A reader letter implored us for assist on this planet of bizarre fridge smells. The observe had extra questions than a Dr. Seuss ebook, and I cherished it. I am additionally so happy by the truth that this individual went proper from “secret compartment” to “haunted.” They had been clearly raised proper:

I’ve a fairly historical fridge that, about six months in the past, began emanating a barely gross, funky odor each time I would open the fridge door. As luck would have it, we misplaced energy a few months in the past, offering me with a wonderful alternative to scrub out the fridge and freezer, toss outdated/questionable meals, and clear all of the cabinets and drawers. However, every week later, I began noticing the odor once more. WHAT COULD IT BE!? Is there some secret compartment I am lacking and forgetting to scrub? Is the fridge simply outdated and nasty? Is it haunted? I’ve tried leaving a bowl of baking soda inside to soak up odors, however no cube. Ought to I simply get a brand new fridge?

Let’s dive in.

What Causes Fridge Odors?

Earlier than we get into the nitty-gritty, let’s check out the how and why of this explicit drawback. The sorts of odors which can be plaguing your fridge are attributable to molecules of what we’ll name “stuff,” that are emitted out of your meals and float within the air, circulating in that small, enclosed house. If you open the door, these molecules enter your nostril and set off receptors that make you say “ew.” If it helps, you may think about these offending odor molecules as ships, aimlessly wandering the ocean of your fridge, in search of a port. By default, the graceful partitions of a fridge cannot maintain many ships, however your nostril, full of receptors, makes an excellent port. Your aim right here? Present a spot for these boats to dock earlier than they make it to your nostril.

Maintaining Odors at Bay

On the intense aspect, you have already executed the very first thing I might have prompt—you have completely inventoried and cleaned the within of your fridge. And, fortunately, you have additionally stumbled into asking precisely the fitting query: There IS a secret compartment in most fridges. It is referred to as the drip pan, and it is simply what it appears like—a pan to catch drips. However, as you may think, it may additionally catch greater than drips, resulting in a pool of foul-smelling water over time. The drip pan could be very seemingly the supply of your odor state of affairs.

The pan shall be situated beneath your fridge, and, relying on the mannequin, you will both entry it from the entrance (behind a kick plate), otherwise you’ll have to drag out the fridge to entry it from the again. (Test your handbook, or discover it on-line by looking for the model and mannequin quantity.) As soon as you have eliminated it, clear it with a sponge or rag and dish cleaning soap, all-purpose cleaner, or bleach resolution.

After you have eliminated, cleaned, and changed the drip pan, the odor ought to noticeably enhance. That stated, there should be a lingering odor, and, after all, you will wish to hold new odors from growing. Which implies you have additionally given me an ideal excuse to speak about the easiest way to maintain low-level fridge smells at bay—one thing virtually everybody has to cope with in some unspecified time in the future in his or her grownup life.

Typically talking, there are two primary techniques we are able to deploy to unravel a persistent odor drawback. We will attempt to drown it out by introducing different molecules of a much less offensive nature—we’ll name these the deodorants of the cleansing world. Or, we are able to attempt to take them out of circulation fully, by offering different locations for them to dock—our antiperspirants.

How Deodorants Work

The previous technique will be low-cost, straightforward, and comparatively efficient, nevertheless it comes with a couple of caveats. That is as a result of, like deodorant, these merchandise (specifically, espresso grounds, white vinegar, and gel odor eliminators) emit smells of their very own. Scent is a really subjective factor, so I am unable to say whether or not you’d take pleasure in getting a whiff of, say, espresso each time you attain into the fridge for a carton of orange juice. However, even when that does sound relatively interesting, you will wish to remember that these merchandise do not simply have their very own odors—they will additionally impart these smells to different foodstuffs within the fridge. If you wish to give them a shot, merely set a small bowl within the fridge, stuffed with both espresso grounds or vinegar (or purchase a canister of odor-eliminating gel to maintain on a shelf). Simply remember that it’s possible you’ll discover a new odor invading your fridge and its contents, relatively than what we actually need—no odor in any respect.

Does Baking Soda Actually Remove Odors?

For higher outcomes, we have to have a look at choice quantity two: decreasing the variety of odor molecules floating round your fridge. Since you have already tried baking soda and not using a complete lot of luck, let’s speak about why it does and doesn’t work significantly nicely as an odor neutralizer.

In case you have the impression that baking soda works by attracting dangerous smells after which systematically destroying them, you are not alone. However you are additionally improper. Baking soda is not a magic beacon for smelly molecules. Its fame as an odor eliminator exists as a result of it may seize and maintain scents—a course of scientists name adsorption.

Adsorption works by offering a floor on which smelly gaseous molecules can land and cling. In comparison with, say, the partitions of your fridge, baking soda makes for a fairly first rate, porous floor, however should you’re conserving it in its field, its results shall be restricted. For starters, it’ll must be in shut proximity to the supply of your drawback. And even then, the comparatively small floor space would not have the type of capability you in all probability have to neutralize the odor.

One resolution to this quandary is to decant small quantities of baking soda—say, an eighth to 1 / 4 cup at a time—from the field to a plate or bowl to be able to enhance the floor space, after which exchange it usually. However that is a bit cumbersome, proper?

So, if baking soda will not do an amazing job at conserving fridge smells at bay, what is going to? Do not hand over on adsorption but!

A Higher Odor Answer: Activated Charcoal

Enter activated charcoal, which additionally goes by the names lively charcoal, lively carbon, and activated carbon. Activated charcoal has an enormous ratio of floor space to quantity. To return to our ship metaphor, it is kind of like a marina, with slips for a lot of, many boats packed effectively in a really small house. In different phrases, it is nice at trapping the offending odor molecules. It is accessible in brick type, in addition to in sachets, although you can too DIY it by pouring unfastened activated charcoal into small fabric baggage, or perhaps a clear sock.

For a lot of, the largest disadvantage to activated charcoal is that it would not come low-cost. No less than, not the sort that is labeled to be used in your fridge. However this is the factor: It is also generally used for aquarium filters, and pet suppliers will promote it for a complete lot much less. The activated charcoal marketed as an odor eliminator prices round 81¢ per ounce, whereas the identical stuff marketed for aquarium filters will run you solely 35¢ per ounce.

The tl;dr model of that is, basically, that folks treatments like utilizing baking soda (or white vinegar, or espresso grounds) to remove odors within the fridge could also be unhazardous and exceedingly cheap, however they simply do not work all that nicely. Happily, activated charcoal does work and, should you do not thoughts a small DIY effort, will be fairly cost-effective if bought unfastened and transferred into sachets. As a bonus, you can too use these sachets to clear the air, so to talk, in different areas of the house, like a stuffy closet or a musty basement, or—if we’re being actually sincere with one another—the lavatory.

Could 2016