How to Clean the Fridge and Get Rid of the Smell for Good

Step by step

1. 1

   Find the smell and throw it out

   Go shelf by shelf and drawer by drawer. Check dates, open containers and lift the crisper drawers to look underneath. Throw out anything spoiled or past its date, and bag it right away so the smell leaves the kitchen with it.

2. 2

   Move the good food to a cooler

   Put everything you are keeping into a cooler with ice packs, as Whirlpool suggests. Wipe sticky jars and containers before they go back in later. Whirlpool also says to unplug the fridge or turn off the cooling before a deep clean.

3. 3

   Take out the shelves and drawers, and let glass warm up

   Lift out the shelves and drawers, using both hands on glass shelves because they are heavy. Let cold glass sit on a towel until it reaches room temperature. Whirlpool says glass shelves may break from a sudden change in temperature.

4. 4

   Wash the shelves and drawers

   Once the glass is room temperature, wash the shelves and drawers in warm water with a little mild dish soap. Rinse them and dry them with a soft cloth.

1. 5

   Wipe the inside with baking soda water

   Stir 1 tablespoon of baking soda into a quart of warm water until it dissolves. That is the ratio both Texas A&M AgriLife Extension and Whirlpool give. Wipe the walls, the floor of the fridge, the inside of the door and the door gasket (the rubber seal), and gently lift the folds of the gasket to get the crumbs out.

2. 6

   Rinse, dry and air it out

   Wipe everything again with a cloth dipped in clean water. Dry every surface completely with a lint-free towel. Then leave the door open for about 15 minutes so air can move through, as the University of Nebraska’s extension page advises.

3. 7

   Put it back together and check the temperature

   Put the shelves and drawers back, plug the fridge in and return the food. Keep a thermometer inside, because the FDA says the fridge should be at or below 40°F.

4. 8

   Set out baking soda to catch what is left

   Open a box of baking soda and stand it upright on a shelf. The Arm & Hammer Fridge-n-Freezer box is made for this: you take off the front and back panels and leave the top on. Its label says to change it every 30 days, and to write the date that is 30 days from opening right on the box.

When it will not work, and what to do instead

A strong smell can hang on after a good cleaning. Here is what to do next.

• The smell is still there the next day. Check under and behind the drawers again, and wipe the gasket folds one more time.
• It is still strong after that. With the fridge empty, set out trays of activated charcoal and run it for 2 or 3 days, as the University of Nebraska’s page advises. Texas A&M notes that activated charcoal soaks up smells faster than the charcoal you grill with, and that drug stores and pet supply stores sell it.
• You do not have charcoal. The same Nebraska page lists trays of baking soda or clean kitty litter, or fresh ground coffee on cookie sheets, with the empty fridge running 2 or 3 days. Coffee can leave a light coffee smell that goes away after washing and rinsing.
• Nothing works. If the smell has soaked into the insulation behind the walls, the Nebraska page says it needs a refrigerator technician, and Texas A&M suggests calling the manufacturer. Texas A&M also says that sometimes nothing can be done.

Why it works

Here is the thing about a fridge smell. Texas A&M’s odor guide starts with one plain step: remove the food. Only after that do you wash and set out baking soda.

After that, baking soda does the cleanup. It is a mild alkali (the opposite of an acid, like vinegar), and the American Cleaning Institute says it can act as a deodorizer inside refrigerators and freezers, where it absorbs odors from food.

Activated charcoal is the next step when baking soda is not enough. Texas A&M notes that it is extra dry and soaks up smells faster than the charcoal you grill with.

Most of us find the smell before we find the cause. You open the door, wrinkle your nose and start sniffing jars one at a time, and that is the right instinct.