How to Freshen a Smelly Cooler Fast—This 10-Minute Trick Works Wonders

Coolers make it easy to enjoy picnic lunches in the park or at the neighborhood pool all summer long. However, it’s no secret that even the most trusty of coolers is going to be prone to smelling bad after a hot summer day.

“This is the result of a combination of heat and a tight-sealed space, which makes everything rot faster and causes bacteria to grow inside,” Alessandro Gazzo, a cleaning expert at Emily’s Maids, says.

Luckily, it’s more than possible to refresh your cooler so that it looks and smells as good as new. Gazzo and other professional cleaners recommend that you stock up on a few basic materials, detailed below, and follow an easy step-by-step cleaning process in order to get the job done.

Materials

In order to successfully clean your cooler like a pro, you will need to gather a few key cleaning products, many of which you likely have on hand in your home already. These items include:

• A multipurpose cleaner
• A sponge
• Baking soda
• A microfiber cloth
• Lemon peels or lemon juice (optional)

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How to Freshen a Cooler

There are a handful of steps that you will want to follow when cleaning out your cooler. Below are details on a simple, yet effective, five-step process that is pro-approved.

1. Empty Your Cooler: Pros agree that the first step you will need to take before cleaning your cooler is emptying it of its contents. “Food and spills are the likely cause of these smells, and removing them before they become rancid is the key,” Carylanne Brown, Grove guide at Grove Collaborative, says.
2. Rinse Your Cooler: The next step you should take is to rinse out your cooler using warm water.
3. Scrub Your Cooler: Once you have rinsed your cooler, you will now want to scrub it using a multipurpose cleaner and sponge. Be sure to get in all of the corners, grooves, and crevices of your cooler where spills tend to accumulate, Brown says.
4. Add Baking Soda If Needed: If your cooler is still not smelling super fresh after you have taken these initial steps, feel free to add some baking soda to the mix. Brown recommends applying it directly to the inside of the cooler and then using a wet sponge to rub it in. She suggests letting the baking soda sit for 15 to 20 minutes, after which you can rinse it away using warm water.
5. Dry Your Cooler: You will want to make sure your cooler is all dry before you put it away, Brown shares, noting that a microfiber cloth is great for this task.

Tips for Freshening a Cooler

• Rinse Your Cooler ASAP Next Time: In the future, make it a habit to clean out your cooler as soon as you get home; doing so will make the process more seamless and successful, Gazzo states. In fact, he adds, if you clean your cooler quickly, you may be able to sanitize it efficiently solely by rinsing it in boiling hot water.
• Check Your Cooler Often: While coolers are designed to last for years on end, they’re not immune to damage, Brown says, noting that it is important to check your cooler for areas where water, liquids, or food may have collected and clean it as needed.
• Add Some Lemon Slices: If your cooler still isn’t smelling exactly how you would like it to once you have completed the aforementioned cleaning routine, try this hack from Aneliese Andrades, the founder of Carolina Cleaning Services. She suggests placing some lemon slices or even a few squirts of lemon juice inside of the cooler for a fresh, citrusy smell.