Refrigerator replacement - how much time do we have?

[Telly]

snip...... I did another extra thorough cleaning using a strong bleach solution and it looks great, but does not smell so good and I am afraid I will still need to get rid of it due to the odor. I have left the beast turned off with the doors open for a week now.

What can I do to get rid of the odor which seems to have been absorbed by the plastic interior panels, or is it hopeless? I am thinking of another cleaning with baking soda.

I'll postulate that you will need to clean the evaporator and air path. Depending how handy you are, you could remove the panel (where depends on the refridge) that covers the evaporator coil, heater assembly etc. and spray it down with a bleach/water solution. Then let it sit a few minutes, then rinse off all of the bleach, as the chlorine in bleach is corrosive to most metals and you don't want to leave it on there.

The back of the panel you remove should also be cleaned.

Anything you spray onto or pour into the evaporator will work it's way by gravity into the evaporator's drip tray, then run down a plastic tube and dump out into the condensate pan under the refridge. Usually, the condensor fan blowing across this condensate pan when the unit is running will evaporate the liquid into the room air to get rid of it. But in this case, you would want to attach a hose or something to the tube and divert the cleaning solution and rinse water into a bucket to dispose of.

On most refridgerators, you can see the condensate pan if you look into the rear near the bottom, where there are air slots punched in the (usually) fiber panel that covers that area. The fiber panel comes out with a few screws. All safety cautions apply, of course.

 

[sailor]

+1 for Telly's instruction for cleaning with bleach.
If you don't like bleach, you can use an enzyme cleaner (more environmentally friendly and easier on your hands), like Bac-Out, but it will cost you more.

 

[Moemg]

Our chest freezer died while we were in Philadelphia on vacation . It was loaded with chicken,shrimp , veggies and even a wedding cake from one of Gary's sons . Gary cleaned it out and put it by the curb for the garbage guys but someone came and took it almost immediately . We were shocked that someone would want an old smelly non working freezer .

 

[jazz4cash]

Great suggestions...think I'll start with the charcoal and work my way up to the more laborious methods from there.

 

[FreeAtLast]

I had my refrigerator under a service contract about 10 years ago. They came out to replace the gasket on the door on a late Saturday afternoon. After the job was done the tech. proceeded to tell me that I really needed the compressor replaced.
Before I knew it he was bring in a compressor that he just happened to have on his truck and told me he would install it within the hour. The best repair experience that I ever had!

I have since remodeled the kitchen and the old refrigerator was moved into the garage and is still working great and is about 20+ years old.

 

[freebird5825]

...My question is: based upon you appliance drama history - any idea how many days/weeks might we have to watch the sales to get the best deal?

Soooooo glad you asked.

Create a "sales watch only" functional email at yahoo or some similar free email site. Create an online account with Sears, Lowes, Home Depot, etc.
Do not enter credit card info or your usual home email address, but DO sign up for their sales newsletters and emails. Use the "sales watch only" email address and log in to read the emails at will.
Voila! You will get e-notices of all upcoming sales without clogging your usual home email address.
Have fun!

 

[travelover]

..........
I have since remodeled the kitchen and the old refrigerator was moved into the garage and is still working great and is about 20+ years old.

Those old refrigerators are real power hogs - they use about 3 times the electricity of a new refrigerator. So...sometimes it makes sense to get rid of them even when they are still running.

 

[ERD50]

Those old refrigerators are real power hogs - they use about 3 times the electricity of a new refrigerator. So...sometimes it makes sense to get rid of them even when they are still running.

Yes, the old ones use more, but I'm not sure that makes it worth getting rid of them.

Our 17 YO fridge used less than $10/month (@ ~ $0.10/kWh). I don't have measurements handy on our new one, but I think it is about half that. But at $60/year, I wouldn't rush to spend more than 10x that to save anything. Factor in opp cost on the money and you're near zero. And who knows, the old one might outlive the new one?

-ERD50

 

[caninelover]

Simple: apply Murphy's Law.

Look at your calendar over the next few weeks, and look for the busiest weekend, e.g. you have a house full of guests, or will be out of town for a few days, whenever it would be the most inconvenient time for your fridge to fail, and that will be precisely when it will.

At least that is what always happens for me