The Hidden Messages Behind the Odors in Your Refrigerator

And Which Smells You Need To Be Worried About 

Have you ever opened your refrigerator and been hit with a strange and unpleasant smell? It can be a bit alarming, but don't worry, it's not uncommon. In fact, there are a variety of reasons why your fridge might be emitting foul odors. Some are harmless and easily remedied, while others may require a bit more attention. In this article, we'll explore the different types of smells you might encounter in your refrigerator and what they could mean.

Some of the common smells for your refrigerator: 

 Fish 

Gas

Nail Polish Remover 

Burnt Plastic 

Dead Animals or Rotting Meat 

If your refrigerator smells like any of these things, it is a cry for immediate attention. If it smells like chemicals specifically,  we must insist that you fix it as soon as possible so your food does not become contaminated. No one wants to get sick due to a broken fridge. So if your fridge smells like chemicals even when you haven't cleaned it with strong chemicals, please get it checked out immediately for your safety. You can skip to the bottom by clicking (Here) to call a technician. 

It Smells Like Fish!

Courtesy of Denitsa Kireva

If your refrigerator emits a fishy smell, that's seldom pleasant. If it's fresh fish that is resting in your fridge, then it won't smell fishy. However, if your fish has gone off, that is when it begins to emit that particular odor that very few of us enjoy. But if you're here, we assume you've already checked your fridge and ensured there isn't a tuna shoved in the back corner rotting away. There are several causes for a fishy smell after this point. What they all boil down to, though, is a buildup of moisture somewhere within the refrigerator itself. Several parts can cause a moisture buildup within your refrigerator: the fan, a failed compressor, a burnt-out startup relay, or an overload sensor. Your first step is cleaning your refrigerator out and checking for any obvious issues. This might be unusual noises or an obvious fault with some part of the fridge. If you aren't finding any broken parts after cleaning it, but the smell is still there or returns after putting all your food back into the refrigerator, you might need to find a technician to figure out what is causing it.

It Smells Like Gas!

This one is the second most common on our list, and fortunately, the most frequent cause of it is something rotten being trapped in styrofoam and then the scent releasing from the takeaway box. As always, a good scrubbing of your fridge is the first step in getting rid of strange smells. If you've already covered that step, though, this can also be caused by certain refrigerant leaks. Freon typically smells different from gas, but other refrigerants are used. Refrigerant leaks are challenging to fix, even for a technician, so if the smell is still hanging around after giving your fridge a good scrub, it's best to call in the professionals.

It Smells Like Nail Polish Remover, Vinegar, Or Ammonia! 

If you are smelling one of these three, the most likely cause is a Freon leak within your refrigerator. You'll most likely notice the smell first when opening your fridge, but unfortunately, Freon can seep into your food and cause a chemical taste. This is absolutely not ideal and requires immediate steps to fix. If you notice this type of smell in your refrigerator, please call a technician immediately, as Freon contamination can make you quite ill. It will require a full inspection of all of the components within the fridge to nail down where the leak is and whether or not it's only one or multiple. Do make sure when making the call to note if the smell is only in the fridge or the freezer sections. 

It Smells Like Burnt Plastic!

This one is the most straightforward on our list. If you are smelling the acrid stench of burnt plastic, your refrigerator is getting too hot. While this can have several causes, the easiest is to check that the back and underside are not full of dust bunnies. Those most pernicious of beasts can block up the vents or fans and cause your poor beleaguered refrigerator not to be able to keep itself properly cool. With your fridge overheating and burning dust, it can cause a strange smell before any components break. You will want to fix this quickly because permanent damage can occur if left untreated.

Courtesy of Cottonbro Studio

Start by pulling your refrigerator out from the wall, and then unplug it for safety's sake. Now grab your vacuum and wand attachment and quickly vacuum the back and undersides of your refrigerator and then the cavity where your refrigerator typically sits. If dust bunnies are causing this, the smell should clear out shortly after you plug it back in.

 If the smell persists, you should call a technician to have them check that the fridge's fans and cooling systems are working correctly.

It Smells Like Dead Animals Or Rotting Meat!

