We often encounter such a common problem when food begins to spoil, but we are not able to remove it right now: various business trips, unexpected guests and other inconveniences.
Most often this product is meat or fish, the smell of which lingers in the refrigerator and apartment for a long time. What to do about it and what to do is described in this article.
How to remove the stench from spoiled meat using improvised means?
There are many ways described on the Internet to get rid of the smell of rotten meat, but not all of these methods are effective and help cope with the problem.
Advice! Surely every housewife has vinegar, mustard and soda in her house - these are some of those folk remedies that cope well with the task.
Vinegar
This caustic and odorous substance, as we can see, helps in many similar situations: removing the most difficult stains on clothes, treating surfaces in the house, cooking, where it reacts with soda.
In other words, it can be used in many ways. If after cleaning the refrigerator the unpleasant smell still bothers you, you can prepare a vinegar solution.
You just need to dilute one spoon of vinegar in a glass of water. Take any cloth and soak it in the resulting solution, then go over the entire surface of the refrigerator, paying special attention to the shelves, walls and trays where spoiled food was stored. When finished, open the refrigerator doors and leave to ventilate for a couple of hours.
If the smell of rotten meat is too strong, then in its place you can put a cloth soaked in vinegar for a while, and then wash off the residue with water.
Important! Highly concentrated vinegar can damage the enamel and plastic of household appliances, so carefully read the acidity percentage.
This article will tell you how to clean a refrigerator with vinegar.
Citric acid or lemon
If you don’t have vinegar on hand, it didn’t help in this situation, or the stench still remains in the apartment, then you can use citric acid or lemon itself instead - it doesn’t really matter which of these two, it all depends on the availability of fruit in your refrigerator .
We work according to the same scheme as with vinegar. You need to take a glass of water, then add a teaspoon of citric acid or lemon juice. After thoroughly stirring the resulting solution, you need to apply it to a napkin and wipe the surfaces of the refrigerator.
The remaining lemon can be cut into a couple of slices and placed in the refrigerator to completely neutralize the odor for two or three days. Sometimes you can use vodka instead of water; they say that this way the smell will go away faster and more effectively. The solution proportion is 1:10.
Citric acid will help clean the dishwasher, iron and coffee machine.
Mustard
Hot spice can also help us get rid of stench and rotten smell, so it can be used as a neutralizer.
Application: moisten dry mustard (in powder form) and dilute in hot water. The sharper the aroma of the solution, the better it will work on the rotten smell. This mixture destroys bacteria and eliminates odors well.
Apply to all surfaces and leave for half an hour, then rinse off the residue with water. After this treatment there will no longer be a smell of rotten meat.
Potassium permangantsovka
A solution of potassium permanganate is perfect as a solution to this problem. You just need to make it in a slightly pink shade, not too concentrated so that the surface of the equipment does not become stained. A few crystals are enough for this. Leave the product for 1-2 hours, then rinse with water.
Soda solution
Baking soda absorbs odors very well, which is why it is often used as a neutralizer. Usually, an open pack is simply poured into a more suitable container - a plate or some other dish - and then left dry for two to three hours.
Why is soda sometimes diluted with water? In this form it is more effective. We work, in principle, as with other products; if the smell is not removed, then we will have to use other options. We carefully go over all surfaces, and then wash off the residue with water.
Advice! To quickly remove the disgusting smell of rotten meat products, pour soda into half a lemon or orange, from which the pulp has first been removed.
Laundry soap
Laundry soap can be found in every home; it easily kills bacteria and germs, leaves a neutral odor, and fights stench perfectly. You can apply it to a cloth and then go over each shelf and door. It is not recommended to leave it for a long time, otherwise the aroma of the disinfectant itself will appear, which will be strongly absorbed.
A more effective method: grate the piece on a coarse grater, then soak it in warm water. Lubricate the doors, shelves and drawers with the resulting mixture, leaving it like that for an hour and a half, then remove excess and stains with a damp cloth. This method can remove a slight meaty smell.
Household chemicals, sorbents and reagents for proper refrigerator cleaning
Today, every hardware store has a variety of sorbents and household chemicals that are non-toxic and effective air fresheners.
They are designed to destroy various microorganisms, remove dirt and combat the persistent odor from rotten meat.
The drugs are available in the following forms:
- ionizers (Zenet, General Fresh);
- filters (Whirlpool, Candy);
- balls and spray (Snowter, Antella).
