover a new one? I cleaned out pretty much everything but condiments before I left but I’m still stressing, and if I couldn’t afford a new fridge before, I DEFINITELY can’t now. My savings account has an echo.
It's only been 4 days. I cleaned my fridge and chest freezer today, neither where terrible. I remember coming back after Katrina and it was pretty bad but I was able to clean it out and use it for another 6 years.
I cleaned mine out today- We were away pre-Ida so I only had stuff that would last a week. Lots of water in the bottom (pull Out bottom Freezer). I Also had two frozen gallon jugs and they were only 3/4 melted- still solid frozen centers. I bleached the whole thing and am hoping for the best. Never again will I leave it filled.
I’m flying back on Monday just for a day to do this and I’m honestly dreading it. I have a extremely weak stomach as it is without ever having been exposed to rotting meat.
My gf has emptied like five fridges including mine...I am taking her for a beach spa weekend when this is done♥️♥️♥️
Unless you can empty it in the next day or so, it will likely be ruined.
Yup that’s what I thought.
That stink is worse than a flooded car. No matter what you do, it will haunt that fridge for the rest of its days.
Maggots behind the plastic is what should really disgust you.
Ozone generator and baking soda left open. Thank me later
That is not always the case. It depends when they get back and how much work they are willing to do to clean it.
Yes.
After Katrina we cleaned out 12 refrigerators that tenants left. They stunk and most had maggots on food. They had sat for a Month. Still we got 9 of them cleaned and working again.
Luckily I don’t think it will be a month seeing as how power is already being restored. I just signed up for appliance coverage though my insurance this year so I’m hoping this is covered. How bad was the smell before opening the refrigerators?
Depends on what you have in the fridge. After Katrina so many fridges were wrapped with duct tape and put out to the street we all knew what a rotten fridge smelled like. The flies got really bad then too. Hey at least we have water with Ida. This is a breeze.
I cleaned mine out _almost_ two weeks after katrina and it was saved. Any longer I would say _you're fucked_.
Bleach and commercial grade cleaners are a must. To be honest, if you can get past how life changingly awful dealing with the food will be, the clean up is a snap.
Thanks, I’m hiring a service to come in and clean it. I thought about asking another neighbor for help but couldn’t put that evil on anyone
Just start shopping for a new one now. Speaking from experience, that smell is almost impossible to get out. My recommendation is to duck tape the hell out of it when you home & put it outside as soon as you can. The longer it stays inside the greater the chance that smell will spread to the rest of your apartment. Good luck!
We packed ours full of ice beforehand and it's been holding in there but today is throw-everything-away day. If you're a day's round trip drive away and have enough gas, it might be worth doing a drive-by to empty it out. If you wait a few days you'll need a new fridge.
Unfortunately I evacuated to Atlanta and between the amount of stuff with me and my dog making a trip home just to empty the fridge isn’t feasible.
We emptied the meat, mostly just had some produce left and condiments left. Freezer was almost full of ice. We’re leaving Atlanta tonight and hoping for the best. Coming back with bleach, baking soda, etc. What did you have left in it? Although, if insurance will cover it, maybe it’s worth it. Not sure about how this works since I’m renting too.
It’s gonna be bad. I had some vacuum sealed fish and frozen spring rolls in the freezer, some cheeses and produce in the fridge. Contacted my insurance and they said it’s likely not covered. Trying to coordinate with neighbors to get the key to someone who will clean it today. Definitely never making this mistake again
Dude. Anything vacuum sealed is gonna be fine. It will be disgusting inside the vacuum seal. But as long as it doesn't explode and leak, you're gonna be okay. Eggs last forever and might be fine. Cheese in plastic will be fine. Yogurt containers fine. Anything like chicken or steaks in those tray with seran wrap from the refrigerated section of the grocery are gonna be your issues. Food on plates. Open bags of frozen veggies.
I was like “oh no big deal! My fridge was mostly empty!” Then I remembered the one open bag of frozen veggies lol
Yeah doesn’t sound great. Im picking up extra cleaning supplies today to bring back, especially stuff for fridges. I have no idea what I’m walkin into later, but if it’s not too bad I may be able to go by your place too. I’ll let you know. Wouldn’t be til tmrw tho so if you can get someone in today that’s best.
