- Throw out all spoiled or rotten food, then wipe down the entire interior of your fridge with warm, soapy water or a solution of equal parts white vinegar and warm water.
- Place a natural deodorizer like baking soda, coffee grounds, or slices of lemon in a bowl in your fridge to neutralize any smells.
- Keep your fridge at 40ºF (4.4ºC) or lower to keep food fresher for longer and place food items in airtight containers to prevent any spills or bad smells from escaping.
Cleaning Out Your Fridge
Unplug your refrigerator before you begin cleaning. For safety’s sake, always unplug your fridge before you begin cleaning the inside. Pull the plug out from whatever outlet it’s plugged into. Or, some newer models of refrigerators have an “off” button instead of a plug. Leaving your fridge plugged in can end up using a lot of electricity, so unplugging it is the best option if you don’t want to spend extra on your electric bill. If you’re conscientious about closing the door between steps in your cleaning, you can leave the fridge plugged in.
Remove all of the food items from your fridge. Go through every storage area within your fridge—shelves, drawers, and door bins—and pull out all food items. Look closely at the food and, if anything is spoiled, rotten, or emitting a bad smell, throw it into the garbage right away. For foods that are still good, place them out on your counter or put them in a cooler to keep them cold. Start and finish the entire job within 4 hours. Refrigerated foods left out for over 4 hours may spoil or become unsafe to eat.
Wash all removable shelves, bins, and other parts with soap and water. Remove all of the components of the fridge that aren’t attached to the walls, including pull-out drawers and the shelves themselves. Rinse them with warm or hot water and dishwashing soap. If the shelves are made of glass, let them warm up to room temperature before washing them with hot water to avoid them cracking or shattering. Also be sure to look underneath the pull-out drawers. Sometimes bits of food and old water can accumulate beneath the bins and emit a foul smell. Use something soft like a microfiber cloth to wash and dry the components. Make sure each part is thoroughly dried after you’re done cleaning them. Avoid using the scrubbing side of a sponge on glass or plastic since it may leave scratches.
Scrub the fridge walls and floor with a vinegar-water solution. Combine equal parts white vinegar and warm water in a bowl and mix them together. Then, use a microfiber cloth or sponge and wipe down the entire interior of your fridge. Work from top to bottom to allow any dirt or food residue to fall to the bottom to be cleaned up last. Another option is to put the vinegar solution into a spray bottle and spritz it inside your fridge. Vinegar is also an effective deodorizer and will absorb any unpleasant smells. If you don’t have white vinegar, simply add some dish soap to a bowl of warm water and use that to clean the interior of your fridge. Another option is to make a baking soda paste to scrub onto the inside of your fridge. Dissolve 1 cup (128 g) of baking soda into 1 gallon (3.8 L) of warm water, then use a sponge or microfiber cloth to apply it to the fridge’s walls and floor.
Clean any food scraps from the drip pan under the fridge. The drip pan is a thin plastic tray that clips into place beneath the bottom of the refrigerator. Remove the drip pan from beneath the doors, carefully pull it out, and dump the contents into the garbage. Then, use soapy water or a vinegar-water solution (equal parts white vinegar and warm water) to scrub the pan clean. The exact location of the drip pan and the method used to access it can differ for each refrigerator model. Consult your appliance’s manual to see how to access this pan and remove it for cleaning. Not all refrigerator models have a drip pan. Even if you don’t have a drip pan, take the time to scrub the bottom of the fridge thoroughly. Once you’ve finished cleaning everything, leave the refrigerator door open and air out the interior for at least 15 minutes.
Deodorizing the Fridge
Keep an open container of baking soda on a back shelf. Baking soda has no smell itself, and it’s great at absorbing and neutralizing other aromas. Keep an open box of baking soda in your fridge for a few days. When you notice any unpleasant smells starting to emerge, toss that baking soda out and replace it with another box. If your fridge smells especially bad and you’d like to absorb a great deal of odor at once, pour out a full box of baking soda across a baking sheet and leave it in the refrigerator overnight.
