How to Get Rid of Fridge Smells

Nothing says "ick" quite like opening the refrigerator and getting hit in the face with a smell. Maybe the sushi went south last week. Maybe something leaked under the crisper drawer in October and has been quietly fermenting ever since. Maybe you have no idea what it is, only that everybody in the house now opens the fridge, makes a face and closes it again.

Plug-in air fresheners won't fix it, and neither will closing the door faster. To get rid of a fridge smell for good, you have to find the source, clean it out and then soak up whatever's left. Here's how, from everyday funk to the full-on power-outage disaster.

First, Find the Source

Most fridge smells come from one of these, and a few of them are sneaky:

• Spoiled food: The obvious one. Check the back corners, the door, the bottom of the crisper drawers and every container with a lid. Including the one you're afraid to open.
• Spills under the drawers and shelves: Meat juice, milk and berry juice drip down and collect under the crisper drawers, where you never look.
• The door gasket: The rubber seal around the door traps crumbs, drips and mildew in its folds.
• A clogged drain hole: Most frost-free fridges have a small drain hole on the back wall, near the bottom. When food bits clog it, water backs up and gets funky.
• The drip pan: Under the fridge, behind the grille at the bottom, sits a pan that collects water. Spills and dust collect in it, too, and it can smell musty or moldy.
• The ice maker and water filter: Ice absorbs odors, and an old water filter can make water and ice taste and smell stale.
• The box of baking soda from 2022: It's full. It retired a long time ago.

How to Deep Clean a Smelly Fridge

1. Turn it off and empty it. Turn the fridge off or unplug it. Move the food into a cooler with ice while you clean.
2. Toss anything questionable. Check everything as it comes out, even if you think you've already found the culprit. Throw out spoiled food, expired leftovers and anything you can't identify. When in doubt, throw it out. Not sure what's still good? Check my food shelf life guide.
3. Wash the shelves and drawers. Take out everything that comes out and wash it in the sink with warm, soapy water. Let cold glass shelves warm up to room temperature first. Hot water on cold glass can crack it.
4. Wipe down the inside. Mix 1 tablespoon of baking soda in a quart of warm water. Wash every inside surface with a soft cloth: the walls, ceiling, floor and door. Get into the corners and crevices with an old toothbrush.
5. Scrub the door gasket. Clean every fold of the rubber seal with the toothbrush and the baking soda solution. For black mildew spots, wipe with a cloth dampened with white vinegar.
6. Clear the drain hole. Look on the back wall, near the bottom, for a small hole or channel. Clear it with a pipe cleaner, then flush it with a little warm water from a turkey baster.
7. Clean the drip pan. Pop off the grille at the bottom front of the fridge. Many drip pans slide out. Wash it with hot, soapy water, dry it and slide it back. (Check your manual if yours doesn't come out easily.)
8. Rinse, dry and air it out. Wipe everything with a cloth dampened with plain water, then dry it. Leave the door open for 15 minutes or so to air out, then put the shelves back, turn the fridge on and let it get cold before restocking.

For the regular fridge-cleaning routine, see my guide to how to clean a kitchen.

Still Smells? Absorb the Rest

For stubborn smells, like the meat that spoiled while you were on vacation, cleaning gets you most of the way there. An odor absorber gets the rest. Put one of these in the empty, clean fridge (turned on or off with the door propped open) and leave it for 24 to 72 hours:

• Activated charcoal: The heavy hitter. Spread a few cups on a baking sheet or put it in an open container. You'll find it at pet stores (it's sold for aquarium filters) and hardware stores. Plain charcoal briquettes also work, but only plain ones. Never use match-light charcoal, which is soaked in lighter fluid.
• Fresh coffee grounds: Spread dry, unbrewed grounds on a baking sheet. They work well, but your fridge will smell like coffee for a while. There are worse fates.
• Baking soda: Spread a whole box on a baking sheet. More surface area works better than a box with the top torn open.
• Crumpled newspaper: An old-school trick that still works. Pack the fridge, including the door shelves and drawers, with crumpled newspaper, and tuck charcoal or coffee grounds among the pages. After a day or two, toss it all and wipe the fridge down with warm, soapy water.

Don't add these to a fridge full of food. Coffee grounds and charcoal can make butter, cheese and anything uncovered taste odd.

The final touch: If a faint smell lingers, put a few drops of pure vanilla extract on a cotton ball and set it on a shelf overnight.

After a Power Outage

A long outage can leave you with a fridge full of spoiled food and a smell that won't quit. First, deal with the food. Throw out meat, poultry, seafood, milk, soft cheese, eggs and leftovers that were above 40°F for more than 2 hours. Here's what's safe to keep in How to Store Food in the Fridge.

Then do the full deep clean above, including the drip pan, and follow it with charcoal or coffee grounds for two or three days. For truly awful smells, you may need to repeat both. If the smell has soaked into the plastic walls after several rounds, call an appliance pro.

How to Get Rid of Freezer Smells

Freezer smells usually come from freezer-burned food, a spill, or ice that has absorbed every odor in the freezer.

• Toss old, freezer-burned and unlabeled food.
• Dump the ice and wash the ice bin in warm, soapy water. Throw out the first batch or two of new ice.
• Wipe the freezer out with the baking soda solution.
• Replace the water filter if it's been more than 6 months. Most refrigerators remind you, and most of us ignore it.

Then wrap food tightly so it doesn't share its smell with everything else. Here's how to freeze food the right way.

Smells That Mean Call a Repair Pro

Not every fridge smell is food. Call an appliance repair technician if you notice:

• A burning or electrical smell, or a hot-plastic smell. Unplug the fridge right away.
• A chemical smell that cleaning doesn't explain.
• A musty smell that keeps coming back even after you've cleaned the drip pan and drain. There may be a leak or a clog inside.
• A fridge that isn't staying cold. Food spoiling faster than usual is the first clue. Check it with a fridge thermometer. It should read 40°F or below.

How to Keep Your Fridge Smelling Fresh

• Keep an open box of baking soda on a back shelf, and replace it every 3 months. Write the date on the box. (Pour the old one down the drain or use it to scrub the sink.)
• Do a weekly sweep the night before trash day. Toss old leftovers, wilted produce and anything past its prime.
• Wipe up spills right away, especially raw meat juices and milk.
• Store food in airtight containers, especially strong smells like cut onions, fish, garlic and leftover curry.
• Keep the fridge at 40°F or below. Food spoils faster, and smells worse, in a warm fridge.
• Move the oldest food to the front, so it gets eaten before it gets smelly.

How to Get Rid of Fridge Smells: Quick Answers

Keep Going

Keep your fridge, and the rest of the kitchen, fresh with these related guides:

• How to Store Food in the Fridge: What goes on every shelf, and why.
• Food Shelf Life Guide: How long food really lasts in the fridge, freezer and pantry.
• How to Freeze Food: Stop freezer burn and thaw it safely.
• The Pre-Thanksgiving Fridge Purge: Make room for the turkey.
• How to Clean a Kitchen: Seven steps and the germiest spots.
• Garbage Disposal Maintenance Made Easy: Clean, freshen and unjam it.
• Cleaning Small Kitchen Appliances: The toaster, coffee maker and blender.
• Green Cleaning: A practical guide to cleaning with less.