I recently acquired a second-hand refrigerator that I plan to keep out in the garage for canned/bottled drinks, etc. I’d like to use it for cakes too- IF I can get the SMELL out of it.

It’s a nice, like-new fridge, but it seems the woman I bought it from had her electricity shut-off the final couple of weeks she was in her condo and there were some food items left in it that resulted in quite a smelly mess.

I’ve tried all the usual suspects to get rid of the smell: scrubbing w/ sudsy bleach-water, baking soda, vinegar and charcoal. But these things aren’t working to my satisfaction- I can still detect the unpleasant smell and there’s no way I feel I could store anything in it right now other than canned soda.

Any ideas for totally getting rid of the stench, and giving it that proper “new car” smell again?

Have you tried leaving the door open on it for a while and just letting it air out?

Actually, I have not, janie! Maybe that's the very first thing I shoulda tried- DUH! What a numbskull I am

also.....if it is a frost-free unit there is a drip-pan in the bottom that catches water from the defrost cycle, often times this gets over looked>>>but most of the time it is needing a good cleaning and that also will help eliminate smells. They get nasty so beware it is a grotesque job, maybe working in the yard by the hose would be your best shot for the job! Use a nice SOS pad and get it cleaned out, I'll bet you will notice a difference, especially after airing it out as Janie suggested.

When a fridge is going to be off for any length of time the door needs to be propped open for this very reason. A piece of styrofoam going down the door opening would have been sufficient. Anytime the fridge is off and closed - this happens and the stench is one that seems to never go away. Distilled white vinegar placed in a few little bowls scattered throught the shelves for a few days may help.
Just unplug it and leave the doors open for several days with the vinegar in it and see what happens.
Looks like Kev needs some Skunk Odor Remover for Fridges! LOL