How To Get Rid Of Fishy Odor In The Refrigerator
A refrigerator can quickly become smelly due to rotting food stored inside. Still, fishy odors are incredibly challenging to get rid of if you don’t know how to do it correctly.
You can get rid of fishy odors in your refrigerator by removing the original source of the smell. Then, remove and wash all shelves and drawers in the refrigerator compartment before wiping down the interior panels with water and vinegar. More importantly, ventilate the appliance so any stagnant moisture dries up. Lastly, use odor removers to help trap any remaining smell.
You can eliminate the fishy odor in your appliance with a bit of time and effort. Read through this guide to discover a step-by-step process to do that.
Why Won’t The Fish Smell In My Fridge Go Away?
Your refrigerator is a sealed compartment that can trap many different smells. However, fishy odors are particularly stubborn and hard to eliminate, as you’ve undoubtedly experienced.
The reason for that is due to stagnant moisture. Firstly, the smell of fish gets trapped in the water within your fridge compartment. Unfortunately, that smelly moisture gets stuck in little nooks and crannies in your refrigerator, which will continue giving off that smell of fish.
For example, that stagnant fishy moisture can get stuck in the bottom corners of the compartment or inside the air vents. Until you remove and clean that smelly moisture, the problem will continue.
You can do that with a thorough cleaning session using the methods detailed below.
How Do You Get Rid Of Fish Smells In A Fridge?
There’s good and bad news about getting rid of the fish smell in your fridge. The good news is you can get rid of even the most stubborn odors, regardless of how long they’ve been in the appliance.
The bad news is that it’ll take a bit of time and effort and won’t be as straightforward as spraying a cleaning product and wiping it away.
Here are the steps you must follow to get rid of fish smells in your refrigerator:
Step 1: Remove Odor Sources
First and foremost, you must identify and remove all potential sources of the fishy odor. That means checking every food container or packaging inside the compartment and eliminating anything that even remotely smells of fish.
This first step is crucial because it ensures the fishy odor won’t come back after cleaning the refrigerator thoroughly.
Step 2: Remove Shelves And Drawers For Cleaning
Once you’re confident that no fish products or other rotten food items that smell, you can begin emptying the refrigerator compartment.
That means taking out anything removable, including all shelves and crisper drawers.
Next, you must wash and dry each of those shelves and drawers. Then, you can use regular dish soap to clean them in the kitchen sink and ensure they’re free from odors.
Remember to set them aside to air-dry naturally for at least 10 minutes.
Step 3: Clean Fridge Interior
While the shelves and drawers are drying, the next step is to clean the fridge interior.
Remember: the fishy odor can also come from dried-up stains on the compartment walls.
So, spray a little vinegar on those surfaces and wipe them clean until there are no more smells.
Step 4: Ventilate Refrigerator
Earlier, you read that the fishy odor in a fridge is stubborn because of stagnant moisture. The best way to remove that moisture is by ventilating the refrigerator and letting it dry out naturally.
Turn your refrigerator off and leave its doors open. Simultaneously, point a fan at the open fridge to drive more air through the appliance.
Doing so will dry out stagnant moisture and remove the smells they carry.
Step 5: Use Odor Absorbers
Lastly, use odor absorbers in your refrigerator to remove any minor odors still present. For example, coffee grounds or baking soda in an open container absorb smells in the fridge.
Alternatively, you can find refrigerator odor absorbers at your local hardware store or supermarket that do the same thing.
We have several articles that are similar to these on our website like How To Keep Refrigerator From Scratching Wood Floor, How To Remove Stains From A Stainless Steel Refrigerator and How To Get Rid Of Gnats In Refrigerator
Final Thoughts
Fishy odors in a refrigerator are particularly stubborn due to stagnant moisture. In other words, that smell comes from water stuck around the fridge’s compartment. You can get rid of that fishy odor by thoroughly cleaning the appliance and everything in it.
Firstly, remove all sources of fishy smells from inside the fridge. Then, remove and wash all shelves and drawers before wiping down the appliance’s interior panels. Lastly, ventilate the refrigerator and use odor absorbers to remove any remaining smell.
