Easy Steps To Deep Cleaning Your Fridge
Easy Steps To Deep Cleaning Your Fridge
Gather Supplies
- Sponges
- Paper Towels or Cleaning Rags
- Towel for the Floor – we always have a stack of old towels in the garage.
- Nylon Kitchen Scraper – I love the nylon scrapers, three in a pack and you can use them on pans or for cleaning around the house. (keep your kitchen scraper separate from your cleaning scraper!)
- Cleaning Solutions – we use baking soda and a food safe general purpose cleaner.
- Trash Bags
- Cooler
- Vacuum with attachments
Prepare for Deep Cleaning Your Fridge
Remove Food and Toss The Old Stuff
(psst, now is a great time to turn on some fantastic music)
Clean Refrigerator and Freezer Shelves and Bins
- Remove all shelves and bins.
- Soak removable shelves and bins in a baking soda and water solution.
- Wipe down inside shelves with a food safe general cleanser.
- Use your Kitchen Nylon Scraper to remove any stubborn crusty stuff.
- Take care to clean under the shelves and in any small crevices where food and gunk can gather.
- Dry with clean kitchen towels or paper towels.
- Dry each bin and shelf before replacing. The drying is significant since it prevents condensation.
- Replace bins and shelves.
NOTE: You freezer may just need a good wipe down including the shelves and bins. Just discard the ice and clean any funky stuff from that ice maker bin.
If you have kids in the house, it will surprise you what weird things end up in the ice bin!
Clean The Doors Inside and Out
Vacuum Grate/Kickplate and Coils
Cleaning the coils twice a year is a must in Deep Cleaning Your Fridge.
Locate the coils. These can be on the back of the fridge or underneath the fridge behind the kick plate.
If coils are located on the back, brush with a broom and vacuum up the dust and debris behind the refrigerator.
If it is behind the kick plate. Remove kick plate and vacuum with the long skinny attachment of your vacuum cleaner. You may need a long wire brush to loosen up the dust.
If you can’t seem to locate your coils, call the manufacturer of your refrigerator. Sometimes there is a back panel to remove if this is the case remove this panel and vacuum with the long hose attachment as stated before.
Vacuum the grate and clean the kick plate as needed.
Some refrigerators have a drip pan, remove the tray, clean, dry and replace.
Replace Items In Fridge
Please wipe down the containers and tops. You don’t want to get a sticky mess on your cleaned refrigerator shelves and bins! Keep meats and fish in the bottom bin or a spill-proof tray. Group like items together.
Replace Items In Freezer
Organize like items together. We keep easy to prepare food in a plastic bin for the kids!
Taking time to for Deep Cleaning Your Fridge and organizing it every few months can help save money on groceries and save you time trying to find things. Deep cleaning, the coils, help your fridge run more which saves even more money.
Plus, have a clean, tidy fridge is just so much more enticing for food prep than a messy icky one.
Great tips! I must confess that the fridge is the last thing to get cleaned in our house and there is only two of us. I tend to do it when something has spilled and then dried on the shelf. I know…the horror! Your fridge is making want to get up and go clean and organize ours.
Aw! Thank you! I have to admit having an organized fridge save so much time grocery shopping!
Planning to do this and the oven tonight. Thinking a glass of wine might help! Great tips.