What to Do After Power Outage?

I'm so sorry about the loss of all that food...that really sucks. Take a deep breath and know that it will be just fine. Throw out EVERYTHING. Just hold your nose and quickly put it all in trash bags and then out in the trash can. Double bag it if you can. It will be smelly, but just do it QUICK! Open doors and windows if you need a cross breeze in the house! Then once everything is outside in the trash can you can clean the fridge/freezer out with first soapy water and then a bleach solution. I used to be a field Biologist and worked in villages in Alaska. I would help with necropsies on beached dead whales and sea lions. I used to work along salmon streams filled with rotting salmon! I was invited to eat fermented seal meat dipped in seal oil, fermented whale meat, and basically have dealt with all kinds of rotted meat/dead animals! Just hold your nose and do it fast...it'll all be fine! I promise.

I don't know that there's anything to "worry" about. You will probably have a bit of a mess to cleanup, and that's annoying. But there really isn't anything too unsafe about it. I would have the kids occupied somewhere else so that they aren't in your way.

Personally, I would put the raw meat in plastic (grocery) bags and tie it up so that the smell isn't too strong. Just get out a few large garbage bags and start tossing everything in there. Ug!

Once your done with that, I would wipe everything down with bleach water. Fun, right? But it's going to be fine. Really. Just get in there and get it done.

I'm sorry you're so upset about this. I get the losing what's in the freezer and being upset about it. Sometimes things like this can't be avoided and it's no fault of yours.

I don't understand the extreme anxiety and worry. Things could be worse!!

It is not going to clean itself. You might hire a cleaning service if you feel you can't do it but really???

Get gloves, old rags, garbage bags and Clorox .... open that door and get busy. Throw everything out and clean it up.

I'd probably let it stay off a couple days to air out and after I turn it back on I'd not start refilling it until I made sure all odors were gone and it's working properly.

It will be ok!!!!

I feel your pain. We lost power for 5 days some years back, and we also had to leave. There was nowhere to put the food - all our neighbors lost power too. We left things in there because, of course, we didn't know how long the power would be out. But after 5 days, the fate of everything in there was sealed!

Please stop beating yourself up about how this could have been avoided. You took care of your kids and went someplace with power. That's the right thing to do.

There's no shortcut here, but the longer you wait, the worse it's going to be. You're going to throw everything out. You just are.

Assemble the following items: a pair of good rubber gloves, a trash can double-bagged with a good black trash bag, a few buckets for hot, soapy water and clean water, some chlorine bleach, some sponges you can toss when done, some beach towels you can wash (or many layers of newspaper), and some rags.

The frozen stuff that thawed out has refrozen, so it's probably not going to be messy. But it's spoiled. Turn off the fridge/freezer entirely. Put on a pair of rubber gloves, and pitch everything from the freezer into the trash. Don't consider keeping anything. Put the ice trays aside or in the sink to wash later.

Open the fridge, and plan on tossing everything out. If you had some fruit in there, it might be okay (whole apples, etc.). Otherwise, everything goes. Don't think about it, don't lament it, out.

Empty everything out. If you have bottles of salad dressing and so on, invert them in the sink to drain the liquid, then you can wash/recycle the bottles. Otherwise, into the trash.

When that's done, remove the shelves and veggie bins and ice trays. Put the larger items into the bath tub and run the shower on them to remove any stuck-on food. Take a sponge of hot, soapy water to everything, rinse and let it drain in the tub. If you have a hand-held shower, that works great. If not, just hold things under the regular shower and turn them as needed. As the sponges get yucky and beyond cleaning, toss them out. You can wash smaller shelves and veggie bins or removable bins from the door - do those in the sink, and drain them in your dishwasher. Don't subject these items to the high heat of a dishwasher washing though. While things are draining in the tub, take hot soapy sponges to the sides and bottom of the fridge/freezer. If anything is stuck, you can also use a paste of baking soda to scrub with a rag. I put beach towels on the floor in front of the fridge to collect the extra water so I don't have a flood. Sweep out the water and debris onto the towels. Dump any of the solids into the trash, and put the towels and rags into the washer.

Finally, take a solution of bleach and water (1/4 cup per 1/2 gallon, according to the Clorox website and others), and wipe down the exposed surfaces that you have already cleaned with soap/water. Let everything air dry, then plug the fridge back in. While it's getting cold, go to the grocery store and stock up.

If you really think liquids have seeped into the cracks in the freezer, you can go on line to get instructions on how to take things apart. You can also contact the help line for the appliance's manufacturer. These things happen all the time, and they know how to deal with them. Or call an appliance repair person or a company that specializes in mold and messes, like Service Master.

Get a huge black, heavy duty garbage bag and throw everything out. Then clean refrigerator thoroughly. Your homeowners insurance may cover your loss. You have to call. Why are you panicked over this?

Been there done that. See if you can get someone to watch the kids for a couple hours. Go to the store and get contractor plastic bags (home depot or Lowes will have them) because the contractor bags are thicker> Get a lot of sponges (you will the throwing them out as you use them) and several pair of plastic gloves.

Open the fridge and throw out every single thing in there. Take all the racks, shelves, and drawers outside. Wipe down every surface. Spray a solution of bleach and water and close the door to let it sit.