Place coffee grounds on the shelves. Coffee grounds can also successfully absorb unpleasant odors thanks to the nitrogen in them. Spread dry, fresh coffee grounds across a baking sheet or pour them into a bowl and place them on a shelf in your fridge. The smells should leave within 3–4 days. If you’re using used coffee grounds, spread them out on a baking sheet to dry them out completely before placing them inside your refrigerator.
Use sliced lemons and lemon juice to add a fresh scent. The citric acid in lemons helps get rid of smelly odors while also masking them with a fresh scent. Slice up a lemon and place the pieces on a plate in the fridge. Or, soak some cotton balls in lemon juice and place them in the fridge to do their magic. Leave the lemons or lemon-soaked cotton balls in the fridge for at least 24 hours.
Soak cotton balls in vanilla and put them in the fridge. Dip a few cotton balls into a bowl of vanilla until they’re completely soaked. Then, place them inside your refrigerator for at least 24 hours. If there are any lingering odors, repeat this process until the smell is completely gone.
Place a bowl of dry oats in the fridge and let them absorb bad odors. Oats are another type of natural odor absorber. Simply pour a few cups of dry oats into a bowl and let it sit in the fridge overnight or for a few days.
Allow a small bag of activated charcoal to absorb odors. Purchase a small bag of activated charcoal and place it near the back of your fridge. In most cases, any odors should go away within 3–4 days. Another option is to place a few pieces of activated charcoal into a plastic container or bowl and let it sit on a shelf in your fridge. Please note: A coal briquette is not the same thing as activated charcoal. Only ever use activated charcoal for odor removal purposes.
Stuff your fridge with newspaper to absorb smells. Crumple up sheets of newspaper and place them on the shelves of your fridge, in drawers, and into any compartments on the door. Any bad odors should begin to disappear within 5 or 6 days.
Preventing Bad Odors
Toss expired food weekly to prevent bad smells from accumulating. To prevent odors in the future, make it a point to look in your fridge at least once a week to remove expired food. If you find any spoiled food, toss it out right away. This preventative measure will keep foul smells from building up in the first place. One tip is to go through your fridge right before you go grocery shopping so that you can replace spoiled food with fresh items. Store fresh foods where they’re visible so they don’t spoil unnoticed. This includes things like vegetables, fruits, meats, and dairy products. As an extra precaution, make sure the expiration dates on food items are visible so that you can easily check them whenever you go into the fridge to get something.
Set the temperature in your fridge below 40ºF (4.4ºC). Keeping your fridge at this temperature or below will make it so that any place is safe for you to store food. If the temperature in your fridge rises above 40ºF (4.4ºC), bacteria will begin to grow, causing your food to spoil and smell. Avoid setting your fridge below 32ºF (0ºC) since your food will freeze at these temperatures.
Keep leftover food in airtight containers to prevent it from smelling. If you leave food uncovered in your fridge or leave it in something like a cardboard takeout box, it’s likely to spoil a lot faster. By keeping leftovers in a sealed airtight container, you’ll help them last longer and prevent foul odors from stinking up your fridge. Label each container with its contents’ expiration date. For an extensive list of how long certain types of food stay good in the fridge, check out this guide from foodsafety.gov.
Clean up spills as soon as they happen. Oftentimes, bad odors come from spilled foods or liquids that have been sitting at the bottom of your fridge for some time. If you notice any messes, clean them up right away with warm water and dish soap or a mixture of equal parts white vinegar and water. It’s also easier to clean up fresh spills than ones that have hardened and stained your fridge. Another tip is to wipe down food containers, like plastic tupperware and glass jars, and condiment bottles before placing them in the fridge. If you have containers that are prone to leaking, place something like a plastic lid or plastic bag underneath them to catch any spills and make cleanup easier.
Deep clean your fridge every 3 months. Get ahead of any bad odors by keeping a strict cleaning schedule for your refrigerator. Every 3 months, take out all of the food from your fridge and wipe down the interior with warm, soapy water or a mix of equal parts white vinegar and warm water.
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