How to get rid of fridge smells, from mild to after a power outage

Step by step: how to get rid of fridge smells, from mild to after a power outage

Safety first. Never mix bleach with vinegar or ammonia; the combination releases toxic gas. Rinse with plain water between a bleach wipe and a vinegar wipe, and keep the kitchen ventilated.

1. 1

   Find the source of the smell

   Take everything out and sniff as you go. Check under drawers, in door bins, inside the crisper, behind the bottom drawer and in the freezer. The culprit is usually a leaked package of meat, old produce, spilled milk or forgotten leftovers.

2. 2

   Throw out anything spoiled or doubtful

   Bag up spoiled food and anything you cannot date, and take it straight outside. Put the food you are keeping into a cooler with ice packs so it stays cold.

3. 3

   Wash shelves, drawers and bins

   Remove everything that comes out and wash it in warm water with dish soap, then rinse. Let cold glass shelves warm up for about 20 minutes first so they do not crack.

4. 4

   Wash the inside with baking soda

   Wipe every surface, including the door and gaskets, with 1 tablespoon of baking soda in a quart of warm water. Get into the shelf rails, corners and the folds of the door seal, where liquid and crumbs collect.

5. 5

   Sanitize where meat or spoiled food leaked

   Wipe only those spots with 1 tablespoon of unscented bleach in a gallon of water, the dilution USDA food safety guidance uses, then rinse with plain water and dry. Some makers, GE among them, warn that bleach can damage the liner, so check your manual and never use it full strength. Never use bleach and vinegar together or one right after the other without rinsing in between.

6. 6

   Air it out for 15 minutes

   Leave the doors open for about 15 minutes so fresh air can move through. If the smell is gone, dry the inside and reload the food.

7. 7

   Wipe with vinegar if a smell remains

   Once the bleach is rinsed off, wipe the inside with equal parts white vinegar and water and let it dry. The vinegar smell fades within a day.

8. 8

   Set out odor absorbers

   Spread activated charcoal, fresh coffee grounds or baking soda in shallow trays on the shelves of the fridge and freezer. For a bad smell, run the empty fridge for 2 to 3 days with the absorbers inside, then remove them and wipe the shelves.

What absorbs odors in a fridge best?

Activated charcoal is the strongest absorber for a bad smell; an open box of baking soda is fine for keeping a clean fridge fresh. None of them fix a smell while the source is still inside.

These options come from USDA food safety guidance, summarized by Purdue Extension, and from Nebraska Extension, which suggests running the empty unit for 2 to 3 days with absorbers in place. Activated charcoal, sold at pet and drug stores, is drier than grilling charcoal and absorbs odors faster, according to Texas A&M AgriLife Extension.

Why does my fridge still smell after cleaning?

If the inside is clean and it still smells, the source is in a part you did not wash. Check these next:

• The freezer. Air circulates between the two sections, which is why Whirlpool recommends cleaning both together.
• The ice bin. Ice absorbs odors. Dump it, wash the bin, and let the ice maker make fresh ice.
• The door gasket. Mildew in the folds smells musty. Clean it with warm soapy water and a toothbrush, and dry it fully.
• The drain pan under the fridge. Many fridges drain defrost water to a pan behind the base grille. Spills that reach it can smell; check your manual for how to remove it.
• An old water filter. If the water or ice tastes stale, replace the filter on the schedule in your manual.

What the smell tells you about the source

The kind of smell narrows down where to look. Match it in this table, then go straight to the likely source instead of emptying the whole fridge twice.

GE notes that a new fridge often smells of plastic because most of the inside is plastic, and that the smell goes away with time. GE also advises against lemon-scented cleaners inside, because the scent can soak into plastic parts and affect the taste of food. For the freezer, Frigidaire suggests wrapping strong foods tightly and notes that some containers and wraps can cause odors themselves. Its taste and odor guide adds that ice picks up flavors from uncovered food, and that some fridges have an air filter you should check and replace.

How to clear a clogged defrost drain

Frost-free fridges melt frost off the cooling coils and send the water down a drain to a pan underneath. When food bits block that drain, water sits inside and starts to smell, and it often freezes or leaks too.

On side-by-side models, GE says ice under the bottom basket of the freezer, often with water on the floor, is the usual sign. To clear it:

1. Unplug the fridge and let any ice around the drain thaw.
2. Find the drain hole, usually low and centered on the back wall of the freezer. On some models it sits behind a plastic panel held by one screw.
3. Mix a little baking soda into 2 cups of hot tap water. GE’s instructions use between 1 teaspoon and 1 tablespoon.
4. Squeeze the solution into the drain hole with a bulb baster. When the drain is clear, you will hear water running down into the drain pan.

GE suggests repeating a baking soda flush with hot, not boiling, water once or twice a year to keep the drain clear and odor-free. If you cannot see a drain hole, or water keeps leaking after you flush it, the fix needs a service call.

How to keep a fridge from smelling

Cold, covered and rotated food is the whole system. Most smells start with something that sat too long or was left open.

• Keep it cold. The USDA recommends 40°F or below for the fridge and 0°F for the freezer. Few fridge dials show the real temperature, so the USDA suggests an appliance thermometer in each section.
• Cover everything. USDA refrigeration guidance says to cover foods to keep moisture in and stop them picking up odors from other foods.
• Clear leftovers weekly. Leftovers keep 3 to 4 days in the fridge, according to USDA leftovers guidance. Pick one day a week to throw out anything older.
• Change the air filter if you have one. Whirlpool says to replace its refrigerator air filter every six months.
• Wipe spills the same day. A drip of milk or meat juice under a drawer is a common start of a bad smell.

What to throw out after a power outage

Decide what to keep before you deal with the smell. Food safety depends on how long the food was warm, not on how it smells, so do not sniff or taste food to decide.

According to the USDA’s emergency food safety guidance, a fridge keeps food safe for about 4 hours if the door stays closed. A full freezer holds its temperature for about 48 hours, or 24 hours if half full. After 4 hours without power, throw out refrigerated perishables such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs and leftovers. Frozen food that still has ice crystals, or is at 40°F or below, can be refrozen. When in doubt, throw it out.

How to get rid of fridge smell after a power outage

Empty it completely, wash and sanitize everything, then run it empty with activated charcoal for several days. Rotten meat smells are the hardest to remove.

Texas A&M suggests washing with 1 tablespoon of baking soda per quart of water or 1 cup of vinegar per gallon, then using activated charcoal and replacing it if the odor remains. Both it and Nebraska Extension warn that if the smell soaks into the insulation, cleaning may not fix it; contact the manufacturer or a technician. If nothing works, a replacement is the honest answer. When you discard an old fridge, remove the door or disable the latch so a child cannot get trapped inside.

For a full clean beyond odors, follow our guide to cleaning a refrigerator properly.

Mistakes to avoid

• Putting in an odor absorber before finding and removing the source.
• Wiping with bleach and then vinegar without rinsing in between.
• Cleaning the fridge but not the freezer, which shares the same air.
• Keeping old ice, which soaks up smells and passes them to drinks.
• Using scented sprays or air fresheners inside, which leave flavors on food.
• Leaving an open box of baking soda for a year; replace it every few months.
• Cleaning the inside with lemon-scented products, which the plastic can absorb.
• Ignoring ice on the freezer floor or water under the drawers, which points to a blocked drain that will keep smelling.