Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
How do I eliminate a smelly odor in my frig?
By Rosie
A small plate with some charcoal in it will absorb the foul odors. A piece of scrunched up newspaper will work also.
You can use a box of baking soda in the refrigerator. Just open the top of the box & place it on a shelf or on a door shelf.
We just acquired a camper that had been abandoned for the last two years. My husband opened the fridge/freezer and found that there was meat that had been left in there. The smell was horrific. We have tried bleach, Pinesol, and soap and water. Nothing seems to help at all. I don't know where else to turn nor what else to try please can you help?
By Yvette H.
Try using plain old charcoal. The kind you use to grill with. Do not get the kind that has a starting fluid in it. Place several bricks in a bowl or any container. Charcoal is an odor remover.
I put a bowl of sauerkraut in my fridge and didn't put a tight lid on it. Now my refrigerator and freezer smell like sauerkraut. What can I do to get rid of this smell? It's a side by side refrigerator/freezer. Thank-you.
By Sherry Lee Wendel from Purvis, MS
Put in a bowl of vinegar (sounds like it would hurt more, but it helps) and an open container of baking soda. Change the vinegar the next day. After a day or two it should take out the smell. They both absorb odors.
Yes. I agree. The vinegar and baking soda should work. Try wiping over with Vanilla essence/extract afterwards. Leaves the fridge smelling lovely.
I found a very moldy grapefruit in the drawer of the fridge. I noticed an odd odor and it was affecting the taste of food (butter, bread, tea, etc.). I also smell it in the freezer (side by side). Do I need to throw out all the food and clean to remove the odor/taste?
By Stacey from Douglasville, GA
I wouldn't throw away the food, but be sure to put a box of baking soda in your refrigerator to absorb the foul odor. You might need a box on each side if the smell is really bad. Try to cut the box of soda so there is a large surface area. Sometimes its a good idea to just put it in an old oleo container.
You are right to be concerned because the odor indicates there is mold growing elsewhere. You might need to clean the refrigerator. But I'd probably not throw away the food.
Good luck,
Carol in PA
I've read extensively on getting rid of fridge odors and we are at a loss of what to do. Our old fridge leaked inside and we're pretty sure that caused a lot of mildew to build up. Because the fridge leaked we wanted to get rid of it. We just got a newish fridge (parents handed it down in great condition, only a few years old). We tossed the old fridge and input the new fridge. All of our food transferred over. 2 weeks into the new fridge and the same exact smell is back. It wasn't there at first when we got the new fridge. It took two weeks to show up. We've tossed everything that could even resemble old food including condiments, beverages, everything.
We've gotten rid of labels off food items, tried baking soda, no cardboard, no more plastic containers. The smell still persists! Any solutions outside of the normal suggestions for handling fridge odors? We're really looking for the culprit. It's not the dripping, we've checked and this smell seems to have transferred from our old fridge to our new fridge. No moldy food at all. In fact we just re-stocked most everything! Any ideas or suggestions would help. Thanks.You must have mold coming up from the floor that the fridge is sitting on or in a wall adjacent to it. The smell is not transferring from one fridge to the other.
Another possibility is that the newish fridge has a problem on its own. You can try to rid the smell by tossing EVERYTHING out, nothing left in the fridge, and then washing the entire inside-this site has a complete explanation and step by step directions:
homeguides.sfgate.com/
If the smell persists after thorough cleaning, the fridge may have a biofilm on the walls and surfaces. This site explains further:
medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.../
If biofilm is the cause of the smell, it is almost impossible to remove by any cleaning method. We had this problem and had to replace our fridge and all the contents to make sure no biofilm microorganisms were carried to the new fridge.
My 8 yr old son and I have been caught up in the rioting in London. After 2.5 weeks we have been able to come home. The power was out for a long time and then came back on. The food in my freezer had defrosted, gone moldy, then refrozen when the power went back on.
I have gotten rid of the food, cleaned with Fairy liquid, then Dettol. The smell seemed to go. I put the freezer back on, but when I opened the door the smell has come back. Any suggestions for getting rid of this odour? The freezer is built in under the counter so I can't move it and can't afford to replace it.
By Alison
Hi Alison, glad you're back home safe and sound!
Here is what the USDA recommends for methods to remove odors from your freezer, plus some suggestions for what to do if you don't have success the first time.
www.fsis.usda.gov/
We have always had good luck with using fresh (un-used) coffee grounds, as mentioned in the article referenced by la34a. An open box of baking soda is also a good bet. Good luck!
When I had a similar experience I tried most of the things listed in the USDA fact sheet without much luck. My freezer was almost new so I was unwilling to part with it. I bought a 5 pound package of clay kitty litter, poked holes all over it with an icepick and put it in my freezer, closed the door for a week. When I checked it there was no more odor. Hope you can get clay kitty litter in the UK.
Good luck to you.
Try placing a small open saucer of fresh coffee inside the unit, close it and leave the coffee there for a day or two. I have found that fresh (not used) coffee will eliminate odors in refrigerators, freezers and microwave ovens. It does a much better job than baking soda.
You can also try using a small brick of charcoal, like that used for barbeques, to keep foul odors out of the refrigerator.
And too, you can put a banana with the peel pulled down, but not removed, in the unit. Suggested by a friend, I used that when some milk spilled onto the car carpet. It worked, no nasty smell.
A small bowl of white vinegar will keep a room odor free.
And last but not least, crumpled newspaper is great for stuffing shoes or other things to absorb and remove odors.
I hope one or all of my suggestions will be of some help.
I always thought washing with vinegar got rid of smells and the vinegar smell does not remain.
I have a persistent odour in my fridge. I have cleaned it top to bottom and it still seems to be there. Can I put any cleaning products down the drain inside the fridge, as it looks "gunky"?
By Pauline from Dunfermline, Fife
Use a bottle brush (like the ones available for baby bottles) to clean the drain area and pull the drain pan out from underneath the fridge and wash it. To remove the pan from underneath the fridge just pull the grate on the bottom of the front of the refrigerator off and slide the pan out.
Personally I wouldn't use any kind of chemicals to clean any refrigerator parts; only vinegar. Also, it wouldn't hurt to keep an open box of baking soda in the refrigerator in the future to help absorb odors. I keep mine in a back corner on the shelf above the vegetable crisper.
This is a page about cleaning rotten meat odors from a refrigerator. A power outage or a fridge that stops working can result in spoiled food.
ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.
My smelly fridge, has been wiped with soda powder, but still smells. I need help coming up with something more to do.
I'm looking for some magical remedy to get rid of a horrendous smell that permeated our "new" refrigerator while it was in the garage, courtesy of the previous homeowners.
I did a stupid thing and turned the fridge off and the fish thawed. Yikes, the smell is awful. What do I do now? Do I need to buy a new fridge? The stench is putrid.
How do you remove odor from a refrigerator? The power went off while we were away and the contents of the refrigerator spoiled.
I was on a 2 week vacation when my side by side refrigerator/freezer went out. When I returned I cleaned it out, but it still smells and the linoleum floor and subfloor smell of rotten blood. Help.
Recently my husband and I returned home after a few weeks away. The thermostat in our refrigerator had blown some time while we were away.
