I have had very good luck using vanilla. Just wet a dish towel with water and wring out excess. Then pour vanilla straight from the bottle onto the rag until it is wet (but not dripping). Wipe the inside of the fridge with the rag. When done, reapply vanilla water to rag and leave in the fridge overnight. This was the way Rubbermaid suggested to get odors out of an ice chest.
Baking soda works great. I add a box to my fridge and it seems to absorb odors overnight. Also I would clean the fridge with some vinegar. That helps too.
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Request: Getting Rid of Refrigerator Odors (07/22/2009)
We came home to an electrical problem. The refrigerator is full of bad food. What can I use to get rid of the foul smell? I have tried straight bleach and it still smells. Thanks.
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Request: Getting Rid of Refrigerator Odors
Archived on 07/22/2009
We came home to an electrical problem. The refrigerator is full of bad food. What can I use to get rid of the foul smell? I have tried straight bleach and it still smells. Thanks.
Mary from Hat Island, WA
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RE: Getting Rid of Refrigerator Odors
The same thing happened to our freezer a few months ago. I tried bleach, Baking soda, etc. Nothing worked. The smell was awful. The only way we got rid of the smell was to take it apart (unplug appliance first) and clean under the lid and side walls, which is a very hard job to do, but it worked. (10/01/2008)
This happened to me also. Kitty litter works great. I opened a bag and set in inside after cleaning it out. Odor gone. Hope it works the same for you. (10/01/2008)
By Sandy
RE: Getting Rid of Refrigerator Odors
Try washing it out with lemon juice. (10/01/2008)
By LIZ
RE: Getting Rid of Refrigerator Odors
When Hurricane Ike came charging through Houston. We lost some chicken that was hidden behind some less smelly things. I washed the fridge and freezer with bleach water. That didn't work so I sprayed it a couple of times, both fridge and freezer, with Febreze. We were without power for a few days after that so before the power came back on the Febreze "flavor" had dissipated. (10/01/2008)
This old remedy has worked great for years. Get a box of baking soda and expose the powder to the air, preferably near the fan. It won't take long to have all the odors disappear. (10/01/2008)
Baking soda is way overrated. Get some fresh oranges, slice them into fourths, and put them inside the fridge, while leaving the doors open. Oranges will absorb odors and cover them, far faster than Baking soda ever will.
And it's far safer than using bleach in the fridge, yikes. (10/02/2008)
Don't forget about placing charcoal briquettes (activated charcoal might be better, get it at pet/aquarium supply shop) in the fridge. It's innocuous like Baking soda (meaning it doesn't leave vile odors behind). (10/02/2008)
I used to work next to a refrigerator technician. When a fridge or freezer came in to the shop with bad odors from spoiled food or whatever, this is what they did. They first washed out the fridge and then they crumpled up a lot of newspapers and put them inside. Close the door and leave for several days. The newspaper would absorb the odors. It worked for them. (10/02/2008)
Try some of the ideas above, but I swear by the small container of water, mix in soda to make a paste and then put into larger bucket with 2 cups of vinegar and wash it down. The paste you made can be spread of the walls of the appliance, and washed off later. I set small containers of soda/vinegar in many places. Make sure they are kid/pet safe areas and careful not to make the volcano mess when putting the ingredients together. (10/02/2008)
