Different types of food products are stored in the refrigerator, in kind and after cooking. Often, when non-compliance with the rules of placement and loosely sealed containers, odors are mixed. If an inactive product has expired due to inattention, the unpleasant aroma will remain in the refrigerator for a long time. Also spoils the look and yellowness on plastic. A good housewife should know how to wash a refrigerator, how to quickly and permanently destroy a bad smell, while preserving the freshness of other products.
Causes of Unpleasant Fragrance
In order to cope with a problem, you need to know its root causes, in this case, where does the bad smell come from. As a rule, they are divided into two groups:
- Factory. Manufacturers warn about the likelihood of a smell in the technical specifications for the unit. Often they are accompanied by recommendations on how to eliminate aroma. Often enough to wipe the refrigerator inside with a damp cloth using detergent.
- Domestic reasons. Usually an unpleasant smell is exuded by products with an expired shelf life or prepared dishes that are not covered with cling film, as well as spilled or stagnant liquids.
How to clean
Before providing information on how to wash the refrigerator at home, consider the general rules for cleaning the device:
- First you need to turn off the power of the unit so that it unfrozen a little before washing. It is recommended to clean the device at least once every 2-4 months, this applies to all models of household appliances.
- All contents are taken out of the refrigerator, since the washing process can be delayed, the products are stored in a cool place. If cleaning is planned in a few days, it is better not to buy perishable products.
- Shelves, additional elements and plastic stands are removed from the chamber of the device. Without them, washing the refrigerator will be much easier. They are thoroughly washed and dried separately.
- To get rid of the smell, first of all, the most polluted and inaccessible areas are washed. For washing, it is necessary to choose a gentle and effective substance. Usually these are improvised folk remedies and household chemicals. They penetrate the dirt well, dissolving it, return the former whiteness to the yellowed plastic, wash off the stains remaining from the products. Folk remedies, in addition to their effectiveness, are characterized by bactericidal action, as a result of which harmful microorganisms will die, products will remain fresh longer.
- To completely wash the inside of the unit, special attention is paid to the notches and bulges, the sealing gum is removed from the doors and washed, often underneath bacteria foci.
- Finally, all parts are wiped with a damp and then dry rag.
Useful Tips
Cleaning should be carried out regularly so that a lot of dirt does not accumulate. It is better to wipe the refrigerator more often than to wash the hardened, stubborn particles of half a day.
The appliance is switched on only after it dries. The outside is cleaned with a damp cloth dampened in detergent and then with a dry cloth. To prevent holes from becoming blocked by dust particles, the back panel is cleaned with a dry, soft brush. For external washing, folk remedies are rarely used.
To get rid of an unpleasant aroma, washing the refrigerator is carried out only after complete defrosting. It is not recommended to use abrasive products for cleaning the device, since the particles leave scratches on the surface, in which dirt subsequently accumulates, respectively, and the smell. Folk recipes, on the contrary, gently and effectively wash the surface, leaving the aroma of freshness and purity. How to wash the refrigerator, we will consider further in the article.
Cleaning No Frost
Modern refrigeration equipment is equipped with the No Frost system, which allows freezing food without ice formation. As a result, the device does not require constant defrosting, as is the case with outdated models. Despite all the advantages of this system, often users are faced with the problem of bad smell. Why is this so? How to wash the refrigerator from smell in this case?
The reason for this may be the condensate trap. It is located in an inaccessible place and for cleaning you have to dismantle the panel from the back of the unit or turn it around. To prevent this situation, users of household appliances must comply with the rules for storing products and monitor their shelf life. Defrost the device at least twice a year.
In order not to spoil the inner coating, it is recommended to clean the refrigeration appliance with gentle detergents. Moreover, harsh chemicals may not affect the quality of food products in the best way.
We wash the usual refrigerator:
- Wipe all surfaces of the equipment with a rag dampened in soapy water.
- Including the need to wash the back wall of the freezer.
- The trays and containers in the door are removed and thoroughly cleaned.
- After that, the soap solution is washed off and then wiped dry.
- If the smell persists, wipe the surfaces with lemon juice, table vinegar or soda.
- A clean refrigerator is connected to the network after four hours in the cold season and after two in the hot season.
Vinegar and soda
These components are always present in every home, therefore, there is something to wash the refrigerator inside from smell.
Baking soda is useful in the kitchen not only for baking, it helps in solving many domestic problems. It can wash the refrigerator both outside and inside. For cleaning, 80 g of powder is dissolved in a liter of water. The resulting mixture is wiped with all the internal and external surfaces of the unit, and then wiped dry.
