Most of the people generally forget once they place fruit, vegetables, or even leftovers in their fridge. They tend to forget that those foods have a short shelf life even when kept in cool temperatures. When you forget, your fridge can end up smelling worse than your unwashed gym socks.

One thing to remember is that when you get that foul odor in your fridge it usually comes from mold & bacteria. Two elements that are unhealthy for you and your family if they go unchecked.

To avoid that experience when you open your fridge door, just continue to read our article. It has the tips needed to keep your fridge smelling fresh, clean, and healthy.

Methods To Keep Your Fridge Smelling Fresh

Keeping your fridge smelling good and free from germs takes a little work. That effort is well worth the time and the energy as you are keeping the foods inside healthy and good to eat. Here are some methods to use to help you achieve that goal.

Method 1: Clean Your Fridge

By this, we do not mean just take out old food or give it a quick wipe down. Instead, you should remove everything in the fridge and clean it from top to bottom. You need to:

• throw away spoiled or past their due date food items
• take out the shelves and clean them
• use hot, soapy water or a natural cleaner to get the dirt and odor
• sanitize the interior with a little bleach and water solution
• completely dry the fridge before replacing the shelves and food

Method 2: Use Baking Soda

There are different options you can use and they are all quite effective. One method is to just open a box of baking soda and place it inside your fridge. Every 2 to 3 months simply remove the old box and replace it with a new one.

To get rid of odors, simply sprinkle some baking soda on the walls and wipe the shelves and walls with a damp cloth. Before you wipe you can leave the baking soda on the shelves for a couple of hours.

Method 3: Use Airtight Containers And Label Them

The airtight containers will keep bacteria and mold away as well as other elements that cause food to rot too soon. Also, if you label them with a best by date, you can use the food quickly before they spoil.

Seeing the containers inside your fridge should remind you that the food inside is not going to last a long time. Then the dates will help you plan your next meal so the ingredients can be used before they go bad.

Method 4: Turn To Lemons

Lemons are known to leave a wonderful scent behind no matter where they are placed. Using lemon juice in your fridge helps give it that fresh lemony scent many people love.

It is the citric acid inside of lemon juice that provides the cleaning and fresh scent power. You can use cotton balls or a cloth soaked in lemon juice to cut the bad odor or place a few cut lemons on a plate to provide the same fresh lemony scent.

Method 5: Watch The Temperature

Keeping the temperature too high will produce those odors you do not like to smell. Make sure to set the thermostat to the right temperature to cut down on foul odor incidents.

The ideal fridge temperature ranges and the normal settings are between 37 and 41 degrees F. If you use Celsius, that would be between 4 and 5 degrees C. For your freezer, you are looking at being between 0 to 4 degrees F or -17 to -18 degrees C.

Items Needed To Get Rid Of Bad Smells In The Fridge

This list contains a large number of items. You do not have to use them all every time you clean out your fridge and give it a good cleaning. Pick and choose the items that are best for your situation and budget.

• baking soda
• lemon juice or cut lemons
• plate or bowl
• microfiber or cotton cloth
• scrubbing brush
• dish soap and water
• a little bleach and water
• a cookie sheet
• towels for drying
• vanilla, coffee grounds, or oats (for a different scent)

Bad smells in your fridge tell you that something is rotten and should not be near those food items that are still good to eat. Not only do they give off a bad odor they also place germs or mold too close to other foods.

Making sure your fridge smells nice all the time requires a little time and a little elbow grease. Regular cleaning using the products and techniques listed above will protect you and your family from those odors and those unhealthy germs.

Take the time to keep your fridge smelling good and make sure to throw that bad food out.