After a period of use, refrigerators often develop stubborn stains and unpleasant odors due to spilled raw food or other items. Cleaning and deodorizing the refrigerator is essential to maintain a clean and safe environment for your food.

Among the cleaning methods, squeezing lemon into the refrigerator can surprisingly show great effectiveness and safety.

Lemon contains citric acid, a natural acid with strong cleaning properties. When squeezed into the refrigerator, citric acid reacts with stains and residues, softening and removing them easily. This is particularly useful for tough stains caused by food spills or residues from milk and fruit juice.

The specific benefits of squeezing lemon into the refrigerator are as follows:

Effective Cleaning
To clean your refrigerator with lemon, you can squeeze lemon juice into a turned-off refrigerator and use a soft cloth to thoroughly wipe the inside surfaces. The stains will disappear quickly. After wiping with lemon juice, it’s advisable to use a wet cloth to wipe away any remaining acid to prevent damage to the refrigerator's surface.

Additionally, you can mix lemon juice with warm water and add a little salt. Place the mixture in a spray bottle, shake well, and spray it into the corners of the refrigerator. Then, use a dry cloth to wipe clean.

Note: It's best to use seedless lemons. If the lemon has seeds, remove them before placing the juice into the spray bottle. After spraying the mixture into the fridge, wipe it immediately with a dry cloth because leaving the acid on too long can cause surface corrosion.

Deodorizing the Refrigerator
Since refrigerators contain fresh foods, bacteria can proliferate, creating unpleasant odors. This not only causes discomfort but may also affect the flavor of other foods. Lemon, with its natural fragrance, can absorb and eliminate these unpleasant smells.

After cleaning your refrigerator, slice the lemon and place the slices in various corners of the fridge, or cut the lemon into four parts without separating them and place it inside. These lemon slices will absorb the bad odors from the food and keep your refrigerator smelling fresh. After a few days, when the slices dry out, replace them with fresh lemon slices to maintain the deodorizing effect.

Killing Bacteria and Preventing Mold
The refrigerator is an ideal environment for the growth of bacteria and mold due to the high humidity and presence of various foods. The citric acid in lemon has natural antibacterial and antifungal properties, helping to kill bacteria and prevent mold growth.

To boost antibacterial effectiveness, you can combine lemon with other ingredients like salt and baking soda. For example, cut a thick slice of lemon, sprinkle 1-2 tablespoons of salt and 2-3 tablespoons of baking soda on top, and then place it in the fridge. This mixture will help clean and kill bacteria more effectively.

Lemon's Effectiveness in Deodorizing the Refrigerator
Some tips to deodorize the refrigerator after cleaning:

• Wash orange or tangerine peels, dry them, and place them in the corners of the refrigerator. You can continue doing this to keep the fridge smelling pleasant. The natural oils from the orange and tangerine peels can eliminate bad odors for up to three days.

• Mix coffee grounds with baking soda and place the mixture in the fridge. This mixture is effective in eliminating stubborn odors that have lingered in the refrigerator for a long time.