Getting rid of the kim chi smell

Epicurean Exploits - Food and Recipes
1

So the prior owners of our home were Korean and big lovers of kimchi.

The fridge smells of kimchi and my attempts to get rid of the smell with baking soda and charcoal have been thus far unsuccessful.

Any tips? (other than buying a new sub zero :smiley:)

2

Embrace the floral aroma of kimchi, my Asian brotha.

You’ll have to disconnect the power and scrub the inside with bleach. Leave open for 24 hrs. Then scrub again with a mild cleaner to get rid of the bleach smell.

or just get a new one. I think they start at 6K.

3

Ah yes. Had an American friend living in Pusan for a few years. You’re refrigerator shopping, my friend.

4

it’s a big one. Custom fit for the cabinet. :frowning:.

I’m going to bleach the crap out of it first. They should have been good Koreans and gotten their kimchi fridge in the garage.

5

Un plug fridge and put a couple pounds of stinky French cheese in there and close door. Now it will smell like a cheese store in Paris!!

6

Buy a bag of oranges from a guy on a freeway ramp a couple of times a month? Or try some guava…we had a bunch on our counter from my manager’s mother’s tree and you couldn’t even taste wine as everything smelled sweet and guavalicious!

7

Put stinky tofu in there. You won’t even notice the kimchi after a while.

8

flirtysmile stinky tofu. Unfortunately the mate is Cantonese and doesn’t have the same love I do for fermented tofu

9

Just be happy only the frig smells…sometimes a whole house and carpet can smell like Kim chee…

Or are you replacing carpet??

10

Kim chi is delicious. flirtysmile

11

After you do the bleach stuff Jim suggests sprinkle 1-2 lb of ground coffee into trays for the bottom and mid shelve of the fridge for day or two…

12

Thanks for all the suggestions! Tonight I’ll have coffee grind, lemon juice, baking soda and charcoal in the fridge. If this doesn’t defeat it I’m buying this korean odor eater haha.

13

Sorry Charlie,

All the suggestions will temporarily “reduce” the smell until YOU get used to it and don’t notice it as much. You’ll notice six months down the road when a friend goes into your fridge for a beer and asks if you had Kim chi last night.

Anything plastic absorbs and holds the odors, so unless you have that expensive stainless steel version it’s gonna be tough to get rid of it. You can spray the entire interior with a citrus based cleaner and hope it gets into the pores of the plastic. You will have to remove every shelf, tray and bin to clean every side, nook and cranny. My estimate is about 4 to 6 hours on your first attempt.

14

Go big Charlie: Amazon.com

15

I recommend using ozone. You can buy small portable ozone generators.
Ozone works like bleach, oxidizing complex hydrocarbons, but disperses into all spaces by itself.
Less work, and highly effective.
Great for smoke odors, BTW.

P Hickner

16

Rinse it out with some of that Pappy’s you bought.

17

[rofl.gif]

18

Before you try bleach, use white vinegar.

19

Based on my experiences during Katrina, I’m afraid Randy is correct. Our GE Monogram had 3 pounds of Tuna in it, along with other items typically stored in a fridge/freezer, when Katrina struck and after 4 weeks with no power we returned to the nastiest smell imaginable. We’re talking vomit-inducing bad. There was absolutely NOTHING, and I mean NOTHING, that could be done to get rid of the smell. Newspapers, charcoal, kitty litter, bleach - we tried them all to no effect. Strong odors not only leach into the plastic but get into the water lines and insulation, so you’re probably SOL.