I am getting to be a desperate woman. I can't get the fish smell out of my refrigerator. I tried cleaning with baking soda, bleach and water, 409 disinfectant spray - no luck. I've soaked the refrigerator with all of these for 1 hour or more, and no luck.
When we had a house fire, the Pro's brought in a large "Ozone Machine"... & within 2 days the whole house smelled fresh & new again. You can buy or rent smaller ones, for more information look in your yellow pages under "Fire & Water damage" & ask these guys about where you can rent a small ozone machine. These machines will remove ANY bad smells...
BUT FIRST TRY THIS: try putting several bowls of white vinegar in various places all around your fridge... (you can also use the vinegar to wash down the walls of your fridge) Then the following day, put in a tray of high quality brand new kitty litter.... This will absorb the rest of the odor if there's any left after you've used the vinegar.
You can also use "OUT!" ... it sold at Walmart for only $3.99 & it's made with good bacteria & enzymes to "eat" pet stains & odors.... It works wonders removing smells, plus it leaves a nice Vanilla scent.
We had a leaky bag of crab legs in our fridge and we couldn't wash the odor away. It always remained on the plastic edges of the glass shelves. The posts about using vanilla extract caught my eye. Vanilla extract is mostly alcohol.
Wiping the plastic perimeter edging on the shelf in question with a cotton ball soaked in rubbing alcohol seems to have cured our problem. I scrubbed all the surfaces and pushed hard into all the edges and corners. Our problem is now solved. I hope it works for you!
Check your baking soda box. I had horrible, lingering fish smell. After cleaning, throwing things out and checking every nook and cranny, my husband came in and sniffed the soda box I taken out.
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How do I clean fish odors from my refrigerator?
I hope you do not have a lot of food stored as most likely most of it will have to be discarded. Fish odor gets on everything and if it is not in a sealed washable container then it will have to be dumped.
Step 1
You should have a large cooler available or some other place to store any salvageable sealed containers as cleaning this odor will take overnight to work properly.
Step 2
First of course is to remove all food and then remove all removable parts shelves, drawers, containers.
Step 3
Set these aside and clean them later. Clean these parts outside if possible or in the bathtub (you may need back patch).
Step 4
Vinegar is a good all around cleaning product. Mix it with an equal amount of water and wipe the entire inside of the refrigerator. You can also make a loose paste of baking soda and water and use that instead but that is more difficult to rinse off and vinegar requires no rinse.
Step 5
In either case, after washing the inside, it is really best to wait anywhere from a couple of hours to a couple of days before re-stocking.
Step 6
Wipe the seal (try to get in all the groves) with a cotton ball soaked in white vinegar or rubbing alcohol.
Step 7
There are other methods and some of them may work.
Step 8
Place one or more pie plates (or any slightly curved plates) filled with fresh coffee grounds (unused) inside and leave over night.
Step 9
Place charcoal (any kind) on top of crumpled up newspaper in several areas and leave overnight.
Step 10
You might also try regular clay kitty litter placed in open containers and left overnight.
There is a product called "OUT" that is for pet odors but it will also work on something like this. Sold at Walmart type stores in cleaning department.
It isn't too difficult to remove the odor of fish from your refrigerator
Step 1
Place a bowl of baking soda in the refrigerator to help absorb the odors.
Step 2
Remove the food, drawers and trays from the refrigerator.
Step 3
Make a solution of one liter warm water, a few drops of dishwashing liquid and a quarter of a cup of baking soda.
Step 4
Use a sponge to clean all surfaces of the refrigerator including the door, drawers, trays, and plastic seal.
Step 5
Apply a small amount of vanilla extract to a paper towel and wipe down all surfaces in your refrigerator.
Step 6
Close the door and allow it to dry out before replacing the food, drawers, and trays.
Step 7
Always leave an open box of baking soda at the back of your refrigerator to absorb all odors in the refrigerator.
Fish odor.
Step 1
Stuff your fridge with crumpled up newspaper.
Step 2
Change it every day until the odor is gone.
Step 3
You can use the colored advertisement section as well as black and white newspaper.
Step 4
Put an opened box of baking soda at the back of the fridge.
Clean the entire fridge out then mix one part vinegar to one part water, spray, clean, dry with a towel and put everything back in.
Step 1
Mix equal parts of vinegar and water and a little lemon juice in a spray bottle.
Step 2
Empty the fridge and spray solution all over fridge.
Step 3
Leave sit for twenty minutes and wipe everything off.
Step 4
Dry with a clean towel.
Step 5
Put a fresh box of baking soda in fridge to absorb odours.
Step 6
Smell all your stuff before putting back in the fridge if it smells discard.
Does the refrigerator have to be on