Refrigerator Odours...Why, What, How ?

 Ever had a bad smell in a refrigerator? It's not pleasant. Nor can it be easy to find the actual source -- it may take days.  Plus the air in a refrigerator can seemingly compound an odour. A simple odour can move throughout the interior, until the whole refrigerator smells bad. Because the air constantly circulates an odour in one area can quickly be picked up and passed throughout the interior until even the food is affected. But have patience, most refrigerator odours can be localized using your eyes and nose. It's usually an old piece of forgotten food, or an outdated carton. But, if the source evades you the following is a list of some of the most common places to look and ways to help yourself resolve this problem. 

1... Check the food
It is the primary reason for refrigerator odours. Use your nose as the smell detector. Use your hands to feel for spills. Be suspicious of any foods that feels wet or sticky

2... Check the crisper drawers and shelves
Although obvious, this is often overlooked. Remove crispers and shelves and wash thoroughly in warm soapy water. Use a soft scrub brush to get into cracks and crevices. Many metal shelves are small enough to be washed in the dishwasher. When replacing shelves don’t forget to clean the plastic supports they snap into.

3... Check glass shelves
Small liquid spills here can be transparent. Also glass shelves can be complex – requiring intricate frames. Check the undersides of frames for hidden debris.

4... Clean the door gaskets
Start at the bottom. It's a major location where food and mold accumulates. Rap a soft wet cloth around a butter knife to get in behind the gasket. Avoid pulling on gasket because it can rip.

5...  Clean the freezer section floor
It too can be an odour producer. If you see loose frozen vegetables on the freezer floor look for the source here. Carefully run your hand around the freezer interior. There may be hidden holes that are not normally visible. Loose foods can be trapped here.   

6... If odour persists try using baking soda
Spread two tablespoons of baking soda onto a saucer, and place into the refrigerator section. If the freezer is under suspicion then also place one there. The baking soda must be thinly spread to be affective – leaving it in the box will do limited work at fighting odours. Check every few days. When the surface begins to harden replace with fresh baking soda. This works well, but does require patience. Allow two or three weeks for even simple odours to subside. 

Whether or not you find the odours source always avoid any product that is sprayed into the refrigerator. This only results in the odour being masked rather than it being found and removed. The only things you should use to clean the refrigerator interior is a combination of light detergent and warm water. Anything stronger can result in the refrigerator being left with a distinctively chemical smell that will be much more difficult to remove than any food odour. 

We once had a customer wash the whole inside of refrigerator with vanilla extract in an attempt to mask a food odour. The vanilla quickly impregnated the plastic interior and became overpowering. The smell even got into the food. As a result of this error they had to buy a new refrigerator the following week .

See also Refrigerator Odours...How to Avoid

  By Donald Grummett 

Copyright © 2005 Donald Grummett. All rights reserved

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