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Refrigerator Odours...What, Why, How?
Written by: Donald Grummett
Ever had a bad smell in a refrigerator? It isn't pleasant. Nor
can it be easy to find the actual source. It may take days to
localize whether it was the fruits, vegetables, meats, or fish.
All can be the culprit.
Plus the air in a refrigerator can seemingly enhance an odour. A
simple odour one day can move throughout the interior, until the
whole refrigerator reeks. In a frost free refrigerator air is
constantly circulating and passing over all the other foods.
Therefore an odour in one part of the refrigerator can very
quickly be picked up and passed to everything else.
Most odours inside a refrigerator can be localized using your
eyes and nose. It is usually an old piece of forgotten food, or
an outdated carton. But, if the source evades you try the
following:
1. Check the food. It is the primary reason for refrigerator
odours. Use your nose as the smell detector. Use your hands to
feel for spills.
2. Check the crisper drawers and shelves for small pieces of
rotting food. Although obvious, this is often overlooked. Remove
crispers and shelves and wash thoroughly in warm soapy water.
Use a semi-soft scrub brush to get into cracks and crevices.
Many metal shelves are small enough to be washed in the
dishwasher. When replacing shelves don't forget to clean the
plastic supports they snap into.
3. Check glass shelves. Small liquid spills here can be
transparent. Also glass shelves can be complex - requiring
intricate frames. Check the undersides of frames for hidden
debris.
4. Clean the inside edge of the door gaskets. Start at the
bottom. It is a major location where food and mold accumulates.
Rap a soft wet rag around a butter knife to get in behind the
gasket. Avoid pulling on gasket because it can rip.
5. Clean the freezer section floor. It too can be an odour
producer. If you see loose frozen vegetables on the freezer
floor look for the source here. Carefully run your hand around
the freezer interior. There may be hidden holes that are not
normally visible. Loose foods can be trapped here.
6. If odour persists try using baking soda. Spread two
tablespoons of baking soda onto a saucer, and place into the
refrigerator section. If the freezer is under suspicion then
also place one here. It must be thinly spread out to be
affective - leaving it in the box will do limited work at
fighting odours. Check every few days. Once it becomes crusted
over replace with fresh baking soda. This works well, but does
require patience. Allow two or three weeks for even simple
odours to subside.
7. When all else fails: turn off refrigerator, allow it to warm
to room temperature, remove all shelves and drawers, and
thoroughly wash the interior walls. Use warm, soapy water. Avoid
using any cleaning products that have a strong chemical smell or
are heavily scented. Dry completely using a clean, dry rag. Be
especially aware of crevices near bottom of refrigerator
interior. If crevices appear dirty clean with a semi-soft brush.
If your refigerator does pick up an odour avoid any product
that is sprayed into the cabinet. These only result in the
offending odour being masked rather than removed.
Never let an odour go untreated. At the first hint, or smell, of
anything out of the ordinary attack, attack, and attack some
more. A half an hour of work is all that is usually required to
cure the problem.
Lastly, don't put it off for another day, it could get worse. It
is not unusual that if left unresolved the odour becomes so
smelly that it actually impregnates the pores of the whole
plastic cabinet. When this happens the only answer is often a
new refrigerator.
About the author:
Need answers about repairs and maintenance of Household
Appliances? With 30 years experience Donald Grummett can help.
Visit http://www.mgservices.ca to learn more invaluable
information.
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