There is nothing more off-putting than opening the door to your refrigerator only for bad odors to hit you in the face. Your first instinct will be just to slam the door back, but that would only make it worse, and at one point, you need to identify the source of the smell – if you can – and eventually clean the entire refrigerator. I will dedicate today’s post to getting rid of nasty smells in your fridge, and I can guarantee you that there is nothing complicated to do on this list.

The first thing I recommend even if it is quite challenging is to clean the entire refrigerator. Once a bad smell spreads, it can affect other foods, as well, and getting rid of the immediate source of bad smell may not be enough. When you clean your fridge, throw away all the rotten food, take out any containers that need emptying and cleaning, and then begin disassembling everything that can be taken apart, such as shelves and drawers. Scrub everything clean, and make sure that all the surfaces are properly scrubbed and rinsed. Leave the fridge with the door open, allowing it to dry. And when there are no wet spots remaining, put the fridge back together and plug it again.

 

I also highly recommend using organic solutions for cleaning your refrigerator. The problem with chemical solutions is that they tend to linger, especially their smell, and this will surely end up ruining your appetite again when you open the door to the fridge and you are welcomed by chemical smells. Also, these chemicals may creep into your food, making it not only palatable but also dangerous to eat.

 

Use natural odor removers after you clean your refrigerator, to make sure that you are taking away all the possible remaining odors. For instance, a tray with baking soda is sure to remove all the unpleasant odors you had to fight until now. There are many other natural odor removers that you can try. For instance, dried coffee grounds are known to be capable of absorbing bad smells. You can try a cup of vinegar, a bowl of oats or charcoal briquettes, since they all have the same odor-absorbing capability.

 

You can do more to prevent bad smells from happening in the first place. For instance, make sure that you keep all the fresh food somewhere you can easily see it. When it goes bad, you will notice right away, and you will be able to throw it before causing havoc in your refrigerator. Use tight seal containers for foods that tend to spill bad smells, and this way, you will be able to limit the damage.