Read more ► Is it possible to put hot food in the refrigerator: warm soup, food and food in a pan
SmellOff Kitchen Odor Eliminator will help you remove unpleasant odors without affecting the quality of your food. Since the composition of the neutralizer is natural and environmentally friendly.
It is important to note that when using SmellOff, the “aroma” is not masked, but all its microparticles are removed, so the smell does not return again.
Refrigerator treatment:
- It is necessary to remove all food from the refrigerator and perform its standard defrosting.
- We remove all remaining water and visible dirt.
- We remove all removable parts in order to wash them separately in the future.
- We apply the product by spraying on all surfaces of the refrigerator: shelves, ceiling, walls, freezer, etc. We pay great attention to the most difficult to reach places, for example, elastic bands and pockets on doors, handles, corners, etc. The product should be poured onto the most contaminated areas and areas that were close to the source of the “stench” so that it reaches its maximum depth.
Leave the refrigerator treated for 12-24 hours with the door ajar until completely dry. Please note that being in the kitchen and apartment in general at the time of treatment is absolutely safe, since SmellOff contains only natural ingredients.
All cleansing substances differ not only in the principle of action, but also in the composition. To prevent and absorb repulsive odors, it is recommended to give preference to absorbents that completely eliminate the stench after 3-4 months.
They are placed in containers, after which they are placed on shelves or glued to the outer walls of the refrigeration unit. Popular odor absorbers are products from Barrier and Market Fresh.
If there is a desire and urgent need to get rid of unwanted odor in a short period of time, you should use hygiene products, cleansing sprays.
After spraying the product, it is strictly forbidden to wash it off. Also, in order to absorb the smell of rotten beef, housewives prefer wet wipes.
How to eliminate using household chemicals?
When improvised means do not help, you have to turn to professional household chemicals. You just need to work with it as carefully as possible, wearing gloves. Modern chemistry can remove about 96% of contaminants. The main list of current remedies that, according to the majority on the Internet, help:
EdelWeiss
A strong detergent that can clean the refrigerator from any stain and remove the most disgusting odors. It contains no alkalis or various acids.
EFSTO
An affordable product for quickly cleaning a refrigerator, but despite all its shortcomings, it copes well with unpleasant odors.
Limpiya
Cleans surfaces efficiently without leaving streaks or foreign odors. The only drawback is that it is very difficult to find on sale.
Little tricks
Modern freezers are high-tech and capricious devices, exposed to various chemical elements.
Modern freezers are high-tech and capricious devices, exposed to various chemical elements.
Read more ► How to clean a refrigerator to avoid odor: detergent
For each refrigerator model, you need to select a sorbent individually, since the elements included in the product can cause damage to the unit. The freezer parts are made of food-grade plastic, which actively absorbs the aroma of hydrogen sulfide.
Note! If all the methods used to combat the unpleasant odor turned out to be ineffective and did not eliminate the problem, we can draw conclusions about the entry of microorganisms into the refrigerator. In such a situation, you should call a specialist who will replace the thermal insulation.
If a stench has spread throughout the kitchen, you need to follow the same algorithm as when cleaning the refrigerator, but on the scale of the entire room.
Any disinfectant is suitable for washing windows, walls and cabinets, and the floor must be washed with a chlorine solution or any sorbent purchased at a household goods store.
In order for the smell to completely disappear, it is recommended to place the freezer along with all sources of aroma on the balcony or take it outside.
To freshen the air after all stages of cleaning, it is advisable to resort to a little trick: turn on the burner on the gas stove for a certain period of time.
After its surface is hot, you need to cut off a piece of peel from a lemon or orange and put it on the burner.
How to remove amber from the freezer?
The consequences of rotten meat affect not only the refrigerator itself, but also the freezer, which, upon opening, obviously will not smell of roses and lavender (of course, if you yourself did not freeze the flowers right there).
Therefore, it is important to know that it is necessary to wash the freezer after disposing of spoiled food! And in the freezer itself, food can easily spoil: the door is not closed completely and the food has time to defrost, or the expiration date has expired again.
Advice! Pack in cling film, then the possibility of spoiling the product is minimal.
First of all, we disconnect the equipment from the network, and then remove all food from the freezer: various frozen vegetables, berries, meat, etc. Again, we analyze the full scale of the disaster and decide where attention is most needed.
For cleaning, it is best to use dishwashing detergent and a simple cloth and sponge. We carefully go over the entire surface, erasing all visible and invisible traces of food. Pay more attention to the pan - the place where all the water drains after defrosting.
To completely clean, wipe the inside with a vinegar solution and leave to air for an hour or two. Some housewives use citric acid or juice, which is also ideal.
