Black cumin seed oil
Corinne Segura, a building biologist practitioner and founder of My Chemical-Free House, has first-hand experience with fridge odors.
“When food went bad in my fridge, it left a lingering foul odor,” she says. “I used black cumin seed oil, which has a deodorizing effect to clean up the smell.”
Segura credits this to the essential oil’s ability to deodorize methyl mercaptan, a chemical that produces a rotten scent.
“I mixed five drops of black cumin essential oil with one tablespoon of dish soap and applied it in a thick layer to all the plastic components inside the fridge,” she says. “I let it sit for two hours before washing it off. This worked well to get rid of foul odors in the fridge.”
Activated charcoal
Activated charcoal captures the particles that cause bad smells, just like toilet paper. It’s available as a powder, in pre-cut filters or as fabric you can cut to size.
It functions by collecting the volatile compounds given off by smelly items, reducing odor. Swap out the charcoal every month or so to keep it effective.
Vanilla extract
For those who prefer a more pleasant scent, especially around their food, Asri offers a particularly sweet recommendation. “Soak a cotton ball in vanilla extract and place it in the refrigerator,” he says. “This combats bad odors and leaves your fridge smelling like a bakery.”
UV light purifier
If you gravitate toward high-tech solutions, consider a fridge with a UV light filter. This comes from Alexander Hill, a sales rep for United Kingdom-based The Appliance Depot.
“Ultraviolet light can destroy bacteria, molds and other pathogens,” says Hill. “Some fridge purifiers use UV light to sanitize the air and surfaces inside the fridge, thus reducing the source of many odors.”
Refrigerators like the Samsung Bespoke line offered UV deodorizing filters as an option since 2021, while other brands feature UV filters on in-door water dispenser lines.
Hill says these filters are particularly useful for large refrigerators or persistent trouble areas, where passive odor absorption might not be enough. Electronic purifiers, he says, also reduce bacteria and mold, leading to a fresher and potentially safer food storage environment.
Crumpled newspaper and charcoal
If you want a deep clean on your fridge or freezer at minimal expense, go with one paper product that’s even cheaper than toilet paper. Fill up a particularly stinky fridge with crushed charcoal and crumpled newspaper (you can buy unprinted newsprint paper).
See our story for a complete rundown on this unconventional technique. You’ll need to replace the newspaper every day for about a week, but it’s a low-cost way to deal with a foul-smelling situation.