A woman discovered the bad smell in her fridge was caused by a drip tray full of mould. Photo / Getty Images
A woman discovered the bad smell in her fridge was caused by a drip tray full of mould. Photo / Getty Images
A woman who struggling to trace the source of a bad smell in her kitchen left a cleaning group speechless after discovering the drip tray in her fridge.
Charlotte Ann, from Nottingham in the UK, took to Facebook's Mrs Hinch Cleaning Tips group to share a photo of the mouldand putrid liquid that had gathered at the bottom of her refrigerator.
She explained in her post to the online community of over 100,000 members, that she'd never realised that fridges have a tray to collect liquid.
The post immediately received a stream of comments from others who were unaware of drip trays, and those seeking advice for how to clean their own.
A member of the Mrs Hinch Cleaning Tips group on Facebook, stunned fellow members after revealing the contents of her fridge's drip tray. Photo / Facebook
Voicing their astonishment, many Facebook users revealed they were unaware of drip trays and felt "gutted" about not cleaning their fridge properly.
One person wrote: "Omg I never knew this!!!! I've always had freestanding but have integrated now. I am gutted, I really want to clean mine! Xx"
Sharing a photo of her own, another said: "Omg Charlotte Ann, I want to kiss you and kill you at same time bbz. As if I've never known this... now how to get it off."
A third added: "I didn't know this! Mines! integrated! How do I get to this?? Where exactly is it located?"
Many were unaware that they had drip trays in their fridges. Photo / Facebook
Lots of members didn't know how to reach them. Photo / Facebook
Some still didn't understand where the drip tray was. Photo / Facebook
Now that people knew about the trays, they wondered what the best way was to clean them. Photo / Facebook
The accumulation of mould can be smelly. Photo / Facebook
Some thought the feature should be mentioned in a user manual. Photo / Facebook
A number of contributors to the thread attempted to explain the purpose of drip trays and advised on how best to clean them.
One person wrote: "... that little hole is supposed to drain the water away, you need to clean it with either a long pipe cleaner or those very slim bottle brushes."
Another said: "It drains to a container above the compressor at the back of the fridge towards the bottom. The heat from the compressor evaporates the water. But it should be lifted out and washed occasionally."
Responding to the thread, Ann revealed she discovered her drip tray at the back of her refrigerator.
She continued: "Mine was above the motor in the back. Mine clips off. Be careful pulling it though in case its seized on."
Facebook users attempted to explain the purpose of the tray. Photo / Facebook
People said the same thing happened to them. Photo / Facebook
A bad smell is often what leads to the discovery of the tray. Photo / Facebook
People were stoked that the tray had been brought to their attention. Photo / Facebook
One member advised using a slim brush to clean. Photo / Facebook
