On Fri, 18 Sep 2009 08:01:37 -0700 (PDT), Silvar Beitel
> wrote:

>To reiterate, two days ago I wrote:
>> I made the mistake of thawing a plateful of frozen squid uncovered
>> in the refrigerator a few days ago and now the inside smells of fish.
>> Apparently strongly enough that my wife's coworkers noticed the smell
>> on the Tupperware containers she brought in with her lunch.
>
>> My current plan: Heat a plateful of charcoal
>> briquettes in the oven to dry them out thoroughly (and drive out any
>> aromatics they might have collected while sitting in the garage), then
>> put the plate in the fridge. In a week, I hope the odor will be
>> gone! :-)
>
>I'm amazed. After only 1.5 days with the charcoal sitting the fridge,
>the smell is gone. (But I wouldn't bet that it isn't simply from the
>normal opening and closing of the doors in regular use over the past
>few days.)
>
>Thank you all for your inputs.

Actually the circulation fan motors produce ozone, and since the
interior of a fridge is an enclosed space containing those motors once
the offending source is removed lingering odors are dealt with surely
and swiftly. Placing substances like charcoal and baking soda
*inside* the fridge exascerbate the odor problem by absorbing,
_concentrating_, and maintaining odors *inside* the fridge. Modern
frost free refrigeration units deodorize themselves, but only when the
item producing the offensive odor is removed. Placing a box of Arm
and Hammer inside your fridge does two thing and two things only,
makes Arm and Hammer richer and makes you poorer.