by Barbara Kasey Smith

Created on: October 13, 2009   Last Updated: October 14, 2009

How to remove refrigerator odors?

Do you open your refrigerator doors and the smell zaps you in the pit of your stomach? If you do, then it's time to find out where the odor is coming from. You could have some food that is playing hide and seek with you and needing to be removed or you may have neglected to cover some strong smelling dishes of food and they are begging to be tossed in the trash. In oder to keep odors at bay, it's best to clean out old foods on a regular basis and you won't run the risk of it getting bad smells into your refrigerator insulation.

*Here are a few things you can do to eliminate odors:

(1) Remove foods from your refrigerator or freezer and toss out all the old foods that have been there with molds on it for sometime.

(2) Remove all removable parts of the inside of the refrigerator and place them in a "hot" water solution of 1 to 2 tablespoonful of baking soda and as you wait for them to soak awhile, wash the inside trays of the refrigerator door and then wash the outside of the door too. Precede with washing the interior walls and other interior areas and rinse. Prop the door open to air out refrigerator.

(3) If the odor is still present, mix one cup of vinegar in a gallon of water and wash down the interior walls again and the door trays too. Rinse with water and dry all the surfaces.

(4) If your nose is still getting a whiff of an odor you can: Mix 1/2 cup chlorine bleach with one gallon of water and apply to all the surfaces again. Rinse and dry all surfaces again.

(5) If this does not cure the odor, you can place a tin of activated charcoal briquettes or a tin of cat litter inside to absorb the odors.

(6) After you feel the odor is gone, slice open the top of a box of baking soda and set it in the refrigerator until the next cleaning. Some people have had success by placing coffee grounds in a tin and leaving them inside the clean refrigerator to keep the odors at bay but I've not used this method as yet but many say it is successful.

(7) If you've had "no" success in getting the odors out of the refrigerator, the odors have probably attacked the inside refrigerator insulation, and if this has happened, you'll continue to have the odors until you have the insulation replaced.

(8) You also may want to try a commercial product to clean the refrigerator, some say, "Fridge-IT, a carbon odor absorber, is fantastic for clearing out the odors and leaving the refrigerator smelling great. Also "Odor-Away which is available by Wrap-on Co., and "Super-CD by IBL household Products." You can find these in hospital supply stores or hardware stores.

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