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My freezer has been giving me trouble. There’s a thick coating of ice inside and it seems to have a strange smell to it. Any ideas on what could be done to alleviate this problem and prevent a reoccurrence?

Sam in San Antonio, Texas

 Dear Sam,

Sounds to me like the freezer just needs a good defrost and deodorizing session to make it good as new.

To Defrost: Turn off your freezer and put all the frozen items into a cooler. Next, you can either put a pan of hot water inside and close the door, checking back on it every 15 minutes or so or just leave the door open and wait for the ice to melt. When the ice begins melting, pick out the ice pieces and discard them in your sink.

To Deodorize: To get that nasty freezer smell out, mix 4 tablespoons of baking soda with one quart of warm water and wipe the freezer clean. Be sure to rinse and dry it thoroughly so ice won’t reform when you turn it back on.