Here’s one truth that homeowners often disregard–the primary cause of refrigerator damage is the lack of regular clean your fridge, cleaning and maintenance. Sure enough, a smelly fridge will still work, but once water from defrosted ice trickles down your radiator, the nightmare begins.
This is why you must know how to clean your fridge. You must do more than just defrost your freezer and take out leftovers!
For a normal household, it’s best to clean your fridge once every 3 months–say you keep your food in separate containers, remove leftovers immediately, etc.
But once it has gone smelly or if you see stubborn dirt covering the walls of your fridge–it’s time to clean your fridge immediately.
Here is a fool-proof process for cleaning your fridge:
What you will need:
- Plastic bags
- Hot water
- Liquid detergent
- Spray bottle
- Clean towels
- Bleach (optional)
- Baking soda with vinegar (optional)
STEP 1: Throw away leftovers
While cooking up a dish from your leftovers is possible, please dispose of them after a week of not consuming them. The same goes with beverages, medicines, and other items you store on your fridge–dispose of them once they hit expiration dates.
But don’t just toss them straight into your trash bin! Carefully seal them on plastic bags to avoid foul odor or toxic spreading through your hose.
STEP 2: Empty the fridge
Remove the food items that you’re still going to eat or consume. However, for food like vegetables and meat that needs to be frozen, avoid leaving them out on your counter for more than two hours.
If you have a big refrigerator, it may take some time to clean it. So, it’s best to find a place where you can temporarily store your food, like a cooler.
STEP 3: Clean the containers
Remove all the containers, frames, and other organizational items inside your fridge. Clean them with hot water and liquid detergent.
After that, dry them with clean towels.
You can use bleach or baking soda and vinegar solution for stubborn dirt. This is optional, but it will take longer to rinse and dry your containers if you wish to do it.
STEP 4: Clean the fridge
While drying the containers, it’s time to clean the inside of your fridge.
Place a combination of hot water and liquid detergent inside a spray bottle. Sprinkle the solution over your fridge and wipe it clean as you go along.
Again, you can use bleach or baking soda solution for stubborn dirt, but it will require extra time. Make sure your food is in a freezer or cooler when you’re doing this.
STEP 5: Placing the food back
Once the containers and the inside of the fridge have dried up, you can place the food back.
It will also help if you get separate and smaller containers for your food. This way, you don’t have to deal with spilled food that turns into stubborn stains.
Just like any home cleaning and maintenance task, cleaning your fridge takes time and effort, but it gets easier once you get used to it. But we acknowledge that you might not have time to do all of these. If that’s the case, it’s better to call professional fridge maintenance services to do the job for you.
Click Here to go to my blog page for more helpful hints and advise, for all home appliances.
Click Here to contact me to book an appointment to get all your home appliances repaired, serviced or new appliances installed.