12 ways to get rid of smell in your refrigerator

General washing

The first and main way to start is to thoroughly wash the refrigerator. Without it, even the best odor absorbers will only get rid of the consequences, and not the problem itself. Unplug the refrigerator, put out and at the same time review the products, put them in a cooler bag or on the balcony.

Use a soft sponge to wash all the walls, remove and wash the shelves with the tray, clean the joints and seals with a brush. You can use regular soap solution or special detergents (delicate and without abrasives). Dry everything thoroughly and wipe with dry towels so that no water remains anywhere in the corners.

Photo: design-homes.ru

Ways to eliminate odor

Before looking for how to remove odor from your refrigerator at home, clean it. This is the first and most important thing that any housewife should do to destroy amber. Even with the help of special items that absorb stench, you will not be able to get rid of bad odors unless you clean the unit itself. We eliminate the causes of odor in the following sequence:

1. Unplug the device from the outlet.
2. Free him from food.
3. Wash the refrigerator cabinet. For this, arm yourself with ordinary soap or special chemicals, or wipe the equipment with vinegar.
4. Dry everything.

If after this it still smells, then you should wash the unit again, but with special products. For example, this can be done using vinegar and water. Or use special detergents for such cases.

Cleaning the refrigeration unit

Decide how to fix your particular problem based on what caused it. Next we will tell you about the best recipes that will help eliminate unpleasant odors.

Folk remedies

Folk remedies should be used first when you are looking for a way to remove an unpleasant odor from the refrigerator. They are suitable if the pollution is not advanced. This is an excellent alternative to chemicals, the use of which should be used only in the most difficult cases. Among the best folk remedies:

1. Vinegar. The strong aroma can be removed with vinegar. Dilute it half and half with water and completely wipe all shelves and walls. Then leave the doors open until the aroma dissipates.
2. Vodka and lemon juice . Mix the ingredients 10 to 1. Or dilute a little lemon juice in a liter of water. Citrus fruits will help consolidate the results. Take a few pieces of the peel of any fruit and put it in the refrigerator.
3. Ammonia . Mix a spoonful of ammonia in a liter of water and wash the refrigerator with the resulting solution. This is a rather aromatic mixture, so then you need to rinse it with warm water.
4. Potassium permanganate . It will be a wonderful solution if the stench is caused by meat or eggs.
5. Baking soda . Dissolve 2 tablespoons in one liter of water. And wash all the walls well. And just dry soda in a plate can absorb bad odors. Calcined water works just as effectively. You need a mixture of clean water and soda ash. In addition to the smell, it will help deal with dirt and rust.
6. Soap emulsion . Grate the laundry soap, dissolve it in warm water and treat the refrigerator well. Then rinse everything with plain water.

These solutions will help get rid of the unpleasant odor. Toothpaste, which should be applied to the walls and then washed off, will remove the odor well. In the same way, you can use a solution of ammonia and tooth powder. If you wash the refrigerator with hydrogen peroxide and liquid soap, you can kill germs, and the smell afterward will not be too strong.

Traditional methods

For those severely affected by an unpleasant aroma, onions will help. They need to rub the walls, and after 12 hours, wash the refrigerator.

And to prevent its occurrence, you can secure the refrigerator, for example, with coal. Crush a little coal on a plate and place it on one of the shelves or a little on everything. Prevention of unpleasant odors can also be done with a cup of coffee or coffee grounds, black bread, rice, essential oil, chopped raw potatoes or apples, pomegranate peels, tea bags, a cup of tea, fragrant plants, as well as dry aromatic spices: turmeric, basil, cloves or cinnamon.

You may also find it useful:

• Ground coffee in a bowl is an excellent absorbent. It should also be placed on one of the refrigerator shelves.
• A paste of ground cinnamon and vinegar in a special container with a lid that has holes in it can fight odors for a long time.
• Pour 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract into a plate and throw in a few cotton balls.
• For the same purposes, you can use cat litter or shoe bags with silica gel. Five bags are enough for a small household refrigerator. After six months they should be replaced with new ones.
• You can eliminate extraneous aroma using salt and sugar. They should be left overnight in a cleaned refrigerator. It's not very effective, but it's accessible.
• Place a piece of crumpled construction paper in the lower vegetable storage tray. It will help keep it fresh.
• Try to remove the smell with antibacterial wipes, which every lady has in her purse.