Prevention Tips
In order for such incidents to happen as rarely as possible, it is necessary to follow a number of prevention recommendations:
- Products with strong odors should be stored tightly closed or wrapped in film.
- Wipe up any spilled liquid (milk, juice, broth, etc.) immediately, and do not put it off until general cleaning.
- Check the overall freshness of food every three days, more often in hot weather. This will help you avoid rotten meat, fruits and vegetables, and identify sour milk by removing it from the refrigerator in time.
- Wash old refrigerators once a month, with a self-defrosting system - once every six months.
Professional odor absorbers
And there are situations when none of the listed methods work, or you don’t want to waste time and effort on washing the shelves when they are clean, but you need to remove the smell.
In such cases, odor neutralizers are used - they are also professional absorbers that do their job in not too long a time. They vary in composition, type and period of time, but they always do an excellent job of eliminating the stench from the refrigerator.
Important! Although many still confuse odor absorbers with simple air fresheners, which makes the situation even worse: instead of removing the smell, they simply “mask” it, and sometimes they are simply mixed with an unpleasant stench.
Absorbers with activated charcoal
Absorbers with a similar composition are very easy to use. Activated carbon is able to eliminate odors such as garlic, rotten foods, onions and cheese, making such absorbers very popular.
In order to eliminate odors, you simply need to open the protective layer (they are usually sold in small plastic boxes) and place it in a convenient place in the refrigerator where it will not be particularly in the way: be it a door or a shelf.
After some time (usually it takes from 3 to 7 hours), the stench should completely disappear. It can be used for a month, but overuse is not recommended.
The main advantages of this option: the price is not too high, especially since it does not take much effort and time.
Mineral absorbents
The gel absorber is made of safe mineral and carbon adsorbents, is environmentally friendly, and is designed to eliminate unpleasant odors in the refrigerator compartment.
Important! Thanks to their interesting shape, gel balls allow air to circulate freely, thereby speeding up the process of absorbing unpleasant odors by half compared to other absorbers.
The main service life is 1.5 months, it must be fixed on a convenient surface inside the refrigerator, the effect appears after 3-5 hours. Main advantages: quick effect and long shelf life.
Absorber with silica gel
It is often used not only in the kitchen, but also in the toilet, bathroom, and other places where the smell is not the most pleasant. It is suitable for eliminating the stench from the refrigeration chamber, but no better than the same onion, which we will talk about a little later.
The silica gel used here is a dried gel. But it is also dangerous because it is extremely explosive and fire hazardous, so most products are used exclusively in bathrooms: there is only water and there is no threat of high temperature. In its simple form, silica gel is dangerous to health, in particular to the lungs, but in absorbers this disadvantage is completely neutralized.
Sold in small bags, shaped like a small ball, we often see them in new shoes, which is why it looks identical in everyday life. They buy it in portions, that is, not one or two bags, but five to ten pieces per refrigerator size; for an average one, five is enough. The absorber is changed every three weeks.
Multifunctional ozonizer
Scientists have proven that at low temperatures bacteria simply slow down their reproduction, but they have also proven that ozone destroys all types of viruses and bacteria, which is why the multifunctional ozonator has become popular in the world.
Attention! This technique also saturates vegetables and fruits with oxygen, complementing them with a brighter taste, and also neutralizes pesticides, chlorine, toxic chemicals, parasites and simpler microorganisms.
The ozonator easily copes with the problem of unpleasant odors; one ozonation session is enough. It doesn’t take up much space in the refrigerator—about the size of a yoghurt box—and it runs on batteries that need to be changed once a month, which is quite beneficial. Works without power supply.
Do you use odor absorbers?
Not really
Effective odor removers
Of course, there are more radical and effective methods for getting rid of the smell of rotten meat in the refrigerator. For this purpose, there are special cleaning, disinfecting and odor-absorbing products.
Odorgon
This drug exists in several versions - to remove the smell of tobacco, sweat, for clothes and shoes, etc. We will be helped by the one that is used precisely to combat the consequences of rotting food. OdorGONE is an ideal product; it is even used in meat processing plants to treat freezers, trays, cutting tables and other equipment.
Professional deodorizing agent OdorGONE
If you don't know how to remove the smell of rotten fish from the refrigerator, this will solve this problem too. It is enough to treat the inside of the unit with the preparation and close it tightly for a day; for greater effect, it is even recommended to cover the refrigerator with film.
Then it will need to be washed and ventilated. If necessary, the procedure is repeated several times.