Courtesy of Cottonbro Studio

Once again, we will assume that you have ruled out rotten food. This one is relatively easy to fix. Most likely, the smell is caused by either mold or mildew inside your fridge. This is most easily fixed by cleaning your fridge out. Sometimes if you have issues with your refrigerator ventilating correctly, the middle can build up in places where there is no food, but there is moisture. If you can smell it but can't pinpoint the source visually, you may need to partially disassemble your fridge to clean the miotor. We suggest calling a technician as well, as while cleaning is something you can do, the build-up of moisture outside of the food storage area of the fridge can indicate a faulty component, as we described in the fishy smells section.

 It's always best to have your fridge checked if it smells off. 

What do you think? Did we solve your current issue? Let us know over on our Facebook page, as always. We’d love to hear if we missed one. 

Whether we did answer your question or not, we can help. Whatever type of fridge you have, we service it. You can reach out to us via our contact page or by giving us a call at ((214) 599-0055). We'll work with you to find a date and time that fits your schedule and send one of our expert technicians to solve the problem. At Appliance Rescue Service, our goal is to get your home running smoothly again. 

Why Does My Oven Keep Flipping the Circuit Breaker?

What Is Going On And What’s Wrong With My Oven?

Picture this: You're making dinner for your family, and you realize that after half an hour, the oven hasn't beeped to say it's been preheated. You go to check on it and realize that the oven is off. You push a few buttons, thinking, ‘that's odd I know I turned it on’, and instead, you have an oven that won't turn on. Your breaker flipped somehow. You go to fix it and start the process all over. Weird, but not the end of the world. What if it keeps happening, though? That's when you have to question, “why does my oven keep flipping my breaker?”

There are three main causes that will make it happen. It could be that you have a faulty heating element. It could be that there is an electrical short in your home. Or it could be that there is a circuit overload in the system. We'll go over these one-by-one and help you tell how to identify between each of them.

It Could Be a Broken Heating Element 

Let's start at the most common cause of this issue. If your breaker for your oven is flipping it might be because a heating element is broken. This can either be the heating element itself or the power source to the heating element. If this happens your circuit breaker will perceive it as a dangerous shift in the amount of amperage in the circuit and trip in order to keep you safe. This is built into the system in order to prevent electrical fires.

If you do determine that one or more of the heating elements in your oven is broken you will need to do a few steps. One unplug the oven completely from the wall and if possible, pull it out a little bit as well. This is to ensure your safety. What you're doing is giving the oven the chance to discharge any and all electricity. 

Next call a technician. Going in and attempting to repair or change out a heating element on your own is it dangerous and is not something we recommend.

It Might Be A Short In the Electrical System 

Your next most common cause of a consistently tripping circuit breaker is that there is a short in the electrical system. This can occur anywhere from the circuit panel itself all the way to the heating outlet of your oven. Look out for the smell of burning rubber or plastic, whether the oven is on or not. Also, keep an eye out for smoke. (Good news! The oven smoking because you burnt the turkey is not an electrical short.) 

Fortunately, if this is the issue, not only is it less expensive, it is also easier to fix. We still recommend unplugging the oven and calling a technician in order to ensure both of your safety and that of the tech coming to your aid. 

Or You Might Be Dealing With A Circuit Overload

Your final possibility, although admittedly the least likely, is that you are having a circuit overloaded. This would mean that the circuit that your oven is on is drawing so much power that the circuit breaker believes there is an issue. This means that there are too many items consuming electricity on the same circuit. Now the trick here is to figure out whether you actually have too many items or whether your oven is not on a circuit that is strong enough for it. For this, you'll need to start by figuring out which circuit your oven is on. 

Normally this is pretty easy. All you have to do is go to your breaker box and find out which one is labeled kitchen. However, occasionally you'll be in an older home where the breaker wasn't labeled when it was installed. And so you're going to have to check one by one, switching breakers off. Once you have the correct breaker isolated, start unplugging items that are on that breaker. You want to see at what point you can have your oven on and other items plugged in. If you get to the point that you have everything unplugged and when you turn the oven on it still gets flipped off by the circuit breaker, there is another potential answer. 

That is that your oven is on an outlet that is too small or it is not high enough power. While this is uncommon, it does happen occasionally, especially if construction was rushed in your neighborhood or if the oven you brought with you from your old home is sized to a different power outlet. Fortunately, both of these are extremely uncommon, and it is far more likely that your issue will be related to one of the earlier two points that we made. 

