Stinky Refrigerator!

In my experience: The ususal cause is that the juices have gotten under the fruit/veggie drawers... or in the roller mechanisms, if you have them... OR that the door hasn't been left open long enough to clear out all of the air. Occasionally, the smell comes from the FREEZER... something has dripped into the space between the fridge and freezer. It freezes and melts, refreezes and remelts. Being careful to scrub those area (including removal of any ice) is pretty key.

I have 3 fridge cleaning methods:

- The usual antibacterial wipe up
- The throw the drawers and shelves in the dishwasher clean (once a month or so)
- The total out and out clean : everything that can be removed in the dishwasher (including all of the shelves, and doors, and drawers), and scrubbing of every available surface with an antibacterial cleanser

Good Luck!

A.,
I use a product called "Bac-Out" when I clean anything. It is a natural product made of enzymes and it works great on stinky fridge's. You can get it at Fred Meyer. Just spray it all over (does not come in spray form so you will need a spray bottle) and wipe down. You can dilute it to make it last longer but if it really stinks I would just use it full strength.
Good Luck!

Hi A.,

Since it's all clean and just residual smell, maybe a few cotton balls soaked in vanilla would help. Since you can't air it out, that might help "replace" the odor.

Good luck!

Try putting fresh coffee grounds on a plate and stick it in the fridge. This is my no-fail trick for getting rid of funky odors. It's worked for us with cooked fish smells, strong garlic/onion smells, burnt popcorn smells...you name it, we've tried it! Good luck!

Ok, so this may seem contradictory but I promise you these work well.
Take everything out of the fridge and wash the glass shelves in the sink with soap and water. Then wash all of the plastic, as well as the rubber seals with white vinegar. This will only be a powerful smell for a day or two. It then goes away. Next replace the baking soda. If you use the breathable boxes, it is helpful (occasionally) to Gently "shake, or tumble" the baking soda to freshen it up. If you do not have white vinegar, Vodka also works. However the vodka smell also lingers for a day or so and may raise some eyebrows :) ~Best of wishes!

It's possible that you missed cleaning up all juice or the odor absorbed by other things. Unless you actually took everything out and wiped down all the surfaces, the odor may still be there because it's contaminated the surfaces. The moisture absorbed the odor.

If you've done that, try putting in a cereal bowl size dish of ground coffee. My father was an appliance repairman and he said that always cleared out odors of the average smelly frig.