Smelly Fridge? No Worries! We’ve Got You!
No one wants to be stuck with a smelly refrigerator. If you find the problem to be more than you can stand, then you can definitely contact our experts at Target Appliance Repair. There are a number of different possibilities, in terms of assessing the actual cause of a smelly refrigerator. In some situations, calling us is proven to be the best possible move.
At the same time, this doesn’t mean there’s nothing that you yourself can do to get rid of the odors. There are a number of different things you can consider trying when it comes to getting rid of bad fridge smells. The first step is the most obvious one. It comes down to figuring out what is causing the smell. This can be easy to figure out most of the time. However, this isn’t always going to be the case.
Don’t Let the Odors Persist
Even if the smell doesn’t bother you, or you can’t quite bring yourself to venture into the nether regions of one of your most important appliances, you should still deal with the situation. Letting the problem go on for too long can make it profoundly more difficult to deodorize your fridge later on. It can also create an unhealthy environment. In some situations, your fridge can even find itself working harder than it needs to, which can wear it down more quickly than its average lifespan.
Some odors can work their way into every aspect of your fridge. That includes the long list of parts and components that make up your refrigerator. If things get to that point, cleaning your fridge as it should be cleaned is going to prove to be a more difficult task. In certain extreme situations, you may find that the smell has become a permanent fixture. This isn’t a guarantee, but it’s better to just avoid such a scenario altogether.
How to Get Rid of Bad Fridge Smells
It could be a quart of milk you forgot to check the night before. It can be some leftovers that have been sitting inside for way too long. These smells can come from all sorts of different places. If you happen to notice bad odors inside your fridge, here’s what to do:
- Get everything out of the fridge: This is a good way to not only get to the heart of the matter but to give your fridge a chance to air out a little. If the smell likely occurred after something spoiled during a power outage, you may want to consider throwing out multiple items. Most things can be left in the fridge for up to four hours without power if you don’t open the door.
- Handwashing: This is something you should be doing on a semi-regular basis anyway, but it is a key step in getting rid of the smells in your fridge. Your shelves, your bins, and your crisper drawer will need to come out. The same goes for the ice trays, as well as anything else that qualifies as a loose component. All of these things should be washed by hand in your sink.
- Deodorizing: Now, with everything drying, you can tackle the deodorizing aspect. Your best bet is to create a solution that combines one cup of baking soda with each gallon of water. If you want to get rid of any food that has become caked on one part of the fridge or another, soak your sponge in that solution, and scrub the areas vigorously.
- Airing out: It shouldn’t take more than a few minutes to do the last step mentioned above. This is where you may need to be a little patient. If you can manage it, unplug your fridge, and leave the door open. You may need to do this for a period of twenty-four hours, but this will depend on the kinds of odors you are dealing with.
- If it doesn’t work: Repeat all of the steps above. If the smell persists, contact our fridge experts at Target Appliance Repair.
- Your last major hope for getting rid of a smelly fridge will involve cleaning your evaporator. This is the more extreme stage. At this point, there is a good chance that the smells have gone through to the evaporator coil. This is a problem, and cleaning your evaporator coil can be difficult.