Why does my food pantry smell, and how do i get rid of it.
By
on
September 26th, 2008
I have a food pantry about 3ftx3ft with dry goods in it. There is nothing that remains open in the pantry- everything is sealed or the box is tabbed shut. YET IT STILL SMELLS REALLY BAD. I have checked for “something that may have fallen to the back and forgotten,” but there is nothing. I have a small box of baking soda in there but it doesn’t help.
The only thng that works is to spray the area with a tiny bit of fragranced Lysol. I don’t get it on the food of course, but the the door and open patches of the floor, and then I leave it open to air out. This is only a temporary solution- in an hour it smells again.
What the heck can I do. My kitchen should smell delicious with the amount of yummy food I cook in there.
codiane99 says:
Do you keep potatoes of fresh fruit/vegetables there. Maybe one rotted. Happened to me.
September 26th, 2008 at 10:23 pm
Alex says:
try taking everything out and wiping the pantry down with white vinegar. Wipe all the cans/boxes down with a lightly dampen rag of white vinegar. Also while everything is drying.soak some newspaper in white vinegar and leave it in there with the door shut. While the vinegar dries it will absorb any odors and so will the newspaper.
Also to keep it fresh in there.I use this myself and it helps.leave a tupperware bowl of white vinegar in there.poke some holes in the cover.or you can leave it uncovered.I just cover it in case it spills.I won’t have too huge of a mess. Change the vinegar once a week.
September 26th, 2008 at 11:03 pm
madame_rubyat says:
If the pantry is made of wood, the wood could have absorbed odors from awhile ago and is now releasing them. You may want to really scrub the shelves and the door with vinegar. Like Alex suggested.
September 26th, 2008 at 11:42 pm
missjenna522 says:
LMAO once, my hsband and i were so puzzled witht he same thing. it smelled like death in my pantry. i went thru whole thing and found a bad of 3 COMPLETELY ROTTEN potaoes.there were so rotted that there was water in teh bag from the decomposition. can u imagine how bad that pantry smelled, even after we got rid of the potatoes. we did what u did.we took everything out, and i fabreezed the crap out of it. that took the smell out. but, there is a good chance that something could have died behind the wall in there, like a rat or something. take everythign out, wipe it all down with hot soapy water, and then fabreeze the crap out of it. if that doesnt help, knock the walls out and see if something is dead behind them.
September 27th, 2008 at 12:21 am
Rachel says:
Take everything out of the cupboard and clean it and/or throw away everything that is rotten. Then clean the cupboard with Febreze and/or Lysol. That should take care of it.
September 27th, 2008 at 1:13 am
mosey says:
If there is nothing that has fallen in the back and forgotten, try using a box of baking soda on each shelf of your pantry. Open the box lid all the way. Leave the baking soda there 24/7 and change it with a new box once a month. When you have left it in there for a month, pour the old baking soda down your drain in the kitchen and your garbage disposal for freshening them, also. You could also open all the windows in your house and air it all out. Hope I helped.
September 27th, 2008 at 1:49 am