Mold in Freezer??

[Laurajean]

My fridge is brand new, less than a year old. All of my food in the freezer is pretty recent too, I really don't have anything very old. The last few days when I open my freezer I smell a mold/mildew smell. I can't see any mold, all the food looks fine, but I can smell it when I open the door. I have no clue how food could mold FROZEN.

And like I said, I can't even see any mold, I can only smell it. Any suggestions? Please don't tell me I need to throw all my frozen food away, I can't afford to do that!

What if I clean out all the food, wash down the freezer and return the food? I've never had anything like this happen before, I'm confused. Is it possible that something in the fridge under the freezer molded and the smell raised up into the freezer? I have had occasional things mold in the fridge....

 

[RHRanch]

Clean the freezer with vinigar

 

[magicpigeon]

I would remove all the food items and just scrub it down, you know, just in case? Our fridge is waay old and it gets cleaned out every few months, we're probably going to replace it lol

 

[mulewagon]

Wipe out both the fridge and freezer with vinegar, especially the gaskets around the doors - get all sides and in the grooves of the gaskets. Clean the top of the fridge and wipe it down, and clean as much as you can underneath. Check if you have a drip pan that needs cleaning.

Also pull out the drawers in the fridge and clean under them - there could be drips you don't see.

 

[Laurajean]

Quote:
Okay... but is my food still okay? (frozen food I mean, I can figure out fridge food easily). My fridge is immaculate (looking at least), it's so new it's not even dirty around the gaskets yet. I'm sure the shelves could use cleaning, but is the idea just to clean everything anyway, no matter how clean it looks? Stupid question I guess, obviously *something* is not good. I don't mind cleaning the heck out of the fridge and freezer, I'm just concerned about throwing away my freezer food. If there's something in the drip pan, etc., could this cause the freezer to smell funny? Sorry if these are dumb questions, I've just never had this happen before.

 

[sourland]

Is it a 'slide out' freezer compartment? Perhaps there is condensation inunder it that is molding? Any food that is frozen and wrapped should be fine for eating.

 

[Laurajean]

Quote:
I don't even know what that is George, so I'm guessing no?? It's just your standard freezer over fridge, side hinged setup.

 

[Laurajean]

Yes, there is nothing that is not wrapped; almost everything is veggies, etc in the store bags and then in a freezer baggie. I don't eat meat, so there's nothing like that in there. Just frozen food items new or in freezer bags....

 

[mulewagon]

I would clean everything, just to make sure - there could be some bit of moisture or a spill that's making the smell. While you have the food out for the cleaning, you can sniff it over, and sniff the empty shelves, to see if you can locate the source.

If the food is getting moldy in the freezer, I would put a thermometer inside to check the temp.

 

[Laurajean]

Quote:
I wondered about the temp... although I have not actually checked the temp, all the food is frozen SOLID and it feels nice and cold.