Natural odor neutralizers

Natural neutralizers will become indispensable in eliminating stench; at the same time, they do not contain chemicals and, accordingly, are not harmful to health. But thanks to them, you are guaranteed a pleasant aroma from the refrigerator. These, as mentioned above, include coffee, bread, essential oils, potatoes, citrus peels, tea and spices.

Choose an odor neutralizer based on the scent you like best. If you are delighted with cinnamon, be sure to try making a paste from it and leave it in the refrigerator.

The use of odor neutralizers will help prevent the appearance of stench. Thanks to them, this problem will arise less often or disappear altogether. But do not forget that the neutralizer you choose must be changed regularly. Otherwise, it will erode and stop working.

Natural neutralizers

Try removing the smell in the refrigerator using different neutralizers. Over time, you will choose the one that you like the most and decide which one is the most effective. Even those remedies that may seem strange are worth trying. Perhaps they are the ones who will best cope with your problem.

However, if the smell is too strong or has been present in your refrigerator for a long time, then getting rid of it will not be so easy. And you just need to use specialized detergents. They, of course, are not so safe, but they will very effectively eliminate even stubborn odors. And don't forget that it's not just food that can cause stink. If the neutralizers do not work, check that everything is working properly on your unit.

Store-bought detergents and aroma absorbers

Do folk remedies not give the desired result and do not help eliminate the smell? Specially developed commercial detergents will come to the rescue. They are non-toxic and there are plenty of them already available. For example, to eliminate odor, try using OdorGone, an environmentally friendly water-based detergent. In half a day, it will deal with all harmful bacteria and utilize the most persistent odors.

A good product is Indesit for refrigerators. It is sprayed inside and immediately washed off with clean water.

The Top House spray and wipe set is universal for combating dirt and germs. It perfectly absorbs foul odors.

Clean Home Gel is one of the safest products. It consists mainly of peroxide. You don't even need to rinse it off after use.

Safe Clean Home

Various aroma absorbers also work effectively. They just need to be put on shelves, and the problem will disappear. The most popular absorbers include:

1. Silica gel balls. In addition to fighting odor, they also absorb excess moisture.
2. Egg-shaped absorbers. They are able to absorb the most persistent odors.
3. Device with carbon filters. They need to be changed every few months.
4. Gel. It absorbs and eliminates odors twice as fast as other products.
5. Ionizer. This item has a high price. But it was invented not only to eliminate the stench, but also to disinfect the air and stop rotting. It is effective provided that it is placed in the refrigerator for a few minutes every day.

Vinegar

Dilute vinegar and half-and-half water and wipe all surfaces after washing them with soap. To protect your hands from the aggressive solution, wear household gloves. After treatment, open the windows in the kitchen and dry the refrigerator with the door open so that the characteristic sharp vinegar smell goes away.

Photo: holodilki.com

Little tricks

Modern freezers are high-tech and capricious devices that are exposed to various chemical elements.

For each refrigerator model, you need to select a sorbent individually, since the elements included in the product can cause damage to the unit. The freezer parts are made of food-grade plastic, which actively absorbs the aroma of hydrogen sulfide.

Note! If all the methods used to combat the unpleasant odor turned out to be ineffective and did not eliminate the problem, we can draw conclusions about the entry of microorganisms into the refrigerator. In such a situation, you should call a specialist who will replace the thermal insulation.

If a stench has spread throughout the kitchen, you need to follow the same algorithm as when cleaning the refrigerator, but on the scale of the entire room.

Any disinfectant is suitable for washing windows, walls and cabinets, and the floor must be washed with a chlorine solution or any sorbent purchased at a household goods store.

Be sure to read:

Where you can and cannot place a microwave oven in the kitchen, rules for installing a microwave oven

In order for the smell to completely disappear, it is recommended to place the freezer along with all sources of aroma on the balcony or take it outside.

To freshen the air after all stages of cleaning, it is advisable to resort to a little trick: turn on the burner on the gas stove for a certain period of time.

After its surface is hot, you need to cut off a piece of peel from a lemon or orange and put it on the burner.

