It all started a last month with the Black Beans. They SHOULDN’T have gone bad that quickly.
Then, Ali’s milk started going bad too quickly. One jug went bad TEN DAYS before the date on the container.
Then, last week, I was plagued by yet another smell. I was starting to feel like no matter what I did, every time I turned around, the fridge stank with another awful rotten smell.
That one ended up being rice, again going bad way too quickly.
The very next day the stench was back. This time, it was a chicken dish.
The thing is, I used to be able to let things turn green and fuzzy in my fridge with the best of them. They never stank, except for the occasional shrimp dish or something. My rule of thumb was to clean the fridge out when there were more than three dishes growing fuzz.
Oh, don’t judge me. You know that you do it too.
But here lately, not only have things been going bad WAY too quickly, they are putting off an unbelievably foul odor. And there’s a common thread to the scent, whether it’s the milk or the beans or the rice or the chicken.
AND, to top things off, I’ve been keeping the fridge inventory fresher than ever, due to this smell. But it STILL keeps attacking me.
So my theory is: We have some strain of mold or bacteria that’s made it’s way into our fridge that is attacking our food. Maybe it was those extraordinarily foul black beans that started it all. Or maybe it’s something else.
(At this point, Alice and Chase, our dinner guests Tuesday night, are starting to feel their stomachs turn a bit. Don’t worry – I double ziploc sealed that food before it was prepared to protect it from the. . . err. . .whatever-it-is.)
I got this mold/bacteria idea from watching a cheese show on the Food Network with Chris (my least favorite channel and his most favorite channel). They were talking about how they cultivate the proper mold or bacteria and keep out the improper mold or bacteria in their cheese aging rooms. And how there is mold or bacteria just floating around in the air, looking for cheese to attack and age.
(They actually had “moldy cheese” caves and “bacteria cheese” caves. Sounds yummy, no?)
So, something is floating around in my fridge. I’m sure of it.
I wiped the whole fridge down with antibacterial soap at the beginning of the week and turned down the temperature of the fridge. I’m hoping that helps. So far, so good.
But I’ve never seen an antimoldial soap.
So if this doesn’t work, do you happen have the number for a Mold and Bacterial Exorcist?
Because these guys are rotten.
Eeek! (And by "eeek," I mean "Shouldn't you be shopping for a new fridge?")
:o
I bet I do not want to know anything else about how cheese is made.
My mom scrubs our fridge with bleach water. It kills just about everything I can think of. Also vinegar is suppose to be good for that kind of thing but I can't stand the smell of vinegar. It makes me sick to my stomach.
Those are my only 2 suggestions. I can ask my mom though.
Bleach would probably work if you don't die from the bleach inhalation. That stuff is rough, but it does kill the mold in my shower (oops, did I say that out loud?).
Have you checked the temp to make sure it's staying consistently cold enough?
Other than that, clorox is your friend. :)
I would recommend bleach water or vinegar. As for the milk, if it went bad 10 days before the expiration date, I would blame that on the store letting it sit out too long before putting into their fridges. I've had that problem and I got a refund.
And check the temp.
I had the same problem (milk going bad before it was out of date, chicken, etc..) Mine ended up being the temperature – cost about $100 bucks to get it fixed but it works great now.
yuk. i feel so bad for you. the vinegar and bleach are good ideas. hope you find out the culprit soon.
I don't think your fridge is staying cold enough. You can buy a fridge thermometer to check it out.
I'm also thinking it's a temperature issue, but Clorox would be the way to go to clean out fridge funk.
Weird. I can leave things in my fridge for weeks before they start growing mold. :) Then I usually just leave it in there b/c I don't want to deal with it and by the time I do get it out it is compeletely covered in green and white fuzz. Yum.
I watched that episode…. I love Food Network.
I love cheese….
But that show was GROSS!
I hope it's not the fridge that's going bad! I'm with Chris on the Food Network, it's one of my favorites!
Have you checked the temp in your frig with a separate thermometer? You may have to clean it out and use Clorox to disenfect it.
ewwwww….
have you tried straight-up bleach water?
looks like several have already suggested that too…
or vineager water?
when we bought the house, you probably remember how badly all the rooms were mildewed/moldy and I bought some kind of phosphorus cleaner that i had to mix with bleach to scrub all the walls with before i could paint…pretty sure that gave me asthma, but, hey, no mold or mildew! :)
seriously tho, check with someone at home depot or lowes for other suggestions…