Best Way to Remove Odors from a Refrigerator - With Vinegar

Have you ever opened your refrigerator and been met with a "not so nice" odor?  You are not quite

sure whether it is the leftovers from last night full of garlic, or that box of lettuce you have had a few days or maybe that container at the back of the fridge you can't remember putting there.

All I know is I leave an open box of baking soda in my

refrigerator.... it needs to be fired!

I found vinegar was the absolute best way to remove odors from a refrigerator fast.

WHITE VINEGAR!!

Step 1 - Empty as much as you can from your refrigerator.  I do this in stages as I don't want to unplug mine, so will quickly do a minute at a time then close the doors!

Step 2 - Put all the food on the counter, or in a cooler

Step 3 - Take out the vegetable crisper drawers (they are notorious for rotting foods way at the back) and empty them of produce and debris such as onion peels and what not, and then fill with hot soapy water to soak.

Step 4 - In the kitchen sink or a bucket, create a mixture of half and half white vinegar and warm water.

Step 5 - Quickly wipe down all the surfaces in your refrigerator with this solution and a clean cloth.  No need to rinse, but you may need to do the shelves twice, keep ringing out the cloth to get more mixture.  This disinfects as well as cleans.  Pay special attention to the area under where the crisper drawers live, it gets full of debris and rotting food.

Step 6 - With the refrigerator now closed and clean, go through the food items and begin to return to the refrigerator.

Take a look at boxed salads as rotting bits can be in the bottom and create smells in your fridge. Check the produce and compost anything not edible.  Check dates on salad dressings and toss if too old.

TIP:  If you love old smelly cheeses, get a container from the dollar store to keep them in to reduce smells in the refrigerator.  Nothing like the smell of old socks from chunks of Parmesan to greet you!

Step 7 - Wash and dry the crisper drawers and replace.

Step 8 - Refill your now clean refrigerator with good foods.

✅There are also some cool products on the market now to help you organize your refrigerator in such a way that you can find everything and store more produce, cans, your favourite foods and more..  Check this article on how to organize a refrigerator for tips.

What if you Simply Don't Have Time to Address the Stinky Refrigerator Today?

Take a coffee mug and fill it half full with white vinegar.  Place inside on a main shelf and leave it there until you get a chance to clean it out properly.  This will help to neutralize the odor.

I personally found white vinegar did a better job of this than leaving baking soda open in the fridge. My opinion of course, but I had some rotting lettuce I didn't realize I had and the white vinegar kept the smell away.

You still need to try and find the source of any heavy smells, but usually once you throw out that rotting science project in the back you have found it!

Plus you would be surprised just how bad a rotting lettuce leaf or cabbage leaf or any moldy veggie can smell!  I was amazed that just a handful of lettuce was causing such a stink!

I keep large jugs of white vinegar on hand. 

There are so many uses for it around the house and for personal use and cooking too.  It is affordable, better than chemicals for you and the environment and easy to use.

Plus its there for those french fries too!

How to Get Smoke Smell out of Car with Vinegar - Cheap, Easy and Effective

My husband is a smoker, and always smoked in the car.  But even with the windows rolled down while smoking the odor lingered.  Fast forward a few years and we wanted to sell the car, but no matter what I tried I just couldn't get the stale smoke odor out.

Here is a quick, easy and cheap method that totally worked!

Step 1 - Open all the windows and pull out the mats and ash trays and give the car a good cleaning with the vacuum and a dusting cloth.  Since other odors can add to the smoke smell to create an over all icky smell.

Step 2 - Once you have cleaned the car and checked for other odor sources, (don't forget the glove box, seat pockets, and especially under the seats, for rotting food, or wrappers), put the mats back in and other items.

Step 3 - Purchase a large jug of plain white vinegar from the grocery store or online.

Step 4 - Find two large plastic bowls, and two clean tea towels.

Step 5 - Place a tea towel in each bowl and then pour the white vinegar over them until just submerged.

Step 6 - Place one bowl on the floor of the back seat area and the other on the front floor.

