Bad odours can be highly unpleasant and when they’re emanating from the fridge, they could ultimately end up ruining the taste of your food. Sometimes appliances can be overlooked when cleaning, but hygiene isn’t important for keeping food fresh.
However, to combat any lingering odours, a professional cleaner known as Zapatas Cleaning Services has shared four of her favourite hacks to fight bad smells in a TikTok video from September. One of which utilises a baking staple to mask horrible odours. Kellsie said: “As a pro cleaner, these are four tricks I swear by for smelly spots in the home. They work way better than candles or sprays and they’re quick fixes you can try today.”
Fridges can easily get dirty with spills and remnants of food. If the shelves and inside of the appliance isn’t cleaned properly, you could be left with lingering odours which can be unpleasant.
If you’ve found that the odour can’t be resolved by removing spoilt food, you’ll need to do a thorough deep clean. Take all of the shelves and drawers out of the fridge, wiping them down.
Kellsie revealed that the secret to removing those bad smells is vanilla extract. Mix two tablespoons of vanilla extract with one and a half cups of water in a spray bottle.
Wipe every surface down with the spray using a piece of kitchen roll or a microfibre cloth, but do not rinse. Kellsie said: “Vanilla keeps deodorising, so your fridge smells fresh long after you’re done cleaning.”
When it comes to using vanilla extract to help with odours, food extract producer Nielsen-Massey explained that they should be used with caution as extracts are primarily used for baking. They suggested applying a few drops of the vanilla extract to the sponge directly for a stronger scent.
If you want to stay clear of cleaning fridge shelves with chemical products, there are some natural alternatives. The experts at Delish suggested lemon, baking soda and salt.
Delish explained: “If you open a box of baking soda, let it sit in your fridge and it’s not absorbing those aromas, slice some lemon and sprinkle it with baking soda and salt, and let them sit on a plate in the fridge. That should do the trick.”
Baking soda can be an effective tool to help get rid of unwanted odours by neutralising those scents which are acidic. As baking soda is an alkaline, when it comes into contact with acidic odours, it reacts to neutralise them.
The chemical reaction between the baking soda and the acid neutralises or produces a less odorous compound. Ultimately, this changes the pH level which helps eliminate the bad smell.
Using lemon helps to remove unwanted odours by providing citric acid to cut through bacteria. It’s also a natural antibacterial, antiseptic, and bleaching agent, helping to cut through grease, remove stains, and kill bacteria, making them a versatile eco-friendly alternative to commercial cleaning products.