If you have isolated everything else and guaranteed that your issue is indeed tied to your circuit breaker, then you will not necessarily need a technician so much as an electrician they will actually be the first call that you make. However, we do still suggest unplugging the oven for safety sake.

Are there any reasons for an oven to cause your circuit breaker to flip that we missed? Let us know over on our Facebook page as we would love to hear from you!

If you followed our tips and found out that yes it is one of the first two causes, feel free to reach out. We would be more than happy to help you in repairing your oven and get your home running smoothly again. You can reach out to us with a phone call or by going over to our contact page. At Appliance Rescue Service, our goal is to get your home running smoothly again.

5 Simple Ways to Get Rid of Your Old Appliances

Easy Ways To Get Rid Of An Old Appliance If You Can’t Repair It. 

As an appliance repair company, we never like to think of a dryer or oven dying. Sometimes it happens though. You've done everything you can, we've done everything we can, and it's just not possible to fix the trustworthy appliance that you loved. If that's the case,  what do you do? Naturally you're going to want to purchase a new one,  but what are you supposed to do with the old one?

 There are five different resources that you can use for getting rid of an old appliance, whether it is dead as our example or if you decided to purchase a new one and simply need to get rid of the old one because it no longer fits. Those  five options are: 

Donate Your Old Appliance 

Utilize A Buyback Program With A Retailer To Get A New Appliance In Exchange

 Sell Your Old Appliance On A Digital  Marketplace 

Use A Scheduled Pickup By A Retailer Or Recycling Service To Dispose Of Your Old Appliance

Make Use Of The EPA RAD Program To Recycle Your Old Appliance 

Donate It To Someone In Need- 

Courtesy of Vlada Karpovich

Donating things is a great way to give an old item new life. You are continuing the life cycle of an item rather than letting it sit and rot. Donating an appliance also means that it's not leaking chemicals into the environment.  Whether it's clothes, furniture, or appliances, donating things is great for everyone. These items can then be given or sold to people in need, and you get more space in your homes.   If your appliance still functions, and it's just a matter of you having wanted to purchase a new one for quite some time, this might be the best choice. A great example right here in the Dallas area is Habitat for Humanity. 

Utilize A  Buyback Program With A Retailer-

Courtesy of Ekaterina Belinksaya

If you haven't yet purchased a new appliance but are looking to do so, you can look into local retailers and see if they offer a buyback program. Often times its a mix of how new your appliance is. If it's a relatively new appliance, the shop might purchase it and give you a deep discount for a new replacement. If it's an old or damaged appliance, the shop might purchase it and sell it out for parts. In that case, you will probably just get a small discount off of your next purchase. Every retailer is going to be different with how they handle this so your best bet is to go to your favorite place and ask them what they can do for you. Many of them will even throw in pick-up when they drop off your new appliance.

Sell It On A Digital  Marketplace-

Courtesy of Kampus Production

Another solid option, whether your appliance is functional, dying, or dead, is to resell it on a digital marketplace. While you will not likely be able to get the same price as a brand-new appliance, you will be dealing directly with people and able to bargain for a price that fits your needs. Here you can do everything from selling out an appliance that is perfectly functional to selling pieces for people that want to repair their own. This can take a long amount of time, though, and should be considered before choosing this route. What is your timetable for getting rid of your old appliance? Do you need it out immediately or do you have time for it to sit around? 

Use A Scheduled Pickup By A Retailer Or Recycling Service

Your fourth option in Dallas is to look for a business or program that will schedule a pickup for you. This can be anything from a recycling program to a business that will buy junk to an appliance shop that might use it for parts. You might end up paying a fee for this one, though, depending on the business in question. But if you want it gone quickly, this is one way to do it.

Make Use Of The Epa Rad Program-

Finally, our favorite option is the EPA Responsible Appliance Disposal program. The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency)  has contractors they trust to go beyond just scrapping appliances. Instead, these partners go through and recycle every component of your appliances, from steel and plastic down to the freon that is in your refrigerator or your mobile HVAC unit. While it does require extra paperwork, there are both environmental and tax rebates. And who doesn't like to feel good and get to save money?

