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I have been offered a commercial grade deep freezer - free. The problem is it has been used to store pesticides for the last 15 years. When it was opened, the chemical odor was overpowering, I had to step out of the garage to get fresh air.
Is there any way to recover this freezer for food storage? If not, what suggestions do you have for non-food use? I would hate to see this freezer go to the dump as it is of very high quality.
I would contact a company that specializes in abatement of environmental problems and ask them.
My personal opinion, with no cites to back it up, is to get far away from this deal. My and my family's health is more important than a freezer at any price.
I agree with Gary; I wouldn't even try to use that freezer for anything except what it's been used for. Many years ago, a neighbor unplugged his freezer in the garage in order to plug in a little air compressor he had borrowed from me. He forgot to plug the freezer back in when he finished with the air compressor. Naturally, meat spoiled. When they finally got it all cleaned out, they moved the freezer out onto the driveway, washed out the interior with a garden hose, tried cleaning it with vinegar, replaced the rubber gasket around the door (or lid, since it was a chest type), left it sitting outside with the lid open for many days, tried putting charcoal in it to absorb the odor, and after 2 or 3 weeks, called someone to haul it off. [img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img] There was no way they were going to ever get rid of that odor.
[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Here is a freezer story for the books. ...... Our kids bought a Victorian last March that had been sitting empty for sixteen months. It had a refrigerator-freezer in the kitchen that had been without electricity for sixteen months. In the fridge was a package of SHRIMP. When they opened the door the smell almost knocked the kids over; we thought the fridge was junk for sure, but they decided to try ONE THING that a buddy told them about, which was taking a large tube of CREST TOOTHPAST; slitting it open and laying it out the middle shelf of the fridge like a book with a tiny fan blowing across it. It took the smell out in just two days by some miracle of science. We cleaned the heck out of the entire box; I added some much needed R-134, and since then the box has been performing flawlessly with no after smell. [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]
I've never heard of that one before! [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pretty good if it works.
Whenever I cler the inside of our refrigerator I use a dilute Pure Vanilla Extract Solution - seems to clean and deoderize.
Can't attest to its usefulness for pesticide odors, however.
I'd first see if the inner lining of the box can be removed and do so if able. Then clean everything left and replace the liner after cleaning it on both sides. If it isn't removable I'd clean the inside and remove the rubber gasket.
Next I'd sand the entire inside of the freezer and paint it with at least two coats of two part epoxy paint to seal it. Let it cure and then see if you wasted your time and money or sealed in all volatile components of the previous contents. If successful then replace the rubber door gasket. If not successful you have a compressor that will make a decent vacuum pump and a safe storage box for flammable stuff like paint, thinner, solvents and such.
Pat