A magic silver bullet for smelly fridge?

November 26, 2007 1:01 PM

Putting silver into the fridge - good idea or bad idea?

I've recently become acutelly aware of some nasty smells in my fridge. When I was cleaning out the whole fridge, I found myself thinking: some of the modern fridges contain silver to reduce smell and growth of bacteria. So, hmmmm - can I harness the smellreducing power of the silver?

Would it be possible to put any silver-object in a fridge to reduce smell? Would the surface area have to be big? (How big - a chandeleire or a tray?) Would the silverware require special treatment (regular cleaning, perhaps)?

Are there any downsides to my smell-reducing fridge-plan? Am I poisoning myself and the lettuce?

posted by Rabarberofficer to home & garden (9 comments total)

well, it would have to be pure silver, not sterling. so it might be a good deal more expensive than a box of baking soda.
posted by thinkingwoman at 1:06 PM on November 26, 2007

You could also try a cup of crushed charcoal, the kind you'd use in fish filters. The surface area is much greater than baking soda due to the fact that the baking soda cakes easily and develops a hard surface.
posted by odinsdream at 1:11 PM on November 26, 2007

You won't poison yourself with silver. Hence it's favorite status throughout the ages/cultures as the preferred utensil for eating food. Of course, whether it would be cost effective to stick it in your fridge is another story.
posted by jujube at 1:18 PM on November 26, 2007

Oops. sorry. Meant to write "its"
posted by jujube at 1:18 PM on November 26, 2007

Silver has antibacterial properties, but it does not emit magic antibacterial rays or vapors. If you put a silver tray in your fridge, bacteria won't grow on it. They'll grow everywhere else, though, and you'll still have odor.
posted by ikkyu2 at 1:25 PM on November 26, 2007 [4 favorites]

Baking soda = $1
posted by Black_Umbrella at 2:05 PM on November 26, 2007 [2 favorites]

Just checking: you have cleaned the fridge first in an effort to combat this smell, right? (Emptied the fridge, wiped all the surfaces with spray cleaner, washed the drawers and shelves in the tub or sink?)

If you have, maybe start over with an open box of baking soda in there, or (as odinsdream suggests) charcoal. It will do a better smell-absorbing job than the family silver :)
posted by DarlingBri at 2:06 PM on November 26, 2007

If you clean out your refrigerator weekly, and wipe the interior down at least monthly with a sponge wet in a simple disinfecting disinfecting solution made of a couple tablespoons of Clorox bleach in quart of hot water, your refrigerator won't smell. More important, some foods stored in crisper drawers will last longer, and there will be fewer cross tastes and odors in other foods. It also pays to check and adjust the air vents and circulation in your fridge, and to not block air flow by stuffing too much into it.

It makes a big difference how you store leftovers, too. The inexpensive quasi-disposable plasticware by Glad (and store brand variations) provide sealing lids, which beat loose plastic wrap and aluminum foil covers over dishes. They come in many sizes and shapes, and yet are cheap enough that you can toss them away, when they become stained or smelly.
posted by paulsc at 2:13 PM on November 26, 2007

Smelly fridge is an oft-repeated question here on Askme:
see this, this, this, and this.
posted by cass at 9:44 AM on November 27, 2007