Do you know anything about how to get rid of appliances that we missed? Let us know over on our Facebook page!

If your oven, refrigerator, dishwasher, dryer or washer did break down, but you’re not ready to give up on it, let us know! Appliance Rescue Service is all about finding ways to fix appliances, whatever brand or model it is. So long as you live in the Dallas area, we want to work with you and help to get your home running smoothly again. You can reach out to us via our contact page or by giving us a call at ((214) 599-0055). 

Taking the Pain Out Of Melted Plastic

Or, How To Get Melted Plastic Out Of Your Oven

Courtesy of Skylar Kang

Your oven is smelling when you turn it on, and you open it to smoke wafting out. You didn’t light something on fire, you just had a piece of plastic get stuck somewhere. It’s a problem we’ve all encountered, and you’re not the only one. Better still, we’ve got all the steps you’ll need to get the plastic out of your oven without damaging it or yourself. 

Different Procedures For Different Ovens!

• The Racks

• Electric Ovens

• Gas Ovens

• Ovens With Self Cleaning

Before we dig in a quick note about safety. Please do not try and remove the plastic from your oven with your hands at any point.  Use the tools we have suggested or something similar so that you don't hurt yourself. It's also advised to look over the entirety of the post before tackling your issue. Now let's get into the actual methods you need to know

How To Remove Melted Plastic From Your Oven Rack 

If the melted plastic is on your oven racks, congrats this is the easiest outcome for you. All you need to do is remove the rack from your oven and put it either in your sink or outside. You can then use a scraper or butter knife to remove the plastic. Since there isn't a coating on your oven racks you don't have to worry about damaging them. If you are already exhausted from a long day or don't have the hand strength to chip off the plastic, there is an alternative. What you can do is take the rack set it in your sink and take a large pot full of boiling water and pour it consistently over the plastic. This will heat the plastic enough that you should be able to remove it using a wooden tool. 

How To Remove Melted Plastic From Your Electric Oven

If you weren't lucky and you have plastic on the interior of your oven slowly put down the tools. We're not ready for those yet. Instead, grab a plastic bag that is enough to cover the piece of plastic you are looking to remove. Fill that 3/4 of the way with ice. Lay it on the plastic for at least 10 minutes. The idea is to allow the plastic time to retract and become hard and brittle. After 10 minutes you can grab a razor scraper or a butter knife and very carefully lift up from the outside edges of the plastic. Ideally you should be able to pop the whole piece off. If not then hopefully you will be able to break it off piece by piece using this levering action. Again be very careful though as this can damage the inside of your oven. 

As with most cleaning chores this might take more than one round to get it completely clean.

How To Remove Melted Plastic From Your Gas Oven

If you have a gas oven we're going to start by taking a look at the bottom plate of your oven. Some gas ovens have it where the bottom plate can be removed for easy cleaning. If that is the case with yours go ahead and do that and see if you can put the entirety of the plate into the freezer if that is where the plastic ended up. You'll then proceed to trip off the plastic after half an hour or so.

If you don't have a bottom plate that can be removed then go ahead and use the same cold method that we used for the electric oven.

How To Remove Melted Plastic From Your Oven That Can Self Clean 

If you have a self-cleaning oven this one is going to require something entirely different. Instead of your butter knife and razor scraper you are going to want to grab some wooden tools like a wooden spoon or spatula. Now go ahead and open up all of the windows and grab a respirator like you might use if you were painting. 

Courtesy of Thirdman

Now that you are prepared, turn your oven on to a low heat maybe 150° tops. Leave the oven open during this process. Make sure that you are also wearing your mask and that the windows are open during this process. It is going to stink. Every 5 minutes or so go and poke at the plastic to see when it starts to become soft and pliable. For anybody that makes candy think of it like the firm ball stage.  This is when you'll grab your wooden tools and start to carefully pry the plastic up and away from whatever it is stuck to. Do not use a metal item to pry it. Metal can easily damage the inside of your oven. Self cleaning ovens have relatively fragile inner coatings and as such take very little to become utterly wrecked. 

Did that work for you? Did you find something else that worked better? Let us know over on our Facebook page! 