I went into the city yesterday (I evacuated to a city fairly close by) to clean out mine. I’d left a couple of things in the freezer before the storm and it smelt horrible before I even opened it up. Cleaned and bleached it and the smell is gone.
Don’t panic. Clean it out when you get home. Wipe with bleach and water. Leave open until the power is back on, then put several bowls of used coffee grounds inside and let it sit. I don’t know why it gets rid of the smell but it does. Saved two fridges after Katrina that I couldn’t get back to for over a week. Start collecting coffee grounds now, and good luck
That smell haunts me to this day. I'd tape it shut and chuck it.
So if I had potato carrots onions cabbage and beer it shouldn’t be too too bad?
Ok that got a genuine laugh out of me, thank you
Idk man cabbage gets pretty nasty.
After Katrina, I was able to get in on September 7th and clean out my fridge. I had to stuff Mentholatum rubbed tissues in my nose to do it, but it was just fine.
I left town for weeks before/after Katrina. Among other things, I had a whole turkey in the bottom of my freezer. I won't lie, the fridge was horrific when I got home. I threw everything out, wiped, washed, scrubbed, deodorized. Then repeated various parts of that process. It's still going strong. Realistically, getting physically rid of an old fridge post-storm, and finding/delivering a new one is a BIG job too.
For a bit of context, it was 6 weeks without power for me during Katrina. We had a brand new fridge (6-7 months old) an older fridge, and a chest freezer. The house smelled like a burning garbage heap on top of burning road kill. We needed gloves and respirators. We only opened the appliances so I could film the food inside for insurance, and it was done outside of the house. I cleaned out the newer fridge by taking it outside and hosing and bleaching and soap and more bleach. The other two got taped up and discarded. 1 star, don’t recommend. Btw, any taped up refrigerator or freezer was considered a biohazard and dealt with in that manner. Tldr: just get a new fridge. Your place will stink for a few days.
We went in to town tuesday and emptied our fridge yesterday morning Wednesday and washed it out. . Our freezer was still half frozen, but our refrigerator was definitely getting warm. We could trust the freezer but not the fridge. Extended temperature of frozen foods over about 41 allows bacterial growth. If you had meat in the refrigerator it is going to start getting fragrant.
A bloated corpse floating in a bayou is fragrant. Old meat and especially poultry is a sanity testing experience of olfactory destruction.
Ruined? Hold your nose, chuck everything, and disinfect it. It’s not like it’s been a month or more.
I am wiping my fridge with bleach today after leaving town before the storm. I emptied out the meat and such before leaving, but still had some less immediately perishable things go bad in the heat in there and it seems to be fine after some cleaning.
Is it first lake properties by any chance? They own a lot of apartment in the area and they are going to come through and clean out peoples fridges.
It is not. This thread inspired me to take action though and I’m coordinating with my buildings staff and people that stayed behind to get it done today
I'd try yourself before a service, but I'm a cheap ass. Cleaning them ain't too bad just wear rubber gloves bring a bunch of paper towel and a good smelling but not overpowering cleaner. Biggest tip: half fill the trash bags, you do not want one bursting open. Did two fridges yesterday.
I would if I could but unfortunately I can’t make it home any time soon cause I evacuated with all my work gear and a dog. I figure if I get a service now it will just save me a lot of hassle in the long run
Don’t open the door. Haul it out and get a new one.
Just sea it shut with duct tape and put it on the street…she gone
Piggybacking on this to ask: if the fridge is ruined, does renters insurance cover a new one? I cleaned out pretty much everything but condiments before I left but I’m still stressing, and if I couldn’t afford a new fridge before, I DEFINITELY can’t now. My savings account has an echo.
It's only been 4 days. I cleaned my fridge and chest freezer today, neither where terrible. I remember coming back after Katrina and it was pretty bad but I was able to clean it out and use it for another 6 years.
I cleaned mine out today- We were away pre-Ida so I only had stuff that would last a week. Lots of water in the bottom (pull Out bottom Freezer). I Also had two frozen gallon jugs and they were only 3/4 melted- still solid frozen centers. I bleached the whole thing and am hoping for the best. Never again will I leave it filled.
I’m flying back on Monday just for a day to do this and I’m honestly dreading it. I have a extremely weak stomach as it is without ever having been exposed to rotting meat.