Absorbents and ionizers
Since the process of dealing with an unpleasant odor in the refrigerator can take a long time, and it is difficult to live without this unit, especially in the summer, some people decide to get rid of the damaged equipment and buy a new one. But its price is not at all low, so not everyone can afford such a radical solution.
But there is another solution that allows you to use the device in between washes. These are special odor absorbers produced specifically for refrigerators.
We offer you a short overview of such products.
- Frau Schmidt odor absorber in the shape of an egg that fits in a standard chicken egg cell. It is filled with coal and lasts for 2-3 months.
The device is also a temperature indicator: if the upper white part does not match the color of the lower part, then the refrigerator is too warm
- Filtero odor absorber, consisting of two replaceable filters, each of which lasts for two months, and a dispenser.
Filtero knows how to remove rotten smell from the refrigerator
- Gel absorbers Top House with silver ions. They not only fight odors, but also provide an antibacterial effect.
Top House with lemon extract
- Air ionizer Aircomfort XJ-100 is a battery-powered device. The active oxygen it produces destroys bacteria and microorganisms and sterilizes the air.
Photo of an ionizer for refrigerators
And today there are a lot of such devices. Ask sellers in stores about them, or even better, buy them in online stores - it will be cheaper. They will be useful to you in any case, even just to keep the refrigerator fresh.
What home remedies can you put inside?
If the smell is not too strong, and you are too lazy or unable to tinker with the above procedures, then you can use one of the “grandmother’s” methods, available at home almost everywhere. To eliminate mild bad odors, you can use the most common products that are probably found in every home.
Activated carbon
As previously reported: activated carbon can actually eliminate unpleasant odors from cheeses, onions and garlic. Try placing a plate of crushed activated carbon tablets on it for five hours, after which you may notice at least some difference. Can be used instead of a charcoal absorber, but this option is less effective.
Rye bread
Believe it or not, this is also an effective method to get rid of a slight stench in the refrigerator. After cutting it into equal slices, place one on each shelf, and then come back after three to four hours. Of course, the larger the refrigerator, the more baking you will need.
Coffee for flavoring
As you know, coffee has pleasant aromatic properties, but in addition it perfectly absorbs terrible odors. Pour the grains into an open jar or large plate, then refrigerate for 3-4 hours. Coffee will absorb all the bad odors, replacing them with its own aroma.
Onion
Surprisingly, this fragrant vegetable, which often brings cooks to tears, is actually capable of eliminating unpleasant odors. It's all about its skin, which perfectly absorbs the stench.
Just don’t rely too much on this option, because it will only work with a slight smell. Peel it and cut it into slices, leave it in this state in the refrigerator for several hours.
Important! Natural absorbents must be changed every three days.
Citrus peel
After eating an orange or lemon, do not rush to throw away the peel, because it can be used as a neutralizer. Citrus peels have an interesting ability to “absorb” foreign odors, making them great as a natural absorbent.
Advice! You need to place the peel on a plate, leaving it on a shelf in the refrigerator for about 5 hours, after which the result will pleasantly surprise you.
Do you use home remedies for refrigerator odors?
Not really
As we have already understood, there are many ways to get rid of unpleasant odors in our refrigerator. Some of them work great, while others cope only with less difficulty, although we still prefer household appliances.
In order to have fewer and fewer such cases, you need to follow simple recommendations, and then there will be no need for vinegar with potassium permanganate.
Natural odor neutralizers and flavors
Thorough and repeated cleaning of the freezer may not always eliminate the stench of rotten meat products.
Effective and special aroma absorbers are sorbents that instantly absorb unpleasant odors and are characterized by a high ability to absorb them:
- Baking soda. It is laid out in small jars and placed on the internal shelves of the refrigeration unit. The refrigerator must be turned off and its doors left open.
- Activated or charcoal. It is necessary to put 6-7 tablets of this product in the freezer for 2 days. The operating mode of the refrigerator should be minimal.
- Citrus fruits . The peels of tangerines, lemons and oranges are effective absorbers of unpleasant odors in the refrigerator. They need to be trimmed and evenly laid out on the shelves.
- Coffee. First turn off the refrigerator and place a cup of brewed coffee on the shelf. Lightly roasted coffee is used as a sorbent, which is poured into a container and placed in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
- Black bread . The loaf needs to be cut into slices and placed on the shelves of the refrigeration unit. The bread will absorb the unpleasant smell.
Important! You can add a fresh aroma to your refrigerator by using natural flavors: cloves, celery, thyme and cinnamon.
