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Post by comingclean on Jun 8, 2008 17:50:34 GMT -5
ok -- here's the public service announcement. the following is GROSS.... if you have a weak stomach please change the channel  We've had flies that suddenly developed in the kitchen last week -- has been driving me nuts cause i couldn't figure out where they were coming from. Found out where they were coming from..... the potato drawer.... which hasn't been opened since February..... when i bought 50 lbs. of potatoes. So guess what was in there..... about 30 lbs of liquified potatoes... and maggots. Apparently iwas running a fly nursery in there and didn't know it. Sooooooo gross. I covered my hand in a plastic grocery bag and emptied the drawer.... well, it took several grocery bags. and I emptied everything into a kitchen trash bag, tied it up and put it out in the can. i pulled the drawer out and wiped the floor underneath (liquid potatoes underneath....eww) and sprayed out the inside of the drawer with a bleach spray. Still need to clean out the maggot carcases from the drawer.... big ewwww. Sorry about the gross level here. I just had to share. I hated doing it...i put off opening the drawer for two days....  I knew you all would be able to understand.  |
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Post by onwardandupward on Jun 8, 2008 17:56:43 GMT -5
Been there, done that. Ewwww.
Good luck!
onward
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troubledmom
New Member
Put one foot in front of the other and soon......
Joined: June 2008
Posts: 26 
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Post by troubledmom on Jun 8, 2008 18:07:26 GMT -5
 Ya did good ComingClean!!!! |
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Post by glowworm on Jun 8, 2008 19:53:08 GMT -5
Great job, getting that stuff cleaned up!
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Post by crazycatlady on Jun 8, 2008 20:31:29 GMT -5
That IS very gross! And so amazing that you did it! Let us know when you get the rest of the mess cleaned up.
And why do they make such a drawer without a lift out, cleanable base?
Isn't it wonderful to have someplace to talk about such "hurdles", where others really understand? 
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Post by CrimsonKat on Jun 8, 2008 23:56:51 GMT -5
I had to laugh when I read your post. Not at you. At myself. About a year or so ago, we started getting these little flies in our kitchen. For the life of us, we couldn't figure out why. My kitchen was pretty clean at the time, so I was so confused. It turns out that while I was trying to clean up about a month or so before, I had put a 5 lb. bag of potatoes on the bottom shelf of my pantry and forgot all about it. I finally figured it out because I was so sick of the flies that I decided to go through the whole kitchen inch by inch, cleaning every single bit of it, and there is was, way back on the bottom shelf. We cleaned it up and we were actually very relieved to finally know what the heck was happening. I never made that mistake again. I keep my potatoes in plain sight so I can keep track of them! Yay for you cleaning it up.  |
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Post by reesa on Jun 9, 2008 5:43:53 GMT -5
I've SO been there too. Good for you getting it cleaned up!!!
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Post by ramatama on Jun 9, 2008 6:05:52 GMT -5
 i know just how gross that can be! ( btdt ) |
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Post by Moodle on Jun 9, 2008 6:52:54 GMT -5
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Post by fluffernut - now Jannie on Jun 9, 2008 8:33:27 GMT -5
Congratulations on finding the cause of the odor and removing it! Another thing that really can stink is rotted tomatoes. A few times,I've left green tomatoes on my kitchen counter to ripen and they went too far, a liquid stinking mess underneath! Anyway, woohoo for getting the rotted stuff out!
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Post by canna on Jun 9, 2008 12:32:53 GMT -5
Comingclean
That was gross but your story is a little funny too. 
I remember in my old house there was one of those old fashioned deep "bins" made of tin. Really a drawer for storage with wooden front and handle but big tin "boxy" bin. Guess they don't make those anymore.
This was in the corner under the counter. I forgot about a few potatoes too. But suddenly, the smell one day. Funny there were not little flies.
But opening the drawer, ick. There was no real liquid, just a little, but the potatoes were moldy. They had also sprouted!! The sprouted potato "plants" were sooo wierd looking. Big long "branches" greenish white-yellow color. With whitish green leaves. Plants were probably searching for light in that closed bin. They were the strangest looking plants alien looking. They were also partly moldy too. I couln't believe it when I saw that. It was funny but gross. Embarrasing that they were just forgotten. Took a large white garbage bag to stuff that in. And lots of scrubbing of the bin. After that, NO veggies of anykind were allowed in there.
ALSO: Potato peelings are horrible for garbage disposals. My sister peeled a LOT of potatoes one day before a party. Just thought she could run the disposal with that large pile of peelings and send them down the drain. Mistake. The whole disposal jammed; couldn't handle it. Extreme sludge! And, backed up sludge water. And clogged a pipe. Plumber called. It was that bad. We learned. What a m e s s that was.
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Post by heylady1 on Jun 9, 2008 13:51:52 GMT -5
I hate stuff like that! Ewwww..... Never had potatoes do that but I have had strawberries go mushy when I forgot them in the fridge for awhile (okay a long time but hey). Not only do they get all liquified on the bottom and the mold but you get that sticky sweet rotten smell with them too.  Good for you on cleaning that up!!  |
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Post by mouse on Jun 9, 2008 20:04:05 GMT -5
My sympathies. I have Been There, Done That, Been Too Embarrassed To Get The T-Shirt.  Different food, but there were maggots and flies involved. Mega-gross. Congrats for dealing with it with courage and aplomb! ~Mouse |
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Post by SueDonym on Jun 9, 2008 21:52:38 GMT -5
When I was at my worst, I lost a bag of potatoes I brought home from the grocery store because I put other stuff on top of it. Weeks went by, and I didn't know where the flies were coming from. They actually finished feasting on the potatoes before I ever found the petrified remains, and a black circle about 18 inches in diameter on my hardwood floor.
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Post by reesa on Jun 10, 2008 6:40:59 GMT -5
I have a garden right now. I throw all my potatoes out onto the compost heap or into this one mound of dirt when they start to get bad, now. They grow into huge potato plants, I haven't bought a potato in about six months because they just keep growing for me instead. I always had the rotten drawer too until I discovered this...amazing what you find out when you move out of the city |
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