Introduction
Most people pay the fridge a lot of attention and know when and how to clean it. However, the freezer also needs your attention and love. Some people have contracts with deep cleaning companies to clean their homes and appliances after a certain period. You can also search for “home cleaning services near me” and get your home and appliances deep cleaned by professionals. Otherwise, you can take things into your own hands. Let’s check out a few freezer cleaning tips:
Tips & Tricks
- Clean your freezer along with the refrigerator – It’s best to clean the freezer along with the fridge when possible. If you clean them on separate days, you’ll have a big problem with your hands. When you clean the fridge, you need to unplug it and you have a few hours before some of the food goes bad. Cleaning the fridge and the freezer on the same day helps you minimize the time food sits out of the optimal cold environment.
On the other hand, there’s also the power dilemma. Unfortunately, refrigerators are designed as one single unit even if a few compartments come with separate climate controls. That means you can never turn off the freezer without turning off the fridge or the other way around. That makes cleaning them separately a very difficult job.
- Unplug the freezer – The first thing you need to do before cleaning your refrigerator is unplug it. This makes it easier for you to work on the fridge since you aren’t at risk of being shocked by electricity. Moreover, unplugging the fridge starts the defrosting process. If you have been using the freezer with unoptimized settings, you may have a lot of ice built up on the walls of the freezer and it will be very difficult to take out the food.
Allowing it to defrost helps you bring out the food without being in a tug of war. Also, make sure to move the fridge to a safe location near a sinkhole. When the refrigerator defrosts it’s going to leak a lot of water. The drip pan is not going to be enough. You can also place a few thick towels around the fridge instead of moving it.
- Remove the food – After the freezer defrosts a bit, you can bring out all the food outside. If you have a secondary fridge, you can keep those items inside there temporarily. You can also get a chiller box, fill it with ice, seal all the food inside plastic bags and store them in the chiller box. If you’re forced to keep easily perishable food like raw meat and fish without any cooling, you need to be quick at cleaning the freezer. You have a couple of hours at best.
- Take inventory – When you’re cleaning the freezer, take the opportunity to make an inventory of everything. Apart from fresh meat and fish, you may also have packed items that have been sitting for a long time inside the freezer. As you remove items, write down their name and expiry dates. Also, make sure that plastic bags and containers are labeled when you store those items. If there’s an item without an expiry date, smell it to check if it’s gone bad.
You can also determine the condition of the food with visual cues. Discoloration, bloating or change of texture are a few signs of food going bad. Get rid of all the spoiled food and make sure to clean the plastic bags and containers of other food items to prevent contamination.
- Speed up defrosting process – After you’re done listing the inventory, it’s time to speed up the defrosting process. Just leaving the lid open can take hours. Instead, place a large container of hot water inside the freezer and close the lid. You can also blow the freezer ice with a hairdryer on a low heat setting. Make sure to keep the hairdryer at least a few inches away from the freezer.
- Cleaning the freezer – Once the freezer is completely defrosted you need to drain out the water. After that use baking soda or dish soap and mix it with vinegar to use as a mild cleanser. Place that mixture in a bowl, dip a clean cloth in the solution and wash the interior walls of the freezer. Remove baskets, shelves, and other removable components and wash them separately in the sink.
Finally, rinse your freezer with water to remove any cleanser residue and allow it to dry in the air or blast it with compressed air. If you want to get rid of lingering smells, place a bowl of baking soda, close the lid and keep it that way for several hours.
- Dust the coils and clean the drip pan – After your freezer is completely dried out, you need to dust the coils and clean the drip pan. Locate the drip pan, drain the water and wash the pan with warm soapy water. After that, you can allow it to air dry and place it back. For cleaning dust off the coils, you can use your vacuum cleaner or a coil brush. If you’ve unplugged your refrigerator, you don’t have to worry about shocks.
- Clean the exterior – Finally, you need to clean the exterior of the freezer with warm soapy water. You need to pay extra care and attention to handles and hinges. After cleaning the exterior surface and letting it air dry, you can place the racks and shelves inside and organize the food. Place the less frequently used food at the back and keep items that are used more often at the front. From now on when you bring out or place any item inside the freezer, you can update the inventory and prevent food spoilage.
Conclusion
Now that you know all about keeping your freezer clean, you’ll have an easier time organizing and storing food in it. You can also look for “home cleaning services near me” and hire professionals to do the job for you.
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