The refrigerator is the workhorse of your kitchen. But you likely aren’t paying as much attention to cleaning it as various other places and appliances in your home.
The Importance of Keeping Your Fridge Clean
There are many reasons to keep your fridge clean such as:
- Without regular upkeep, food residue & stains can quickly build up on the outer surfaces, inner drawers and shelves.
- Perishables that have been pushed to the back can release funky odors, each time you open the door.
- Unclean insides can result in the buildup of bacteria that can affect quality of the other stored items in the fridge.
- Poor maintenance can also sometimes mean you will need residential refrigerator repair sooner than later.
A clean kitchen is a healthy kitchen
Fridge Cleaning Techniques
To ward off any unpleasant odors and keep your fridge in excellent condition, here are some useful tips to follow:
- First, collect some common household items and natural cleaning ingredients, such as baking soda, dish soap, water, and dry cloths.
- Move your foods to a cooler so you can start tackling the refrigerator cleaning
- Remove and properly hand-wash the wire racks, drawers, and shelves in mild dish soap and hot water.
- Allow glass components to warm up to room temperature and then clean them with hot water as they might crack if they are cleaned when cold.
- Cover all stubborn food spills with a wet, warm cloth just for a few minutes as this helps to soften spills before using a nonabrasive scrubber for removal.
- Pay special attention to all the wire rack undersides as these areas attract debris.
- For fixed shelves and irremovable drawers, clean under and inside them using baking soda and water.
- It’s best not to use commercial cleaners for cleaning the interior of the refrigerator as these smells can linger and transfer to the foods that you put back in.
- Work from the top to the bottom, as that prevents drips from landing on the cleaned surfaces.
- Use a small toothbrush for cleaning notches and toothpicks to reach crevices and cracks you can’t get to with cloths
- Clean hardware and hinges and allow to dry thoroughly
Once you’re done rinsing and drying all surfaces, properly deodorize your fridge by filling any open container with some dry baking soda, place it on the bottom shelf and allow it to remain there once you refill your refrigerator. It will absorb future odors from lingering near the foods. You can contact a reliable company that offers residential refrigeration sales and residential refrigerator repair for more information.
