Do you need some help with a totally dirty refrigerator? Learn these steps to go from sticky and grime to shiny and fine. You will be celebrating your amazingly clean refrigerator in no time with these deep-cleaning fridge tips!
Please note, just because these steps will turn your fridge into a showroom winner, please do not decide to hang out inside your fridge now because of its amazing new facelift. The Canton Cleaning Company can help you with other areas of your home to lounge in safely instead.
Mold loves to present itself inside of the fridge and has no problem bringing their whole family, with them. Free rent and food, we don't blame them either! This can happen to any of us. If we get sidetracked in our busy lives and put off cleaning the fridge for too long, it can turn into a hazmat situation very quickly.
When your fridge is clean, you are more than likely to want to organize it and pay attention to what food you actually have. This helps you to not waste food, have less anxiety, and essentially save lots of money by not throwing food you forgot you even had!
Now, this does take some time to accomplish if you want it done correctly, however, if you stay on top of cleaning up small spills, using removable organizers to rinse when needed, and actually eating those leftovers, you can keep your fridge clean and do it in a quick fashion.
Gather Supplies & equipment
Steal wool ( if you have glass shelving, only use a light-medium grit and or just stick with the green scoring pad if you have a heavy-duty commercial grade degreaser)
Microfiber towels
Kitchen Scraper– (keep your kitchen scraper separate from your paint scraper!)
All Purpose solution
Vacuum with attachments
Preparation
This isn't a must, but you can turn your fridge to the warmest setting possible to help with getting pesky items off later as well as helping with cleaning your most likely frozen freezer grimes. Place a towel on the floor in case there are any drips from some mild defrosting or the gunk that falls out while cleaning.
Remove All Food and Throw away the expired stuff
You will want a fresh start. This means that you need to remove anything & everything from your fridge and freezer. By doing this, you can now get to every nook and cranny of your fridge. As you're removing things, check the expiration dates. Chances are you have at least some items that need to be tossed. It's smart to have a garbage can nearby. Throw out anything that has gone bad and or donate things that you honestly aren't using. When it comes to an organized fridge less is more. Make room for food that you and your family will actually eat!
CLEAN UP ANY SPILLS
If there are areas where some juice has spilled or meat packages have leaked, use an equal mixture of vinegar and water to clean those areas. You can also wipe down the walls to remove any loose gunk.
APPLY A MIXTURE AND LET it SiT
Add enough white vinegar to baking soda to create a thick paste. If you're starting with a cup of baking soda, add 2 tablespoons of vinegar at a time until you have a thick paste.
Use a sponge to apply a layer of the cleaner on all the surfaces of your fridge, non-removable shelves, and freezer, except for the drawers, and allow it to set until we get back to finishing this step.
Remove & Clean Refrigerator and Freezer Shelves and Bins
Remove all shelves and bins.
Soak removable shelves and bins in a baking soda and water solution in your sink if they have lots of build-ups.
Wipe down inside shelves with a food-safe general cleanser.
Use your Kitchen Nylon Scraper to remove any stubborn crusty stuff.
Clean under the shelves and in any small crevices where food and gunk can gather.
Give everything a spray down or rinse in the sink if needed.
Dry with clean microfiber towels
Drying everything before replacing it helps with preventing condensation.
Side Note: For your freezer, just discard the ice, and if you have an ice maker bin clean the grime out of that as well.
Wipe The Fridge & Freezer Inside and Out
Now back to that mixture that's been sitting in your fridge and freezer.
1. Clean the door seals and dry them. These are the folds that run along the door frame to keep the fridge and freezer cold. They can get dirty very quickly. Again, dry to prevent condensation.
2. Wipe down the surfaces with a wet sponge or cloth, rinsing it in clean water several times throughout the process. Once all the cleaning mixture is gone, and the fridge is clean, wipe down the surfaces with a dry cloth and put shelves back in the fridge and freezer.
Clean Grate/Kick plate
1. Vacuum the grate and clean the kick plate as needed.
2. Some refrigerators have a drip pan, remove the tray, clean, dry, and replace.
Replace Items In the Fridge & Freezer
Make sure to wipe down any sticky food or condiments. You don’t want to get a mess already in your freshly cleaned fridge or freezer! Keep poultry in the bottom bin or a spill-proof tray. Group like items together for peace of mind and to find easily.
Conclusion
There you have it! A like-new fridge & freezer! Now, you're probably thinking it's so nice that you need to go to Ikea or the Container Store immediately to organize things even more! Taking the time to do a deep cleaning on your fridge/freezer and organizing it every so often can help save money on not wasting unseen food items as well as save you time trying to find things.
The Canton Cleaning Company is a full-service cleaning company providing Home Cleaning services in Baltimore, Commercial Cleaning Services in Baltimore, Commercial Cleaning Services in Charleston, SC, Commercial Cleaning Services in Philadelphia, and Commercial Cleaning Services in Washington, DC.