Step 7 - Leave the car for overnight if you can, or at least 6 hours.

Step 8 - Remove the bowls, and your car will have a nice fresh scent.

Step 9 - DON'T SMOKE IN THE CAR ANYMORE!.  If possible restrict smoking in this car, but if not, get the smoker to do these above steps at least once a month to keep the car smelling fresh for others, its only fair!


Remove Smoke Smell From Car and Other Odors with White Vinegar

I remember how hard I would work to clean the car with dry shampoos, vacuuming, even scrubbing the roof liner, but the smoke smell always lingered until I tried this vinegar tip.

Vinegar Uses

Keep some white vinegar on hand as it has a ton of uses that many people don't think to try.  Check out the other posts in this blog to see just how handy this is.  Natural and cheap, no harsh chemicals.  I can't tell you the money I spent on other chemicals to get rid of the smoke smell in the car.

Use in Smoky Rooms in House Too

This method also works in rooms in the house.  If you have had a party and you have some lingering smoke odors or just a general icky smell that opening the windows is not clearing, then follow the steps above and place a towel soaked vinegar bowl in the room and leave overnight if you can.

This is the perfect natural air freshener for any room and without the use of harsh chemicals.

How to Age Wood With Vinegar - Really Cool Patina!

If you love the look of aged wood, you know that grayish patina that is left behind after years of

being exposed to the elements?

Guess what?  You don't have to wait that long.  Here is a very simple process that is somewhat organic, no harsh chemicals, and creates that look within an hour of application.

Lets Get Started aging your wood

What you will Need:

• White Vinegar
• Water
• Steel Wool
• Paint Brush
• Gloves
• Bucket with good fitting lid (for vinegar mixture)

Step 1 - Take a clean bucket with a good fitting lid, add your vinegar only (it is a 50/50 ratio to vinegar and water so if you plan on doing a lot of wood aging then use larger bottles of vinegar).

Step 2 - Put on the gloves for opening the steel wool pieces.  This helps the mixture form quicker as steel wool tends to be sold in clumps.  So unravel it and place the steel wool in the bucket with the vinegar and using a paint stick submerge it.

Step 3 - Patience.  Let it sit for approximately 4 days.  So if you are planning to work on your crafts or projects this weekend getting it started at the beginning of the week so you will have it ready.

Step 4 - Open lid.  It will look like mucky water.  Add the water (remember, same amount as of vinegar) and mix with stir stick.

Step 5 - Take your paint brush and paint the untreated wood (remember this really only works on untreated wood).  You will see it begin to change as it dries.

Step 6 - Let dry and your wood now looks like it has been outside for years but without the damage.

Video Below on Aging Wood with Vinegar

Another Option to Steel Wool - Old Nails and Bolts and Washers

I have done this process for years, and had never used the steel wool.  I just didn't have it around the house.  So I used old nails and bolts.  I had a container of these laying around, not really good for anything, but hated to simply toss them out.

Depending on how dark you want your wood, you can add more steel wool, nails, bolts or washers and let it sit for longer.  Keep diluting it with some water and you can use this mixture for many projects.

You can get everything online, delivered to your door, so you are ready to start!

Need Some Great Ideas for this Aging Process??

Unfinished Interior Barn Sliding Door

The latest trend in interior decorating is separating rooms with sliding barn style doors.  These are a really cool addition to a room and have become quite popular no matter what your decor style.

They come in many different stained colors especially online.  But here is a brilliant idea.  Get an unfinished and untreated door such as this one and then age it with vinegar and steel wool to knock that "newness" off of it and give you that awesome grey patina that doesn't seem to be sold in stores.

Assorted Wood Crafts

You can use this aging wood process on any unfinished wood, such as picture frames, tissue box holders, small wood pieces for other crafts. The sky is the limit.
Unfinished Wood Furniture

You can think big or small, but how about taking some unfinished and untreated furniture and giving it that aged look without stressing the wood.  It is a great alternative to the colored stains on the market.  There are so many ideas!  This is a very affordable way to stain any piece of unfinished wood.