Ammonia

Ammonia destroys bacteria, removes odors and washes away remaining stains. To make a solution, pour a spoonful of ammonia into a liter of water and mix. Soak a sponge in the liquid, wipe the entire contents of the refrigerator and ventilate.

Photo: tehnopomosh.com

How to get rid of cockroaches: the best folk remedies

Lemon acid

Citric acid is a more pleasant cleaning and antibacterial agent without such a strong odor as vinegar or ammonia. Dilute a spoonful of powder or a few tablespoons of lemon juice per liter of water. You can add a little regular alcohol.

Dip a sponge in the solution and wipe all surfaces of the refrigerator, and to consolidate the result, you can go over it with fresh zest. Or use a spray bottle to spray.

Photo: girldaily.com

Salt

Place a cup of kitchen salt in the far corner of the refrigerator for several weeks. You can pour half a spoon of lemon juice on top or add a couple of drops of essential oils. For example, citrus or tea tree (an excellent natural antiseptic).

Photo: poleznii-site.ru

How to get rid of the smell of cat urine in the apartment?

Freezer care

We store products not only in the refrigerator; long-term storage is carried out in a special chamber with lower temperatures - in the freezer. Unfortunately, power outages can cause the contents to defrost, spoil, and hence an uninvited guest - a rotten smell. The problem must be solved immediately, without waiting for the unbearable aroma. Please note that the chamber must be completely defrosted before processing. Hard-to-reach places should be cleaned especially carefully, as remnants of defrosted meat juice or berries could have accumulated there.

Activated carbon

It also removes unpleasant odors in the refrigerator and ordinary activated carbon, which must first be crushed and calcined in the oven. You will need about 10-20 tablets, which you need to pour into a plate or on parchment. Place the powder in the refrigerator for 2-3 days and repeat the procedure every 3-4 weeks. There are ready-made store-bought coal absorbers in the form of balls or bags.

Photo: everything.kz

How to get rid of bedbugs at home

Features of cleaning different models

Hygiene measures for the refrigerator compartment may vary depending on the model of the device. Moreover, newly purchased refrigerators must also be treated, even if a specific aroma is not felt from them.

No Frost System

No Frost is a special freezing system that eliminates the formation of ice on the walls of the freezer. This effect is achieved through innovative ventilation technology that prevents the growth of condensate. A No Frost refrigerator does not require periodic defrosting, but an unpleasant odor is a common occurrence for such devices .

The problem is caused by the condensate tray, which serves as a breeding ground for bacteria and a source of harmful fumes. The situation is aggravated by the fact that access to the tray is often difficult, and to clean it it is necessary to dismantle the back wall of the refrigerator.

The system requires periodic disinfection - approximately twice a year. To disinfect surfaces, you can use whiteness . It is diluted with water in a ratio of 1 to 10, a soft cloth or sponge is dipped into the resulting solution and all accessible areas are wiped.

Particular attention is paid to shelves, corners, and areas with mold - they are moistened with the solution and left for 10-15 minutes, after which they are wiped with a cloth.

Using a vacuum cleaner or a narrow long brush, clean the condenser located on the rear wall from dust. The drain hole, which often causes an unpleasant odor, is cleaned using a medical bulb or syringe, pouring water directly into the channel.

Regular models

Traditional models of refrigeration devices should be maintained according to the instructions. It must indicate the frequency of treatment and indicate the permitted cleaning products. For washing, it is recommended to use a soft cloth or dishwashing sponge .

Using detergent, clean all walls and shelves, moving from top to bottom. Particular attention will have to be paid to the door, small trays and containers where dirt and food debris accumulate the most. Armed with an old toothbrush, clean the rubber seal.

Important! Do not wash the door seal with vinegar or acids. If the elastic band has lost its elasticity, you can treat it with vegetable oil.

When the dirt has been removed, wipe all surfaces dry and leave the refrigerator open until completely dry. If the smell does not go away after washing, a variety of remedies and recipes will come to the rescue, which will be discussed below.

Paper and newspapers

You can get rid of the smell in the lower trays of the refrigerator with crumpled newspaper balls. The main thing is to regularly throw them away and put in new ones at least once a week. This is a very simple and affordable way to remove the musty smell and at the same time forget about dampness!

Photo: everydaycheapskate.com

Did you like the post? Subscribe to our channel in Yandex.Zen, it really helps us in our development!