Why Does My Fridge Smell Bad?

Everyone is familiar with that strong and stinky fart or that strong and nasty blue cheese smell. Well, what if your fridge is giving off a similar smell?

If you are being hit with an unpleasant odor when you open your refrigerator door, read on to find out the possible causes for this issue and how to resolve them.

Your Refrigerator Is Dirty

Your Refrigerator Is DirtySince the pandemic, cleaning has changed and has become a long-term habit. While vacuuming, sweeping, washing dishes and dusting are some of the most common cleaning tasks, there are some hidden areas in your house that you’d probably never think about when you are cleaning and the biggest example is your refrigerator.

Many people forget that if their floors, bathrooms and kitchen counters need deep cleaning, so does their fridge. If you are going to ask, “Is it really important and necessary to clean the fridge?” then my response would be, “It’s amazing that you are still alive and kicking to ask this question,” or “you are lucky you’ve never been sick from an unclean refrigerator.”

If it’s been a lot of years since you’ve bought your fridge and you’ve never once cleaned it, well, I’m sure it will be full of hardened spills, food that’s gone off and lots of dust and dirt, and their presence is the number one cause of bad odor in your fridge.

You see, menacing microbes will live on the moisture that comes from the spilled food and through the same moisture they will multiply and thrive over the entire space of your fridge. And, once they start to increase in a huge mass, you’ll automatically detect their presence via the foul odor they’ll release. And, since plastic is known for absorbing odors and holding onto odor-causing bacteria, your kitchen is going to smell like a dumpster. But, the good news is that a deep cleaning of your fridge can get rid of that odor.

Clean With Vinegar

Clean With VinegarFor this task, vinegar is your go-to cleaning agent. If a handy vinegar all-purpose spray can eliminate musty smells from old furniture and neutralize alkaline odors, it can act as a mild disinfectant and get rid of the bad odors of your fridge.

So, mix some white vinegar with hot water and pour the mixture in a spray bottle. Let it sit for around 20-30 minutes and then start spraying and wiping it down with a clean and soft rag.

Clean With Lemon

Clean With LemonDue to their strong, astringent smells, lemons or lemon air fresheners are often used to refresh homes and impart a fresh citrus aroma. However, did you know that lemons can also be used to eliminate the bad smells of your refrigerator?

There has been some debate as to whether lemons can be powerful enough to remove odors from a fridge. Citric acid is a chelating agent that is very effective in removing mineral build upw, hard water stains and calcium deposits as well as breaking down microbes that can impart a very unpleasant smell.

So, here’s what you can do: Squeeze a few lemons and pour their juice onto a clean cloth and wipe it down the inside of your refrigerator. For more freshness, you can even take the squeezed lemon pieces, put them on a plate and place them behind the refrigerator to circulate the scent.

Use Hydrogen Peroxide

Many appliance manufacturers often recommend against using vinegar or lemons to clean the fridge as their strong scents can linger for a while. Instead, they suggest using an odor-free alternative such as hydrogen peroxide.

Spray it inside your fridge and it’ll kill all the germs that have been causing all those foul fridge smells.

How About Baking Soda?

Everyone knows how baking soda (or sodium bicarbonate) can neutralize stubborn acidic odors.

If you don’t feel like using vinegar, lemon or even hydrogen peroxide, you can still try mixing a cup of baking soda with some water and use that to clean the inside of the fridge.

 

 

 

 

 

Why Does My Fridge Smell Bad?
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