Seconding a separate fridge. Otherwise it will continue to stink.

Anonymous wrote:Don’t eat Chinese food

Hahahahahahaha

This will sound counterintuitive, but the best deodorizer I've ever found for enclosed spaces is coffee grounds. Dry, not brewed. If you ever have a plastic or ceramic container that's retaining food or perfume odors from previous use, sprinkling coffee grounds inside, putting the lid on tight, and leaving for some time will neutralize the odor. You might try placing a couple of open containers with some coffee grounds in them in the fridge.

Don’t eat Chinese food

DH breaks it down into vacuum seal bags.

I store my kimchi jar in a Ziplock slider bag. Sometimes I will double bag it if it's a particularly strong batch. It works!

Anonymous wrote:Kimchi should be a glass jar, not plastic. Wrap jar with plastic wrap (at least the lid/crack area). Put that in a ziplock bag. I think they sell 2-3 gallon ones that are meant to brine turkeys and stuff.

This is correct. I only use a glass container, like a pickle jar.. No adding extra bag or plastic wrap, and have no smell issues. The key is using glass container with a lid that screws on airtight.

Kimchi should be a glass jar, not plastic. Wrap jar with plastic wrap (at least the lid/crack area). Put that in a ziplock bag. I think they sell 2-3 gallon ones that are meant to brine turkeys and stuff.

Hahaha I also keep in a mini fridge!

kimchee fridge

Scrub all fridge surfaces with baking soda paste (little bit of water, lot of baking soda). Then spray with white vinegar, let sit, then sponge up residue. Keep open packs of baking soda in fridge. Cleaning with hydrogen peroxide can also help, it breaks down organic matter.

Vinegar windex, air out, add open boxes of baking soda.

Use an airtight container if you’re buying it in plastic boxes. We buy small quantities and use it up quickly.

No advice, but I can report that my sister and her Korean roommate kept a separate mini-fridge just for kimchi. Possibly some insight for the future there.

How do I prevent the smell from seeping out and permeating everything? I cleaned out the whole refrigerator, sanitized surfaces, threw out anything remotely expired, and it still smells.