3 foolproof methods to completely get rid of mysterious refrigerator smells

In a letter from readers, they asked for help in the world of strange refrigerator smells. The note had more questions than a Dr. In a Seuss book, and I loved it. I'm also very happy that this person went from the “secret compartment” to the “haunted”. They were clearly raised right:

I have a very old refrigerator that about six months ago started giving off a slightly gross, weird smell when I opened the refrigerator door. Fortunately, we lost power a couple of months ago, giving me a great opportunity to clean out the fridge and freezer, throw out old/questionable food, and clean out all the shelves and drawers. But a week later I noticed the smell again. WHAT COULD THIS BE!? Am I missing a secret compartment and forgot to clean it out? Is it just the fridge that is old and ugly? Haunted? I tried leaving a bowl of baking soda in there to absorb the odors, but no luck. Should I buy a new refrigerator?

Let's dive in.

What causes the refrigerator to smell?

Before we get to the point, let's take a look at the hows and whys of this problem. The odors that plague your refrigerator are caused by molecules called “stuff” that come off the food and float in the air, circulating in that small, enclosed space. When you open the door, those molecules enter your nose and trigger the receptors that make you say “ouch.” If it helps, you can imagine those offending odor molecules like ships drifting aimlessly through the refrigerator's ocean, looking for a port. By default, the smooth walls of the fridge won't fit on many ships, but your receptor-filled nose makes for a pretty good portage. Is this your destination? Provide space for ships to dock before they reach up to your nose.

Keeping odors at bay

On the bright side, you have already done the first thing I would have suggested…you have thoroughly inventoried and cleaned the inside of your refrigerator. And luckily, you stumbled upon exactly the right question: Most refrigerators DO have a secret compartment. It's called a drip pan, and it's exactly what it sounds like – a pan to catch drips. But as you can imagine, it can catch more than just drops, leading to a stinky puddle of water over time. The drip tray is most likely the source of the odor situation.

The pan is located under the refrigerator and, depending on the model, you can either access it from the front (behind a support plate) or you have to pull the refrigerator out to access it from the back. (Check your manual or search online for the make and model number.) Once removed, clean with a sponge or rag and a good dish soap, all-purpose cleaner, or bleach solution.

Once you have removed, cleaned and replaced the drip tray, the smell should improve noticeably. Even so, an odor may still remain, and of course you need to prevent new odors from forming. That said, you've given me the perfect excuse to talk about the best way to keep low-level refrigerator odors at bay—which almost everyone has to deal with at some point in their adult lives.

In general, there are two basic tactics that can be used to solve persistent odor problems. We can try to suppress it by introducing other molecules of a less offensive nature – we call them the deodorants of the cleaning world. Or we can try to take them out of circulation altogether by giving them an alternative place to dock – our antiperspirants.

How deodorants work

The former method can be cheap, simple and relatively effective, but comes with some caveats. This is because, like deodorant, these products (namely coffee grounds, white vinegar, and gel odor removers) emit odors of their own. Smell is a very subjective thing, so I can't say if you'd enjoy getting a whiff of a coffee, say, every time you reach into the fridge for a can of orange juice. But even if that sounds pretty appealing, remember that these products don't just have their own odors—they can also carry those odors to other foods in the refrigerator. If you want to try them, simply put a small bowl in the fridge filled with coffee grounds or vinegar (or buy a box of deodorizing gel to keep on the shelf). Remember that a new smell may invade the fridge and its contents, not what we really want – not at all.

Does baking soda really eliminate odors?

For better results, we need to look at the second option: reduce the number of odor molecules floating around the refrigerator. Since you've already tried baking soda without much luck, let's talk about why it does and doesn't work particularly well as an odor neutralizer.

If you're under the impression that baking soda works by attracting bad odors and then systematically destroying them, you're not alone. But you are also wrong. Baking soda is not the wizard of smelly molecules. Its reputation as an odor eliminator exists because of its ability to capture and retain odors—a process scientists call adsorption.

Adsorption works by providing a surface on which odorous gaseous molecules can land and stick. Compared to, say, the wall of the refrigerator, baking soda gives a pretty decent, porous surface, but if you keep it in its box, its effect will be limited. To begin with, you need to be in close proximity to the source of the problem. Even then, the relatively small surface area does not have the capacity you probably need to neutralize the odor.

One solution to this problem is to decant a small amount of baking soda—say, one-eighth to one-fourth of a cup at a time—from the can into a plate or bowl to increase the surface area, then change it regularly. But it's a bit difficult, isn't it?

So, if baking soda isn't going to do a good job of keeping refrigerator odors at bay, what will? Don't give up on adsorption yet!

Better odor solution: activated carbon

Enter the word activated carbon, which also goes by the names activated charcoal, activated carbon, and activated charcoal. Activated carbon has a huge surface to volume ratio. Going back to our boat metaphor, it's like a marina with many, many boat slips efficiently housed in a very small space. In other words, it is excellent at trapping offending odor molecules. It's available in brick form and in pouches, but you can also DIY it by pouring loose activated charcoal into small cloth bags or even a clean sock.

For many, the biggest disadvantage of activated carbon is that it is not cheap. At least not the kind labeled for use in the refrigerator. But here's the thing: it's also often used in aquarium filters, and pet suppliers will sell it for much less. Activated carbon sold as an odor remover costs about 81¢ per ounce, while the same stuff sold for aquarium filters is only 35¢ per ounce.

The tl;dr version of this is basically that folk remedies like using baking soda (or white vinegar or coffee grounds) to remove odors in the fridge are non-toxic and extremely cheap, but they just don't work that well. . Fortunately, it's activated carbon not work and if you don't mind a bit of DIY it can be quite cost effective to buy in bulk and bag it. As a bonus, you can use these bags to clear the air, so to speak, in other areas of the home, such as a stuffy closet or a musty basement, or if you're really honest with each other – the bathroom.

May 2016