Smelly Fridge? How to Find the Cause, Clean It and Keep It Fresh

Where the smell comes from

A fridge never smells for no reason. Cold slows bacteria and mould down but doesn’t stop them. The most common causes:

• Spoiled food, often forgotten at the back or in the salad drawer.
• Spilt liquids such as milk, meat juices or marinade that have dried under drawers or in grooves.
• A blocked drain hole on the back wall where water and crumbs ferment.
• Strong-smelling food stored uncovered, such as cheese, onions, fish or garlic, whose smell transfers to everything else.
• Dirty door seals, where crumbs and moisture collect in the folds.
• Too high a temperature, so food spoils faster.

Step 1: Empty and sort

Allow half an hour, ideally just before your next shop when the fridge is fairly empty. Put perishables in a cool bag with ice packs.

Take everything out and check each item: anything out of date, mouldy or smelling odd goes. Pay particular attention to jars with dried residue around the lid and to the salad drawer.

Step 2: Clean thoroughly

1. Switch off or unplug the fridge.
2. Remove shelves, drawers and door racks and wash them in the sink with warm water and washing-up liquid. Don’t pour hot water over cold glass shelves, as they can crack. Let them reach room temperature first.
3. Wipe the inside with warm water and a little washing-up liquid, or with vinegar and water (about 1 part vinegar to 4 parts water). Vinegar is mildly antibacterial and helps with smells.
4. Clean grooves and corners with an old toothbrush.
5. Wipe the door seal carefully, including the folds. Dark spots may be mould: treat with vinegar solution and dry well.
6. Wipe over with clean water and dry everything with a clean cloth.

Step 3: Don’t forget the drain hole

On the back wall inside the fridge, there’s usually a channel with a small hole. Condensation runs through it into a tray above the compressor, where it evaporates. If the hole is blocked, water collects at the bottom of the fridge and starts to smell.

Clean the hole gently with a cotton bud or the cleaning tool many fridges come with. Then use a needle-free syringe or small funnel to pour in a little warm vinegar water. If it drains freely, the hole is clear.

Step 4: Neutralise lingering odours

Leave the fridge open for 15–30 minutes after cleaning. For a faint remaining smell, try:

• Bicarbonate of soda: a few tablespoons in an open dish on a middle shelf. Replace every 1–3 months.
• Activated charcoal: as a ready-made deodoriser for the door rack.
• Lemon: a cut lemon smells fresh, but it masks odours more than it absorbs them.

If a strong smell persists for days even though everything is clean, it may have got into the plastic. Leaving the switched-off fridge open for a few hours with a large dish of bicarb usually helps.

Step 5: Load it properly

Loading your fridge properly means fewer smells and less food waste:

• Top: cooked food, leftovers, cheese in containers.
• Middle: dairy.
• Bottom glass shelf, the coldest spot: raw meat and fish, well wrapped.
• Salad drawer: fruit and veg that don’t suffer in the cold.
• Door: drinks, butter, sauces and eggs.

Always keep strong-smelling food in well-sealed containers. Glass is ideal because it doesn’t absorb smells.

The right temperature

Many fridges are set too warm. The usual recommendation is 4–5 °C on the middle shelf, and no more than 7 °C. The freezer should be at −18 °C. A simple fridge thermometer quickly tells you whether the dial setting is right. If the freezer compartment has iced up, defrost it, since ice reduces cooling performance.