How to Clean and Deodorize Your Fridge Before Thanksgiving
Baking Soda Wash
Make room for the turkey and get rid of that smell. Empty the fridge into a cooler and toss anything doubtful. Let cold glass shelves sit 15 minutes before they hit warm water. Wash everything with 4 cups warm water, 1/2 cup baking soda and 1 teaspoon dish soap, toothbrush the door gasket and the drip channel, wipe with plain water and dry. Leave an open bowl of activated charcoal or coffee grounds inside. No scented cleaners.
You need
- 4 cups warm water (950 ml)
- 1/2 cup baking soda
- 1 teaspoon dish soap
- 1 cup activated charcoal or 1 cup fresh dry coffee grounds
- 1 open bowl or a shallow dish
- Sponge and an old toothbrush
Mix it
- Stir the baking soda into the warm water until it dissolves, then add the dish soap. This is your wipe down solution.
- Put the activated charcoal or coffee grounds in the open bowl and set it aside. That is the ongoing absorber.
Use it
- Empty the fridge into a cooler and throw out anything you are unsure about. You cannot deodorize around an active source.
- Pull every shelf, drawer and door bin out onto a towel. Give the glass fifteen minutes to reach room temperature, because cold tempered glass cracks in warm water.
- Wash them in the sink with the same solution, rinse, and stand them up to dry.
- Wipe every interior wall, the ceiling, the floor and the shelf rails, top to bottom.
- Peel the door gasket back and run the toothbrush through every fold, then do the drip channel at the back. Old liquid collects in both and that is where a stubborn fridge smell lives.
- Go over the interior again with a cloth wrung out in plain water. Leftover soap film holds odor by itself.
- Dry every surface with a clean towel, gasket folds included, then put the shelves back in. Damp corners in a cold box grow mildew.
- Put the open bowl of charcoal or coffee on a middle shelf toward the back and leave it. Swap it every 30 days.
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