Frequently Asked Questions About Domestic Refrigerator Repair:

Smell in fridge won’t go away, will it harm unborn child?

Hi Fridge Doctor--I have a fridge that has had a strange odor for over five months. Assuming that it was something getting green and fuzzy in there, we emptied and scrubbed the entire fridge. The smell remains, and we've since emptied and scrubbed the fridge two more times.

I'm starting to get worried that we're eating something that isn't good for us.

Your article about Freon was comforting, but it doesn't really answer my question. Apparently as you state if it did have a leak it wouldn’t be working but do you have any idea what the smell could be? It is pretty chemical in nature, doesn't smell like natural gas. Do you recommend that we replace our fridge? Any help you could give me would be appreciated. I'm currently two months pregnant and don't want to run the risk of harming my unborn child. Thanks much.

You're right, if your refrigerator did in fact have a refrigerant leak it wouldn't be working due to such a small amount of refrigerant present. ( typically about 5 ounces )

So your gassy smell is likely, as you suspect, from a food that has spoiled, but not always. I find odor develops more often when potatoes, carrots, or other starchy foods are stored for long periods of time in refrigerators that have Styrofoam components in the air passage ways, or plastic instead of metal inside walls. When starchy vegetables spoil or wilt ( get smaller with age ) they give off starch in a gaseous form. This starch will coat all the inside surfaces including the air passageways that you can't get at easily.

The process is two-fold, as something then has to trigger the odor to start, such as the door being left open, a melt down for a technical reason, or even shutting it down to clean it out. It appears the smell comes not from the starch itself, but from the bacteria that starts growing on it. All this happens on a microscopic level so you won't see anything. Fortunately for all of us, this bacteria is non toxic, but it does, however, taint the flavor of foods. Especially ice cubes.

As far as your rightful concern about potential toxic harm to your child, concerning the refrigerant you needn’t worry about that because in the sixties and seventies there was more Freon in a can of hair spray and deodorant then is in most refrigerators, and pregnant ladies used these products with no documented consequences.

Will the bacteria that is growing on this starch harm anything? I’m not sure because in my field of specialty I’m not involved in any way with biological science, but I think we can deem it as safe as anything else in our environment we have to blindly trust. I can tell you that I have never heard of any reports or concerns on potential toxic substances developing in the normal use of domestic refrigerators or freezers from any medical, environmental, or scientific source.

Here is an attached article from my book that will get rid of this odor. It has worked even in extreme cases where refrigerators have stopped working for weeks at a time with meat and fish in them during hot summer months. In fact no one so far has reported back that this didn’t work in any circumstance. Hope this helps.

Note: Section 5 article called "Complete Deodorizing Procedure" attached.