Cleaning your fridge

Discussion in Home & Garden started by maddie • Mar 2, 2013.

  1. maddie

    maddieActive Member

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    How often do you clean your fridge? I do it once a month.. but I have noticed a stale smell lately. I don't know what is the issue.. I don't keep food in there for more than a couple of days. I clean it out with baking soda. Is there something else I need to do?
     
  2. Bloomatic

    BloomaticActive Member

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    Cleaning up our refrigerator is a very important housework. Maybe it's a little uncomfortable, but we must find the necessary time to make this cleaning. Ideally regularly cleaned at least once a week. For cleaning shouldn't be abrasive or toxic. A cloth dampened with water, detergent or soap is sufficient. Sodium bicarbonate, as you say, is a very useful alternative and that ensures good results. Every day the door should be cleaned with a cloth moistened with a creamy cleanser, especially in the area of the handles, which is the most used. Every time we clean the fridge, don't forget to clean the rear rack too. Must remove lint and dust which accumulates, since they hinder correct operation of the motor. With these simple steps, we can keep our refrigerator clean and in good condition. A little trick? Hide a small piece of coal somewhere in your refrigerator, it will absorb odors. :D
     
  3. ACSAPA

    ACSAPAWell-Known Member

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    Here's an article I found on Pinterest about natural things like coffee grounds that you can put in your fridge to get rid of odors.

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    Here's another one that suggests things like cat litter, charcoal, vinegar and more for tackling funky refrigerator odors.

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    I clean my fridge about once a month and vinegar works for me. Let me know if any of these natural remedies solves your problem.
     
  4. Pat

    PatWell-Known Member

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    I clean the refrig once a month using warm water and soda. I clean all the drawers and shelves. The door is wiped down, and all food in the refrig is thrown out. A few days before I plan to clean out the refrig I make sure all food is either eaten or thrown.

    I wash the handle of the door everyday when I wash dishes to remove any germs that may have been put on the handle when members of the family open the door to get something out of the refrig.

    I don't like cleaning the refrig but because it is holds the food we eat every day it must be kept clean. To keep odors down a box of baking soda is kept in the refrig.
     
  5. classicnyer

    classicnyerActive Member

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    Cleaning it with baking soda and/or vinegar once a month should be good enough. If there is still a stale smell, there might be something hiding in there that you forgot about. That happened to me once. I don't generally keep food in the fridge for longer than a few days either, but once I noticed a bad smell, so I took everything out and realized there was a sealed container of food in a not obvious place that I had fogotten about.
     
  6. nash22

    nash22Active Member

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    This is one of the things I hate doing. I usually clean my refrigerator like every two weeks or so. Or when I see that it's become messy. I usually clean with hot water and detergent and a little dab of bleach not much.
     
  7. Bolt

    BoltWell-Known Member

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    I clean out the fridge when it starts to look dirty, probably once every month or two. Cleaning out the fridge seems like quite a big chore but it only takes around 30-minutes to remove everything, clean it out and put all the food back.
     
  8. maddie

    maddieActive Member

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    I clean with warm water and baking soda. I have some activated charcoals inside. I have never tried coffee grounds or vanilla.. I would love to try both. Thanks for those links. I appreciate this very much.

    I clean once a month thoroughly. I remove everything that is old and throw out all unwanted stuff.. every week may be really difficult.. but may be I could consider fortnightly cleaning. The outsides are wiped every alternate day.

    I do use vinegar sometime. I did check for any stale stuff inside. I did find some food that had gone stale .. I threw it out and cleaned up.. but it seems that the smell wont go away. I hope to try the other suggestions here... maybe leave a cup of oatmeal.. and see how it goes.
     
  9. ChanellG

    ChanellGActive Member

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    I clean the fridge as often as needed. If there isn't anything that has spilled or spoiled in it I don't bother with it. At various times I have kept baking soda in it to avoid odor, but it's not a real problem because I don't keep meats or dairy (other than cheese) in my fridge and it's rare that something is ever in there long enough to spoil.
     
  10. rachel1970

    rachel1970Active Member

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    I just clean it as necessary. I use bicarbonoate of soda to clean it when I do. I also have a fridge egg, which eliminates any odours in the fridge.
     
  11. bargainhunter

    bargainhunterMember

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    Just a good wipe down with vinegar is enough for me and thats once a wee. I try not to keep anything spicy or Garlic flavored in there for more than 2 days before eating as It will stink it out otherwise. On another matter, the worst thing to leave in your fridge is cucumber as it just folds in on itself and smells vile so get rid after a few days.
     
  12. maddie

    maddieActive Member

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    I have kept a bit of vanilla essence and coffee grounds in the fridge and it smells heavenly now. I think it was some garlic paste that made the fridge smell yucky.
     
  13. ChanellG

    ChanellGActive Member

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    Unless the garlic paste was spoiled, I would prefer to smell that over the vanilla, lol. I actually don't want my fridge to smell like anything -- strong odors can permeate foods and affect their taste and I don't think I would like that very much. I like my foods to taste like what they are; I use very little seasonings when I cook other than garlic, onion, and spike, and I rarely cook with salt, so I definitely wouldn't want to take a chance on the fridge influencing that flavor.
     
  14. maddie

    maddieActive Member

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    I understand where you are coming from.. but I hated it when my fridge reeked like garbage.. The garlic paste was behind some stuff i don't use regularly and has been there for sometime.. perhaps months. Gosh.. the smell wasn't anything like the vanilla and coffee grounds. I agree with you that strong smells permeate into food but now I am not leaving anything in my fridge for more than a couple of days. I use them up or throw them out. It took a lot of work to clean up my fridge and get that smell out.
     
  15. vpresson

    vpressonWell-Known Member

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    I try to do it once a month but I never have any smell maybe it's some type of food that's giving you the smell
     
  16. MoniqueSeibel

    MoniqueSeibelActive Member

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    I do it about every two weeks. But it is mostly because I like to keep it really organized. Also, the rest of my household is not the best at finding things and they don't look hard enough to see what is actually available in the fridge. They also just throw stuff back in the fridge and I like keeping everything in a certain place. We keep a deodorizing baking soda in the fridge and that seems to help keep it smelling fresh.
     
  17. ChanellG

    ChanellGActive Member

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    Smells come from old or spoiled food that has been left in the refrigerator too long. The odor will depend on what the food is; anything that drips blood can make the fridge smell horrid, but even a rotten potato can make you think something died in there.

    I just don't keep that much in there at once anymore. Of course, it may be harder for you to do that with a husband and kids, but my fridge mainly holds a little dairy and leftovers. If I buy too much food I can't use it fast enough.
     
  18. Michael Brown

    Michael BrownNew Member

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    Charcoal is also best to get rid of smell inside fridge.
     
  19. deansaliba

    deansalibaActive Member

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    My dad has an annoying habit of spilling things in the fridge so I have to clean it on a weekly basis, spilt milk stinks something fierce if left.
     
  20. Parker

    ParkerWell-Known Member

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    I clean the refrigerator at least once per month. I hardly even leave spills to set. If I spill something, I clean up it fairly quickly. If only I could train my roommate to do that. Cleaning out the refrigerator was one of those chores that I hated. Now, I don't mind it so much. Cleaning the oven is a different story. ;)