Refrigerator Cleaning: Tips You Should Know
Buying a refrigerator entails a lot of responsibilities – including deep cleaning it every 3 to 4 months. It may be a hassle to do so, but because this is where your food is stored, it must be sanitized to avoid cross-contamination. Still, it can be daunting to do this with such a big appliance, especially if you don’t know where to start. Read our tips on how you can effectively clean your refrigerator.
Sort for bad food items
The first thing you should do is empty your refrigerator of its contents. While you’re doing this, check if any items have expired or have gone bad. Keeping these can result in other food items getting affected, so it’s best to throw them out as soon as you can. Check if any of the products near the spoiled one have shown signs of going bad as well before throwing them out, too.
Wash shelves and the inside of the appliance
Once you’ve set aside all of the contents, take apart the shelves and put them on the sink for washing. The Centers for Disease Control And Prevention (CDC) instructs that these should be washed in hot, soapy water. Make sure the shelves are down to room temperature first, as the heat can crack the glass if it’s cold.
As for the interior of your refrigerator, you can also use hot, soapy water on it. Afterwards, wipe the inside with a solution of 1 tbsp. liquid bleach mixed in 1 gallon of water.
Wipe and dust off the exterior
For the exteriors, you can wipe it off with a solution of 1 cup of ammonia, a half-cup vinegar and ¼-cup of baking soda. This is done to prevent the appliance from getting moldy and greasy. You should also dust the surfaces to get rid of the build-up on top of the appliance.
Remove unpleasant odor
If your refrigerator has an unpleasant odor, it may be hard to remove it through a simple wipe and rinse. For this problem, what you can do is to have something, such as a box with baking soda, to absorb the bad smell. You can also use a crumpled grocery paper bag and leave it there for two days. It will absorb it just the same.
Clean food containers before returning them
Once you’re done with all that, wipe food and drink containers with hot, soapy water before putting them back inside for extra precaution and deep cleaning. This is a must, especially if you did indeed find spoiled food inside. Cleaning them adds an extra layer of safety in case there are any items the spoiled food was close to inside the fridge.
Refrigerator cleaning can be tedious, but by following the tips above, it doesn’t have to be. Remember these pointers the next time you’re cleaning your fridge.
