If your kitchen is the heart of your house, then the refrigerator is your kitchen’s workhorse. Cleaning it on a regular basis is, thus, crucial. On top, the holidays (including the weekends) call for extra groceries to store it inside. And then, there are leftovers or multi day preparing meals!
Your fridge is apparently obvious to turn into a disastrous show of liquefied spinach and old curry. Add to it jugs of milk and cartons of eggs; the foul smell and mess become creepier.
Undertaking the cleaning errand becomes heftier when you start afresh. Thus, you have to give it a good try through these sanity-saver and time-saving tips & deep-clean your fridge. Let’s begin narrating the refrigerator cleaning tips, one by one.
Preparing with the Tips for Clean Refrigerator
No matter how sloggy and smelly the task it is, there’s nothing you can do about it. But the good thing about cleaning the refrigerator is you do not require any additional advanced tools for the purpose. Gathering a couple of items to streamline the whole process is enough. All you need to do is to gather these
- Trash bags
- Rubber gloves or disposable gloves
- Cleaning solution
- A cooler
- A Dobie Pad
- Sponges
- Paper towels
- Rags
- Microfiber cloths
Ensure that you have these things before you begin to clean the fridge. Also, you need to make sure that you get clean rags and towels for the purpose.
Taking out Everything
Don’t get tempted to leave things behind. Remove all the things from your fridge (right from the icebox to even the water bottles). Putting away everything will help you make a note of what to keep and what to throw. This particular directive includes taking out removable shelves, door inserts, and even the drawers.
Transferring Perishable Items Carefully
Transfer those highly perishable items, including raw chicken, pork, and milk to the cooler first. Check the items and toss the things that have gone off. Set the bottles and jars aside (as already mentioned above) and review which food should go inside the trash.
If the leftovers aren’t pleasant, put it away inside your trash. When you have finished working on these parts, this is where the deep cleaning refrigerator begins.
When You Cannot Pre-Clean
Pre-cleaning those bottles and cans can be amazing before you put these things inside the cleaned fridge. But not all messy stuff and undergo a pre-cleaning method. Some have to bust out their grossness on their own.
Items like rotten veggies, fruits, and bad meat can cause a horrible smell. It would be helpful if you keep them inside the fridge only to throw it away later on. What you can do is keep them where you can see them. In this way, it would never come as a horrible surprise to you.
Giving the Edges a Wipe
Cleaning refrigerator‘s edges is as important as cleaning its bins and shelves. The area where the door happens to seal up against its icebox can turn out to be most horrifying. Thus, it is your responsibility to keep the area away from gunk. People apparently overlook this matter. But the ones who have a pet already know how this area gets dirty.
One day you’d find pet hair in there and the other days the picture of dirt and debris pop out. To keep it at bay, it is important to pay attention to this area. Clean the edges by using hot water & white vinegar. Please keep it for some time and wash it. You’ll need more than the sufficient amount of water in this matter.
Switching the Power off
It’s the ultimate time to get down to the actual and hardcore business of cleaning the fridge now. Unplug your fridge and switch off the power button. When you start cleaning the interior, the door will be open. Switching off the power button will save the power consumption.
Using Baking Soda and Vinegar
While washing the interior with liquid dishwasher and water, you apparently want the reassurance of strong disinfectant. For this matter, you can use baking soda. The chances are high that baking soda can also trap bad smells.
You need to leave an open box of it inside the fridge. To remove stains, you can use vinegar and baking soda. You can also use baking soda with hot water to clean the interiors.
Interior Scrubbing
When you start with the interiors, begin scrubbing the shelves, door, and drawers that you removed. You can pre-clean the bottles and containers that you are about to put inside the fridge once it gets cleaned.
You can use a sponge in order to do so (don’t forget that they are oversized and oddly-shaped items). Dry the interiors with a dry and clean rag. You can also use a paper towel for the purpose. While cleaning, you can wear utility clothing.
One of the most rewarding refrigerator cleaning tips for cleaning the Interior in an alternative method is:
You can use water, salt, and lemon in equal proportions. It’s a great cleaning solution. To mix it well, dissolve a cup of salt in hot water and squeeze a whole lemon’s juice. That’s it; it’s now ready for cleaning your fridge!
Check Dates and Throw Items Accordingly
Your refrigerator is not for storing unwanted items that have got expired. It’s, thus, important to throw away the items of questionable freshness.
Exterior Cleaning
Once you wash the removable parts, dry them and keep them aside. To remove the stubborn stains, you can use a liquid dishwasher. Add water to it and scrub the interior. Now coming to the exterior cleaning, it is better to use a microfiber cloth.
For sufficient cleaning, you require checking the fridge’s exterior too. Cleaning the fridge means cleaning that part of the kitchen space where you store your delicious foods or raw materials.
Again, chemical cleaning products might not be safe for this matter. You can clean the exterior with white vinegar to let it shine. Even if you have a stainless steel product, you can do the same. Use another rag for this case (a clean one).
What about Drip Pan?
You’ve cleaned your refrigerator inside out. Not, is there anything that needs a proper cleaning measure? Oh yes, you can make the drip pan! Yes, not all the electronic devices have one, but if yours does, cleaning it makes so much sense.
Remove the drill from the bottom part of the fridge. Locate the drip pan. You can do so by spotting it with a flashlight. Wear the gloves and pull it out. Remove the part and clean it. In this case, too, the white vinegar mix can fix this cleaning problem.
Can You Clean the Coils?
The last thing that people would think is to touch these coils behind the refrigerator. Indeed, cleaning the coils, in the same manner, would indulge you in cleaning the interior and exterior of your refrigerator. But there is one way how you can clean the coils. Gently vacuum it. Your fridge will be working better then. Oftentimes, experts get hired to take care of these coils.
If you think you cannot do this task alone, you can always take professional assistance. But if you think you are ready for this job, here are some tips for clean refrigerator coils.
Check the owner’s manual in order to understand the instructions. If you cannot find any specific instruction, you can refer to the online tutorials from an authentic source.
A majority of appliance manufacturers feature the manuals online. You can also find your manual from an online survey. You have to note down your model number for the purpose.
The first step to cleaning these coils is to keep the fridge unplugged. The next step is to locate these coils. You will find most coils on the rear panel of the fridge. Some are even beneath.
When you find the coils on the back, pull the appliance carefully right away from that wall. You can make the right use of a coil brush. Make sure that it is a long and skinny brush that can clean around coils. Sweep and vacuum debris on your floor! Now, you can move the fridge back in its place. Plug it on.
If your fridge has coils on its bottom, then follow these things. Firstly, remove that grill piece on its front. Secondly, use the coil brush and clean around its coils. Make sure you do it pretty carefully. Vacuum and sweep up debris. Then, replace that grill prior to plugging your appliance again.
Some Quick Refrigerator Cleaning Tips before Bidding Adieu
If you think that cleaning the refrigerator is too hefty, add these chores to your trash day routine. Do not throw away your garbage back without reviewing the food items inside the fridge. Do not keep any rotten vegetables or food inside the fridge.
When you see a rotten smell coming from the food or other products, immediately put it away inside your trash bag. Instead of cooking the following day, serve the leftovers for lunch and keep your fridge fresh and clean.