Strange smell in kitchen

The defrost water is supposed to evaporate, but if something gets pushed to back of fridge, eg cheese wrapped in paper, it may freeze onto back wall. When auto-defrosting, small amounts can end up going down the drainage hole. After a while, enough gunge can accumulate to start smelling.

Seems to be a common enough problem, happened to me, also a friend and previously on Gransnet. I suppose if you regularly empty fridge and wipe down back walls it shouldn't happen.

I’ve never ever cleaned the drainage hole or pan, does everyone do this? 🤔

Marydoll

I had a terrible smell in my kitchen for ages. A prawn had fallen under the freezer.

😂

Oh good, mystery solved

I must check mine tomorrow. No smell but I think it should be checked regularly.
Bicarb. is good for neutralising smells.

oh those drainage things are rank aren't they?

The drainage is meant to evaporate so I'd probably check it was working properly

Good afternoon ladies. Solved !! Pulled the fridge out again, checked the drainage hole which was clear but the pan at the back that collects the water smelled to high heaven. I rang the place where I got it from and they didn’t advise removing the pan as it can snap. So my husband has patiently pushed kitchen roll in to mop it up and it’s now sitting with bicarbonate of soda and water in which I hope will neutralise anything left. The fridge sat on the conservatory for the best part of a month while the kitchen was being done and because it was cold this may have caused it. Anyway hope this cures it but if not will have to get someone out. Many thanks once again.

Littleannie

It's not the worktop is it? When I had my new kitchen, the worktops used to smell funny when the sun shone on them, or they got hot. Some days it was quite unpleasant. It lasted about 6 months, but eventually went. Your steaming may have caused it to become very hot.

Granite or quartz worktops can smell odd for some time after installation or perhaps the steaming reactivated the bonding glue in the worktop, causing it to smell.

What about underneath your worktop, above your appliances?

I had a terrible smell in my kitchen for ages. A prawn had fallen under the freezer.

It's not the worktop is it? When I had my new kitchen, the worktops used to smell funny when the sun shone on them, or they got hot. Some days it was quite unpleasant. It lasted about 6 months, but eventually went. Your steaming may have caused it to become very hot.

I don’t know where I got that set tiny bottle brushes - haven’t found another - must try Home Bargains

Yes - drain the fridge - I clean it with a tiny bottle brush and the brush is basically black , when it comes out

The drain in the fridge probably is the problem . Clean it was a pipe cleaner .

Thank you all. We have already pulled out both appliances as a dead mouse was my first thought. There is about a two inch gap above the fridge and they are both the recommended distance behind. When we pulled them out my husband got down with a torch to look further behind the kick boards and there was nothing there. The smell isn’t inside the fridge but coming in the gap under the worktop. I have cleaned everything again today and left it switched off to dry naturally. The only thing I didn’t do was check the drainage hole so that is tomorrows job. Thanks again

I would pull out the fridge and see if the smell is underneath or at the back. Some fridges have a tube that returns the condensation into a pan underneath, and it should evaporate. Occasionally the tube will become clogged or frozen.

Also, dead mouse under the baseboards or in the wall behind could be an issue.

Have you got someone you can ask to pull it out?

Possibly something clogged the drain? I think ours fridge has a drain that evaporates

Probably something behind it causing it

Things like this drive me bonkers, I ordered a blue light once when I thought our elderly cat peed somewhere and it turned out he had a uti so was no big oatch to find... almost drove me round the bend but at least it helped me get him help

me too. Our cat has been known to bring half dead mice that then escape ...

Dead mouse I reckon

How big is the gap between the top of the fridge and the worktop?

Is there also a gap between the back of the fridge and the kitchen wall?

By now you have probably guessed the I am thinking, "Dead mouse down back of fridge."

I would try disconnecting the fridge and pulling it out from under the worktop, so you can see if anything is rotting in there.

When you clean the fridge, do you remember to take a pipe-cleaner and clean the drain-hole at the back of the fridge?

The most disgusting sludge builds up in mine, even although is cleaned once a month.

Sorry if I didn’t explain properly. The air fryer sits on top of the worktop; fridge and freezer fit side by side underneath leaving a gap of about two inches on top. Both appliances have been taken out and cleaned underneath although there was very little underneath, just a few crumbs. The fridge has been switched off twice now and thoroughly cleaned including the gaps in the seal and put back in place. The smell started after using a hand held steamer on the air fryer lid.

Message withdrawn as it quotes a deleted post.

has someone spilt something down there? I think the only thing you can do is to pull the appliances out to clean on top and underneath them

Message deleted by Gransnet. Here's a link to our Talk guidelines.

I don’t understand the connection between the air fryer and the fridge. How could cleaning your air fryer, presumably on the worktop/in the sink, be related to a smell coming out of the fridge? How clean is your fridge?