# Refrigerator bad odor



## dwelch53

Hi I'm a newbie here, but I have a bad or smelly problem. I have a GE Profile Side by Side refrigerator PSH23PGRAWW have had it since 2004, last week it started making a horrible smell similiar to poo, stronger when the fan is running. I pulled the fridge out removed the metal in the back and in the drip pan was this dried up horrible stuff. I cleaned that out and about 2 days later the smell is back. It seems as though the drip pan is catching the overflow from the evaporator but why does it smell this way? and why is it doing it, has the evaporator gone bad, or something? Please help before I call the 200/hr repair guy. 

Thanks Dion


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## Thurman

I had this happen with the fridge in my shop, which is an older model. Have you had anything in the freezer leak any liquids at all? Maybe something you put in that was not frozen yet and could have leaked some blood or fruit juice? My problem was blueberries my wife had put in there in zip lock bags and one had leaked. The pan you see (I believe) is to catch the water when the freezer unit goes through the defrost cycle. Any liquids from the freezer compartment will also drain into this pan. IF this is one of those set-ups where the pan is on top of the compressor so the compressor heats the pan to facilitate evaporation you can understand that any fluids from the freezer will evaporate and leave behind the proteins and such which will rot and stink. IF this is the case, a thorough freezer and pan cleaning is in order. To make matters worse in my case, I found out that the water in the pan from the defrost cycle was a breeding ground for mosquitoes. A few drops of vegetable oil down the freezer floor drain tube, every couple of weeks, keeps the mosquito larvae dead. Good Luck, David


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## dwelch53

Thurman thanks for your response, I ended up getting a GE tech to come out, and after taking most of the fridge apart he couldn't find anything that was causing the problem. But we did determain that whatever the residue that is in the drip pan which happens to be below the condensor was what was causing the smell. I applied straight bleach and tried to remove all the residue, so after 3 days we still can smell a hint of it but for now seems to be gone. No idea what it could have been from. I'll provide more info in a few days


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## Ezhel

we put a small piece of coil inside our refrigerator it eliminates bad odor.:thumbup:


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## dwelch53

Ezhel said:


> we put a small piece of coil inside our refrigerator it eliminates bad odor.:thumbup:


Oddly enough the smell isn't coming from inside the fridge rather in the drip pan at the bottom of the fridge, i've scrubbed and bleached. Inside the fridge is clean and both evaporater pans are clean too. I'm lost


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## Chemist1961

Guessing Ethel meant coal as in charcoal or carbon block. 

Granulated activated Carbon aborbs toxins and odours in water filters.
and purifiers. Charcoal embedded filters are sold for air purifiers, internal automobile cabin air cleaners, etc.
Charcoal jelly is used in hospital emerge rooms to absorb stomach contents in overdoses.
Baking soda may work in the fridge tray as well:thumbsup:


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## Chemist1961

Sorry EZHEL, spell check caught me


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## Ezhel

you're right chemist1961...and it works for me:thumbup:


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## Thurman

Maybe I should have elaborated on cleaning the fridge and freezer. As the unit was in my shop I took it to the garage door of the shop, took off all the interior panels that I could get off to expose the insides. The blueberry juice had gotten into places I would have never thought about. I took a garden hose and washed it down good, sprayed it with "Greased Lightning" cleaner and hand washed everything I could. I even laid it on it's side to wash out all the underside. It dried for a couple of days before putting back together and then I ran it there for a couple of more days before putting it back in place. Thankfully it fired right up and has been running ever since. Now the wifey, in one of her brain f*rts, wants me to clean the fridge in the house like that. Hmmm, let's see now, there are nine (9) steps leading down from the back deck, six (6) steps on the front porch- -maybe I'll just wash it in the kitchen. :yes:


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