Vinegar is another effective anti-odor product. The liquid is diluted in equal proportions with water, wash the device inside, all the shelves and trays. Then wipe with a dry cloth. After this treatment, the refrigerator is left to air for one to two hours and only after that it is filled with products.
Other homemade recipes
How to wash the refrigerator inside if there is no soda or vinegar in the house? Among the many home recipes for combating unpleasant odors in refrigeration, ammonia and lemon can be distinguished. Apply them as follows:
- Ammonia is diluted with water in proportions of 1 to 100. The chamber and the shelves, grates, etc. located in it are processed with a finished product. Then, everything is wiped with a dry cloth, and for some time the refrigerator is ventilated with the door open.
- For cleaning with lemon, you will need to mix freshly squeezed juice of half a citrus and a liter of water. In the resulting solution, a rag is moistened and the unit is washed. In addition to eliminating odor, lemon has a deodorizing effect.
Lather and toothpaste
How to wash the refrigerator if there are no cleaning agents and food acids? You can get rid of ambra in the device using a conventional detergent:
- Take any soap, preferably household, and froth in warm water.
- Foam is applied to the walls and the inside of the refrigerator door and left for 20 minutes.
- Then, with a clean damp cloth, its residues are removed.
- All parts of the device and sealing gums are thoroughly washed in a soap solution, and then rinsed in running water.
Toothpaste quickly and effectively copes with all kinds of unpleasant odors. It is used as follows:
- The product is taken without dyes and flavors and applied to a damp sponge.
- The mass is slightly spread over the surface and the refrigerator is washed in circular motions. In this case, all internal parts must first be removed.
- The paste is kept for 15 minutes and washed off.
- Shelves and drawers are washed separately in soapy water.
Cider
An apple drink helps to quickly remove sharp unpleasant odors (rotten rot and rot), and also using this liquid you can solve the problem of how to wash stickers from the refrigerator.
Act as follows:
- A glass of cider is bred in a liter of warm water.
- In the resulting solution, a sponge is moistened and the refrigerator and freezer chamber, trays and shelves of the unit are wiped.
- After 10 minutes, the refrigerator is washed with a damp cloth and then wiped dry.
The component parts of the unit must not be washed with hot water, for this it is better to use a warm or cool liquid. Even refrigerators with the No Frost system should be thawed before washing.
Natural and industrial odor absorbers
To solve the problem less often than to wash the refrigerator, and in order to prevent and combat unpleasant odors, you can independently produce absorbed odors from improvised means:
- Activated carbon. The tablets are crushed, put into a small container and placed in the refrigerator door.
- Rice with vinegar. On a saucer put a pinch of rice and pour vinegar to cover the grains. The capacity is placed anywhere in the unit.
- A bag with a baking powder is opened and in this form is put on a shelf.
- Any spices or ground coffee are poured into a small container and refrigerated. It is worth noting that seasonings can convey their flavor to ready-made dishes.
Among industrial odor absorbers, there are:
- Helium. Often they include lemon and algae extract.
- Silica gel. Able to protect the refrigerator from an unpleasant odor during the year.
- Mineral salts, in addition to odors, absorb excess moisture.
- An electric ionizer, in addition to everything, has an antibacterial effect.
Special tools
Special odor control products are available for sale. They can help solve the problem than washing the refrigerator inside from yellowness. Substances are available in the form of powders, flavors, napkins and gels. The most popular of them:
- OdorGone. The products of the company of the same name are included in the category of environmental goods and can be used in child care facilities. That is why this brand is best suited for cleaning food storage areas.
- Top House effectively removes even persistent aromas and cleanses heavy dirt.
- Oro Fix 02012 - a tool designed to clean rubberized parts and remove yellow spots.
- Clean Home is a product that destroys the fumes of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide from certain types of spoiled foods.
- ZOOL ZL-377 - eliminates fungi, harmful microorganisms and bacteria.
Tips: Odor Prevention
The basis for proper storage is the sorting of products. The rules of their bookmark in the refrigerator:
- Dairy products absorb foreign odors well, so they need to be put on a separate shelf.
- Washed fruits and vegetables are placed in the refrigerator dry. Wet spots or condensation that has formed should be cleaned immediately, because they accelerate the decay of foods.
- Strong odor products such as meat and fish are recommended to be stored in separate containers.
- In order for the unit to serve for a long time, it is necessary to properly care for it, wash and defrost on time.
- It is necessary to constantly audit in the refrigerator and dispose of expired products.
In order to prevent and to neutralize unpleasant odors, it is recommended to use special antiseptic and adsorption agents.