Introduction
No one wants a smelly fridge. The smell contaminates other items, and the problem gets worse if left alone. The same thing happens when the fridge is broken, and ingredients spread a foul smell after going stale. If you’re in the same situation, you can search for “refrigerator repair near me” and hire a professional to get it fixed. However, before that, you need to get rid of the smell, and here’s how.
The Details
- Baking soda – Baking soda is an extremely useful household item that helps you do many things, from cleaning to getting rid of bad smells. Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate that’s a very weak base. However, at times, it can also work as an acid. The foul smell in your refrigerator is caused by food that has gone stale and has a microbial colony or fungi growing in it.
The smell is released by microscopic particles floating around in your fridge. When you put a bowl of baking soda inside your refrigerator, those particles get something else to bond to. Moreover, baking soda can act as both a base and an acid and after the food particles come in contact with it, they get neutralized, and the odor is not there anymore.
If keeping a bowl of baking soda inside the fridge overnight doesn’t entirely get rid of the smell, then you need to wash the interiors of the fridge with baking soda. Sprinkle baking soda inside the refrigerator’s interior surface and let it sit there overnight. Make sure to remove all ingredients from the refrigerator before you sprinkle baking soda. After the baking soda sits on the surface and collects all the bad odor, you can rinse the refrigerator with warm water and let it dry off.
- Vinegar – Vinegar works wonders for getting rid of smells. It can be used to get rid of both diffused odors and surface odors. Fill up large bowls with undiluted white vinegar and place them inside the refrigerator. Keep the bowls inside the fridge and let them sit overnight. On the next day, get rid of the old vinegar and fill them up again with undiluted vinegar and let them sit for around a day or two to entirely get rid of any lingering foul odor.
You can also clean the interior of the fridge with vinegar to make sure that you get rid of all odor-creating contaminants from the surfaces. To do that, add equal parts of water and vinegar to the bowl and dampen a clean microfiber cloth with that solution. Use it to wipe down the interior surfaces of the refrigerator and let it sit there for several hours. After that, you can wipe it off with a dry and clean cloth. If you want your refrigerator to smell fresh, you can also add lemon juice to that solution.
- Oatmeal – Most people don’t expect to find actual food when they read such odor cleaning lists. However, oatmeal is so effective at its job, that people swear by it. Apart from being great at absorbing oil, oatmeal is also amazing at absorbing all kinds of nasty smells from enclosed spaces. Open up a can of uncooked oatmeal, pour a substantial amount into a bowl, and let it sit inside the fridge overnight.
Make sure to use unflavored and uncooked oatmeal. Otherwise, the old smell would be replaced by a less nasty smell. By morning, the oatmeal would suck up all the odor and completely neutralize all kinds of foul smells inside the refrigerator. Now you can throw those nasty oats in the trash or use them to clean your greasy cast iron skillet.
- Lemons – As mentioned above, lemons can make things smell fresh. They contain citric acid and a strong and sour smell that cleanses the air of offensive smells and adds a zesty aroma. When you combine lemon with vinegar, you double their power while retaining the fresh citrusy lemon smell.
There are two ways of using lemon inside the fridge to get rid of bad odor and you can try out both. Cut a couple of lemons into thin slices and put them in a tray inside the fridge overnight. By the morning, the nasty smell would disappear completely. You can also make a lemon refresher to keep your fridge smelling fresh all the time.
To do that, you need to wash the lemon rind thoroughly and then cut it into quarters. Add them to a bowl of water and boil on a stovetop. After the water boils for a minute or two, strain the hot lemon solution into a bowl and mix in half a cup of baking soda. Keep whisking the baking soda till it dissolves entirely. After the solution cools down, you can transfer it to a spraying bottle and use it in your refrigerator or in your room anytime you like.
- Charcoal – There are all kinds of charcoal available on the market. You can buy filter charcoal for your aquarium or briquettes for barbecues. However, activated charcoal is the best choice to get rid of those nasty odors from your fridge. It’s the same kind that’s used in toothbrushes, toothpaste, and skincare products.
Activated charcoal goes through a chemical or heat process to become extremely porous. Just a spoonful has enough pores to cover an entire football field when laid flat. All those pores are great at attracting and trapping nasty odors. Place a few pellets of activated charcoal in a fabric bag and keep it inside the fridge overnight. When you wake up the next day, you won’t smell anything horrible when you open the refrigerator door.
Conclusion
Foul smells in the refrigerator can worsen with time since it’s a closed and insulated environment and there’s no ventilation. That’s why you need to quickly transfer items from the fridge to an icebox or cooler quickly if your refrigerator stops working. After that, you can search for “refrigerator repair near me” and hire a pro to fix it for you.
