Q: Why does my fridge smell when the door is opened? Is it time to renew the deodoriser? Is my fridge cold enough?
 
A: Check the deodoriser and the temperature of the freezer.
 

Check The Deodoriser

A deodoriser absorbs the smells that strong foods create. A number of Electrolux brand refrigerators come with a deodoriser situated in the food compartment (see diagram on the left), this works to reduce the air odour. A customer once said that the deodoriser did not work because when they opened the fridge door, there was no smell. This is perfect! A quick and easy fix to address any odours in the fridge is to place a cup of Bi‐ Carbonate Soda in the fridge. This will absorb some of the odours.

Check The Fridge Temperature

There are two ways to test this. One is to purchase a fridge thermometer or an electronic tag. The freezer should read ‐18°C. The food compartment 2°C to 5°C. Temperature readings near the door will always be higher.

The other way to test the temperature is to place a tub of ice cream in the freezer. The next day, push a spoon into the tub of ice cream – if it is firm, then the freezer temperature is perfect, around ‐18°C. If the ice cream is soft, then the temperature is too warm, but if the ice cream is hard, then the temperature is too cold. Adjust your settings until the ice cream is firm. Don’t be fooled by your meat is frozen, as it only needs ‐ 2°C to freeze, which is not cold enough.

If you have a frost‐free refrigerator, try not to place ice cream at the back of the freezer, as when it goes into defrost cycle the ice cream may warm-up and then freeze again which will cause the ice cream to crystallise.

The food compartment is cooled by the freezing cold air from the freezer being circulated by a fan motor. So if the freezer temperature is OK, then the food compartment should be!