Apply these tips to keep your refrigerator in good and clean condition for months.
How to Clean Your Refrigerator
Here’s how to perform deep cleaning your fridge:
- Wipe down outside of the fridge: Use a cloth with soapy water to clean out the top, sides, and doors of the fridge. Use stainless steel spray for stainless steel fridges. Pay special attention to the handles that leave dirty fingerprints.
- Clean the door seals: Clean them down with the same soapy cloth you used on the outside of the fridge. Dry the seals completely and make sure they seal properly. Replace any worn or cracked seals to improve fridge effectiveness.
- Clean the inside: Switch off the fridge and take out everything in it, including crisper drawers and detachable shelves. Clean up the interior with a soapy cloth. For a formula without rinsing, use two tablespoons of baking soda dissolved in one quart of hot water. Make a baking soda paste with a small amount of water to remove stubborn stains. Let the paste weaken the stain while you are cleaning the rest of the fridge. Return to cleaning this spot at the end.
- Soak shelves and bins: Clean these removable items in warm soapy water. Let obstinate stains soak and then scrub them clean. Rinse out and dry the shelves and bins fully before putting them back to the fridge.
- Clean the fridge coils: The coils are placed either on the bottom of the back of your fridge. Cleaning the coils makes the fridge run more efficiently, which helps it extend its lifespan and reduces operating charges. First, check behind the grid at the bottom of the fridge. If you can’t detect coils there, pull the refrigerator away from the wall and check behind it. Wherever the coils are positioned, clean the with the brush of your vacuum cleaner.
How to Maintain Your Refrigerator Clean
Once you have cleaned up your refrigerator, keep it this way with these tips:
- Wipe down spills as they happen: This prevents spills from drying and becoming harder to remove.
- Keep containers clean: Before putting the ketchup bottle, jam jar, and salad dressing container back in the refrigerator, wipe the lids clean.
- Be aware of food spoilage: Read the dates on food labels and throw them away on the expiration date to prevent the appearance of funky smells.
- Store leftovers in air-proof containers: This keeps your food fresh longer. However, you should only keep the leftovers for one week. If you don’t think you’ll eat your food on time, reduce the amount of waste by moving it to the freezer.
- Put potentially leaky items on a plate: Defrosting meat and berries are capable of leaking, so store their consumers on a framed plate in the fridge.
- Absorb unpleasant odors: You have several choices for keeping your fridge smelling fresh. Put baking soda in an open container at the back of the fridge and change it once in a month. Spread activated charcoal or fresh coffee on a tray to absorb, especially strong odors. Spray vanilla or orange extract on some cotton balls placed in a shallow dish. All these choices provide a quick fix for fridge odors.
For other fridge repair and maintenance services, give us a call at AC Repair Center; we’re here to ensure your appliances are fresh and operating smoothly.
