|

Easy Steps To Deep Cleaning Your Fridge

Need a hand with your totally gross refrigerator? Believe me with kids in the house refrigerator deep cleaning is a must every few months. Learn our easy steps to go from icky gross to super tidy, awesome fridge! You will be enjoying your sparkly clean refrigerator in no time with deep cleaning your fridge tips!
Learn these simple steps to deep clean your fridge.
It is a myth how a tidy refrigerator/freezer can get super icky so fast. And if you procrastinate cleaning up each week, it can get to where you feel you need to call in the CDC and ask them to send a few folks out in protective gear to clear out the mega-mold-funk in the back of the fridge.
I can remember looking into a roommates fridge in college and thinking, wow, is that thing moving? The mold was growing hair and limbs; it was that freaking disgusting. This can happen to any of us. If we get sidetracked in our busy lives and put off cleaning the fridge, it can go supernova-gross in no time at all.
Today, I am sharing steps to clean out that fridge monster and create a clean place for your family to grab snacks and prep meals. You will love your clean fridge!  And there is a bonus! When your fridge is clean, you can see what you have to eat. You don’t end up wasting food, and your family will be more apt to grab healthy snacks easy to find.  This saves money!  Yes, I said, you will save money with an organized refrigerator/freezer. Because eating at home is a huge money saver.
 Let’s get started!

Easy Steps To Deep Cleaning Your Fridge

Calendar – This takes time, so get out your Black Sharpie marker and carve out time in your schedule. (This time is worth every second!)

Gather Supplies

  1. Sponges
  2. Paper Towels or Cleaning Rags
  3. Towel for the Floor – we always have a stack of old towels in the garage.
  4. 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!)
  5. Cleaning Solutions – we use baking soda and a food safe general purpose cleaner.
  6. Trash Bags
  7. Cooler
  8. Vacuum with attachments

Prepare for Deep Cleaning Your Fridge

Make sure the fridge is turned off. If you have a freezer that needs defrosting, you may need to start the night before. Make sure the circuit breaker to the outlet is turned off. Unplug the refrigerator. Place an old towel on the floor to prevent spills to your floors. This is a must for wood floors!

Remove Food and Toss The Old Stuff

(psst, now is a great time to turn on some fantastic music)

Remove food and check for expiration dates as you go. Toss the old stuff and anything that your family will not eat. Sometimes, we have the best intentions with a gallon jar of mayo for the annual family BBQ. We knew it would take six cups of mayo to make Granny’s famous potato salad. It turns out we only need one? Right? Just toss it! Make room for food your family loves!
Store remaining items in a cooler(s).

Easy steps to clean your fridge in a snap!

Clean Refrigerator and Freezer  Shelves and Bins

This is the most time-consuming item on the deep cleaning your fridge TODO list.
  • 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

1. Clean the door seals and dry.  These are the funky little folds that run up, down, and around the door frame to keep the fridge and freezer cold. They can get super nasty. Again, dry to prevent condensation.

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.

Similar Posts

3 Comments

  1. 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.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *