Does your refrigerator look and smell like bad horror movie prop, which if opened will wake up a man eating creature? Refrigerators, if not taken care of, can start giving out a foul odor that can make you lose your appetite, every time you open it. Whether it is a month’s old stock of cheese, left over tuna or meat from the previous week’s dinner party or some spoiled food, the lingering smell can turn you off instantly, so much so that you would never want to open the refrigerator ever again. Refrigerators require regular cleaning and washing sessions, which if not provided can lead to spreading of the foul smell. The main problem that one usually faces is to track down the source of odor. Sometimes, even if the source is spotted and taken care of, there might be some odor that might just stay to taunt you every time you open your fridge. If you too are facing a similar dilemma and don’t know what is to be done, reading through the following lines will be helpful, as we have listed below effective tips for getting rid of refrigerator odor.
Tips For Getting Rid Of Bad Refrigerator Odor
- The first step would be to remove all the food from your refrigerator. Push the defrost button in your refrigerator and put all the perishable items like meat and fish into a cooler.
- While you have kept the refrigerator in the defrosting mode, sort out the food items. Keep the items that are fresh and can last for a few hours without refrigeration. Throw away the items that are already spoiled or are in the verge of spoiling.
- Once the fridge has been defrosted completely, unplug it. Pull out the removable trays and dip them in a soapy solution. Using a sponge, clean the dirt, grime and food residue from the trays.
- Dissolve little baking soda into hot water. Baking soda is an excellent deodorant and contains a unique chemical property that allows the particles to absorb the odor and other foul smell from your refrigerator.
- Using a scrubber, scrub out the entire mold, food particles and other stains on the walls of the refrigerator and deep freezer. Avoid using a scouring pad, as it could cause scratches on the fridge walls.
- Once you have removed all the stain marks from the walls of your fridge, wash the inside of the refrigerator using the warm soapy water. You can add a bit of alcohol into the soapy water, as this would help in disinfecting the refrigerator walls and food racks. Make sure to clean the rubber magnetic seal, the meat chiller and the egg racks properly.
- Once this is done, wash out the fridge and the removable parts with clear fresh water. Repeat this 2 to 3 times until the soapiness and baking soda gets removed.
- Keep the refrigerator open to dry. Once air dried, replace all the removable parts back into the fridge.
- Plug it back again and set it to the normal temperature. Neatly store the food jars and bottles as well. Make sure you do not overstuff the fridge.
Additional Tips
- Take some fresh coffee grounds and spread a layer of coffee grounds over the bottom of the cookie sheet. Place the cookie sheet full of coffee beans in the middle of your refrigerator for about a night. The pungent smell of coffee ground will eradicate any foul odor from your refrigerator.
- Activated charcoal can also be used to get rid of any kind of odor from your fridge within no time. Spread a layer of activated charcoal over the bottom of a cookie sheet. Place the cookie sheet in the refrigerator for few days, until there is no foul odor coming from the fridge.