If you got the plastic out, but your oven is still smoking, give us a call ((214) 599-0055), or you can reach out to us via our contact page! We’ll work with you to figure out a time and date that works for you so our expert technicians can come out and help. 

Why Is My Oven Smelling So Strange?

4 Common Smells You Need To Know

What do you do when you start encountering weird smells in your kitchen? You would start by taking out the trash; after all, that's one of the most common sources. Maybe it has been a few days since you took it out last... But it keeps smelling. So then you start to look around and go section by section. 

Is it coming from the refrigerator? 

Did a potato roll to the back of a cabinet? 

Did the beer you were experimenting with brewing go off? 

No …it's coming from your oven. So what are you supposed to do? The first step is figuring out what sort of smell it is. Then you figure out whether it's something you can solve on your own or call in a professional of one stripe or another. 

Common Smells To Come From Your Oven

- gas

- urine

- dead things

- smells like burning plastic

Why Does My Oven Smell Like Gas? 

Before you start worrying, having your oven smell like gas when you first turn it on, provided it is a gas oven, is normal. So long as it goes away within the first few minutes, you're fine. This just means that the gas is igniting, and it's during that turning-on phase. If, however, the smell continues after 10 minutes or so or continues for the entire time the oven is on, it can mean that not all of the burners in the oven or igniting. If that's the case, then you'll need to get hold of a technician. This isn't something you can fix on your own. Trying to fix a gas oven solo is extraordinarily dangerous. The flammable gases that run through your oven can very easily asphyxiate you if you're not careful when dealing with them.

Why Does My Oven Smell Like Urine? 

If your oven smells like urine, the most common reason is that you have rodents living near or inside your oven.

Courtesy of DSD

For this situation, we suggest calling an exterminator first to get rid of the rodents, then carefully go in and clean all of the inside of the oven. If you can, your next step is to carefully pull your oven away from the wall to see if you can't find where the rodents came in from and if they got inside the oven itself. Be careful with this step, as you don't want to damage your oven or leave a gas line open accidentally. Finally, we suggest calling in a technician if only for your peace of mind. You can tell them that you had rodents and want to ensure that none of the wires or components were chewed on and that the oven will still function as needed.

Why Does My Oven Smell Like Death?

Courtesy of Juan Vargas

Right off the back of the last one, if your oven smells like death, it is most probable but unfortunate that something died in your oven. The same steps still apply, except you really want to call a technician this time. The difference here is that your oven needs to be gone over to ensure that nothing is left inside of the oven. If something dies inside your oven, you have to worry about other creatures attempting to get inside your oven to devour them. Not only is this damaging your oven, but more importantly, if any of that catches on fire, it will be very dangerous for your food and health. 

Why Does My Oven Smell Like Melted or Burning Plastic? 

If your oven smells like melted plastic, you can have several different issues going on. 

The easiest to fix is that there was some residue left over from the last time you cleaned your oven. With that, all you have to do is wait until your oven cools off and then go back in and wipe everything down with a damp rag. 

Courtesy of Ksenia Chernaya

A second possibility could be that you did melt plastic. Perhaps you left a bit of film on a freezer meal, or there was a piece of plastic residue that you missed when you cleaned again, perfectly normal and easy enough to fix.

The last case, however, is the one you hope, and we hope, is not the case. Sometimes if you're smelling burning plastic, it can be because of damage to electrical components or an electrical short. Milton cables and damaged cables smell terrible. 

In the event that you do smell melting plastic, the first thing you should do is turn off the oven. From there, allow it to cool off, then carefully unplug it and assess the situation. For the first two, you can easily handle those. If you ruled them out, however,, you'll need to call a technician to assess the oven and determine if it is due to electrical components.

Hopefully, we have put many of your fears at ease. If you have found your oven smelling strangely and it's not something we addressed here, please reach out to us over on our Facebook page.

If you found your oven smelling strangely and it is for one of the reasons we listed where a technician is required, we would be more than happy to help. You can reach out to us via our contact page or by giving us a call ((214) 599-0055). If you choose to work with Appliance Rescue Service, know that our goal is to get your home running smoothly again. Will work with you to find a time and date that fits your schedule before sending out one of our experienced technicians to find and address the problem.