Many Ukrainians were forced to leave their homes hastily, leaving behind refrigerators full of food.
During the war, of course, the food spoiled, the fridge got smelly and moldy.
As reported: Fakta.today
If the power went out in your house, or you turned it off when you left, the smell in your kitchen is probably indescribable.
In such a situation, it may seem like the best course of action is to buy a new fridge, but don't give up because you can save it too.
Preparing your fridge:
If your refrigerator was plugged in - you must unplug it and defrost it.
While your fridge is defrosting, remove all food.
Take out all the shelves.
You can speed up the defrosting of the freezer by placing a kitchen board in it and a bowl or pot of hot water on top of it.
Don't place the hot bowl without a stand because you could damage/deform the freezing compartment, which is made of plastic in almost all refrigerator models.
We also don't recommend removing frozen frost with a spatula - it's better to wait until it thaws a little.
When your fridge is defrosted, you can wash it.
How to clean your fridge to remove dirt and odor:
Citric acid
Dilute two teaspoons of citric acid in warm water and thoroughly clean the entire fridge with a sponge.
Dishwashing detergent
Wash the fridge with dishwashing detergent.
But if the smell was very strong, this method may not be enough.
Vinegar
This is one of the best ways - dilute a small amount of ordinary vinegar in room temperature water and thoroughly clean the entire fridge.
Vinegar removes odor and disinfects.
Baking soda + vinegar
If there is mold in the fridge, and you don't want to use soap, prepare a solution of baking soda by diluting 1 tablespoon in a liter of hot water.
Wash the entire fridge with this solution and then rinse with clean water.
Then prepare a solution of vinegar and wipe the fridge, then rinse again with clean warm water.
Laundry soap + dishwashing detergent + baking soda + hot water.
A solution that will definitely help clean your fridge.
Mix all of the above and thoroughly clean the fridge.
Then rinse the fridge with clean warm water.
If the unpleasant odor remains, you can try to remove it with odor absorbers from the store, but also with simpler methods such as activated carbon: just put 5 tablets on a small plate in the fridge.
Baking soda can also help eliminate odor - put several spoonfuls on a dish and leave it on the fridge shelf overnight.
Also, important:
After all of the above methods, you must rinse the fridge with clean water at the end.
Also wash all fridge shelves and containers and let them dry.
Don't forget about the door seals, as they often accumulate a lot of dirt that smells unpleasant.
A toothbrush can help clean them.
After the fridge is completely dry, turn it on.
If the odor remains, you can try to remove it with odor absorbers from the store, but also with simpler methods, such as activated carbon: just put 5 tablets on a small plate in the fridge.
Baking soda can also help eliminate odor - put several spoonfuls on a dish and leave it on the fridge shelf overnight.
Read more: "As soon as it thaws, it loses its properties": Foods you should not freeze
As we wrote earlier: Quick recipe for cherry cake: when you want a tasty treat but don't want to stand by the stove
