Are you guilty of leaving spoiled food inside the confinement of your refrigerator for way longer than the expiration date? If you do, your most likely not alone. Cleaning out the refrigerator is often a cleaning routine that is not performed as regularly as needed, with some homeowners only sporadically attempting to clean their fridge once the odors and food starts to pile up inside of this appliance. From old takeout food, to leftover dinners, and even the expired coffee creamer and cheeses stuck in the back of the fridge, all of these spoiled foods can contribute to a full-strength odor that will leave you running for the cleaning supplies to do a deep cleaning of the inside of this appliance. When it comes to cleaning your refrigerator, there are many go-to cleaning methods that people will gravitate towards to clean this item, such as baking soda, vinegar, and even bleach. However, do these popular cleaning products work to clean and deodorize the interior of your refrigerator from food odors and other undesirable smells? In this article we are going to discuss the best fridge cleaning and deodorizing tips and learn what cleaning product works best to rid the smells from inside your refrigerator completely!

My Refrigerator Smells!

Whoa, the odor when you open the doors of your refrigerator is absolutely rancid, enough to make you quickly shut the doors to end the smell from entering into the rest of your home. This may be the final sign that your fridge NEEDS a thorough deep cleaning, and NOW! A deep cleaning of your fridge will require the removal of all items in this appliance, including food products, condiments, drinks, and even removing the shelving inside your fridge so that you can effectively clean each area that has been impacted by the food odors. While you do this fridge deep cleaning it will be important to note which foods are the key culprits behind the strong odors swirling within this small, confined area. There are certain foods that really pack the odor punch, and when they are left in your refrigerator for longer than their intended shelf-life, the odors can be robust and difficult to expel from the inside of the appliance. The foods that are the known to have some of the strongest aromas include red meats, anything cooked in curry/cumin, garlic, asparagus, and cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cabbage, brussels sprouts).

Why Does My Fridge Smell?

The reason behind why your fridge smells can be from a multitude of things such as the food housed within the fridge, spills or leaks from food, and even bacteria and molds that can develop inside the appliance over time. When bacteria and mold begin to form in your refrigerator, this will be due to moisture that is released into the fridge from spilled food, condensation from the fridge, and humidity from the outside environment. Once moisture intrusion enters into the refrigerator it will allow for microbes to start multiplying. Microbes are a microorganism such as bacterium, viruses, and germs that can easily multiply in the environment and take over any space that they can effortlessly spread to. When these microbe’s buildup in a fridge they will release and emit a strong odor into the fridge that will clearly be detectable to the human nose.

What to Clean Fridge With

When it comes to cleaning the inside of your kitchen, including drawers, shelving, and even the compartments for the condiments, you may be wondering what the best cleaning products is to use inside of your fridge. Some kitchen cleaning products can be pretty strong, and utilize chemicals that kill common kitchen germs, but these cleaners are fairly threatening, especially when used in your refrigerator where food is kept. These chemicals should not come directly into contact with food, and if used in your refrigerator it should be properly removed before placing the food pack into the appliance. Additionally, the use of disinfectant products should also be avoided within a refrigerator. Disinfectant cleaning products are packed full of chemicals that can be dangerous to human health, especially if ingested when the chemicals spread onto food that we eat. That is why you should never apply bleach into your fridge, and alternatively use products that do not contain harsh chemicals that can affect human health such as dish soap.

Why Put Baking Soda in Fridge?

After you clean your refrigerator, there can still be lingering odors that can hang in the air of your fridge including food odors and even chemical odors left behind from your deep cleaning. When it comes to odors in your refrigerator, most people will turn to the popular method of adding a pack of baking soda to their fridge to deodorize the residual funk floating in the air. Baking soda is made using sodium bicarbonate, a weak base that can act as an acid depending on what it comes into contact with including the smells lingering in your fridge. It has been found that by storing an opened box of baking soda in your refrigerator and even in your freezer, it will help eliminate odors within the environment. They recommend that you replace this box of baking soda every three months, and maybe even sooner depending on the odors in this confined environment.

Does Baking Soda in Refrigerator Remove Odors?

As we discussed earlier, baking soda contains sodium bicarbonate, which is a weak base that can act as an acid depending on what it comes into contact with, helping to neutralize odors upon contact. Typically, the smells in a refrigerator are composed of food particles that will float in the air and will have the potential to settle onto other food and meals you have stored in the fridge. The baking soda box will help give those smelly particles something to settle onto rather than the other food in this appliance. Although baking soda is an easily applied deodorizer for your refrigerator, it is not the most effective solution for odor removal. This form of deodorization needs to be replaced every three months, or even sooner depending on the odors that are present within the appliance. Whereas other deodorizers can last longer and fight a broad spectrum of odors, such as those produce in a fridge.

Best Method to Remove Smell from Fridge

The process of deodorizing odors can be easy, with the help of an effective technology that is proven to eradicate not only one odor but a broad spectrum of odors that you can encounter throughout your personal indoor environment. OdorKlenz® is a versatile cleaner and deodorizer the works on a variety of places in the home and attacks a wide array of odors that can be obtained in these environments, including in your home’s refrigerator. OdorKlenz® utilizes a patented earth mineral technology that addresses noxious odor and chemical on both surfaces and the air of your home, while not using any chemicals, masking agents, or toxic compounds in their products. The OdorKlenz® Deodorizing Block utilizes the OdorKlenz advanced odor neutralizing technology to remove odors from its surroundings. The Deodorizer black can be placed in areas to deodorize both safely and effectively, including in bathrooms, small closets, pet area, and even refrigerators to combat offending odors. This effective deodorizing block will help expel the following from your indoor environment;

• Helps with excessive moisture
• Made with a high surface area earth minerals that are enhanced for the breakdown of the chemicals behind the odor
• Fragrance and allergen free
• Works in most environments
• More neutralization and chemical mechanism capabilities than charcoal, carbon and baking soda absorbers

Deodorizer Block

$12.99

✓ Made with high surface area earth minerals that are enhanced for the breakdown of the chemicals behind the odor

✓ Fragrance and allergen free

✓ Neutralizes unpleasant odors from bathrooms, small closets, gym/duffel bags, pet areas, storage containers, fridges, and more!

✓ More neutralization and chemical mechanisms capabilities than charcoal, carbon, and baking soda absorbers