Open the freezer and do the same thing. Shelves and drawers outside. Mop us all the juices with sponges and throw them out when they become too yucky to rinse and continue to use. Wipe down every surface just as you did with the fridge and spray with the bleach/water solution and close the door.

I washed all the shelves and drawers in the bathtub because it was bigger than the sink. Hot soapy water and put back outside to dry in the sunshine.

Once everything is done go back to the fridge and wipe everything down one last time. Put back the shelves and drawers. Do the same with the freezer. Then plug it back in and give it a day to get the temps correct. You might want to throw in a couple boxes of baking soda to absorb smells.

When you load things in your freezer moving forward use only the bottom for meat. You can put a tray in the bottom which will help if this happens again.

Get contractor bags and just throw everything out. This should only take you about 10 minutes or so.

Then I would simply remove the shelves and wash them in soapy water. Any juices that have leaked, just soak them up with paper towels and trash them. Spray everything down with Clorox cleaner or something similar.

Our freezer broke this summer and we lost everything. It was a shame to lose so much food but the cleanup was not bad at all. Certainly nothing to feel extreme anxiety over. You will be fine.

If it was packed full a freezer will hold it's temp for about 48 hours.

For 5 days - toss all contents - both fridge and freezer - after 5 days it's all nasty.
No I wouldn't even consider saving the butter - it will have absorbed smells.
You can double bag your trash - really tie up the meat because rotten meat is an awful smell.
Wash freezer/fridge out - wipe it down with baking soda before last rinse, dry it, put a new box of baking soda in (one each for fridge and freezer) and THEN plug it in to use it again.
Don't restock till temps for fridge and freezer are cold again.
If power was out, a power surge when coming back on may have burnt out the fridge so be sure it's getting cold before putting food in it again.
Plan to eat out or do take out for a day or two.
If you can get it outside (don't know if this is in your kitchen or in your garage) clean up might be easier if you can hose it out after dumping contents but it also depends on the fridge you have.

It's a bother and a nuisance but these things happen.
You just toss, clean up and move on.

Welcome to mamapedia.

Not sure why you are "worried" or panicked over this.

Was the electrical outage due to weather or something else? If you're a homeowner and have other damage, you might call your insurance company to see if they have coverage to replace the food in there and possibly the appliance SHOULD there be a problem.

I wouldn't panic or worry over this - I would just get my gloves on and have contractor grade trash bags and open it and start dumping. There's nothing in there I would want to save anyway.

Just get 'er done. Stop fretting over it and just freaking do it.

Have a good cleaner that you trust - then use vinegar and baking soda to ensure it's all done and no smells.

I hope that your delay has NOT caused damage to the appliance.

Good luck!

I understand your worries. My in laws experienced "Harvey". The freezer was a mess after 2 weeks in 5' standing water!
And no electricity.

My freezer/fridge was without electricity for 4 days while "Ike". Same dilemma we had like you do.

I did not open the door. I turned it back on and refreezed everything that was in it. Then I was able to remove the content without having the running meat juices.

If the smell is bothering you too much you can put a little bit of menthol under your nose.

Washing the fridge and freezer out with vinegar or bleach should help you to eliminate the smell.

I can feel the anxiety in your question. I'm sorry, that sucks and I'd probably feel like you.
First, take a few deep breaths.
Yes, it's going to be a mess but probably not as bad as you think.
Gather your trash bags and put on rubber gloves. A mask if it helps you feel better. Throw everything out and wash the inside with hot soapy water. I'd probably do a hot rinse with a little bleach too. Leave it open and let it air out.
I don't know about the venting but it's probably fine. If you're really worried call an appliance store or repair person and ask them if there's any reason for concern.

You're not helpless - you kept your young children safe in a powerful storm and stayed alive! That's strength. Yes, now the storm is over, and the adrenaline has stopped surging through you as it did when you evacuated, and now the cleanup begins, and it can be tedious. I'm glad your family is safe.

Yes, your fridge and freezer contents may be ruined and may smell, and that's hard to deal with. You can call the manufacturer of your refrigerator and ask about deep cleaning, or call ServiceMaster or a similar clean up service (the kind that cleans up after floods, etc) to clean vents and the inner workings. You can look up "how to clean a freezer and fridge after a power outage" online and see lots of good advice.

But take photos of the contents, how the freezer and fridge look when you open them, and if any foods have prices on them (like a package of ground beef), make sure to get a photo of that. Keep a list and report it to your homeowners or renters insurance.

You should also check with your homeowners insurance and depending on your policy (and the amount of your deductible, you may be able to get the food replaced and/or have a cleaning service come sanitize your refrigerator.

Just as an aside, my girlfriend accidentally unplugged our chest freezer years ago (full of food) to plug something else in. Because we didn't open it that often, it was awhile before it was discovered. First thing I did was check the temp - and found it was still as cold as a fridge, so I was able to save some of the meat, but cooked it up right away rather than try to refreeze it. Some stuff was a total loss, like ice cream, popsicles and a few other items. Some items were simply too damaged to save. I was able to save about 30% of the contents, which was better than nothing.

Good luck!

I think most people in your area in this predicament - think of the stores, etc. who have to get rid of their freezer items, etc. It happens.

I don't know what you mean 'not prepared' to deal with it. What option to do you have right? Meat that is wrapped in paper is ok - just be careful lifting it out - have sponge on the ready.

Wear a mask of some sort - it's ok. Be ready to dispose of it promptly.