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How to Clean the Fridge: We Make it Easy

How to clean your fridge

There aren’t many people who enjoy cleaning out their fridge and that’s because there are so often forgotten vegetables squashed in the drawers and splatters of pasta sauce on the shelves. The longer you leave your fridge between cleans, the more bacteria will build up and this can lead to bad odours and poor health.

Our advice is to clean and sanitise your fridge regularly so that it is easy to maintain. But we know it can be a chore. So, that’s why we have put together our expert advice for fridge cleaning. If you clean your fridge regularly, you will significantly lower your risk of food poisoning, you won’t see any mould build up, and you won’t experience any bad odours.

Remove Food from Your Fridge Before Cleaning

This may seem like an obvious point to start with, but it is important to begin by removing all food from your fridge before cleaning. This is best to do even if you are using natural products. Not only does an empty fridge make the process so much easier, but it also removes any possibility of cleaning chemicals contaminating your food.

Clean Fridge Shelves Thoroughly

Once you have removed all the food from the fridge, you need to take out all removable parts such as shelves and drawers. We suggest filling a basin with warm water and washing up liquid to soak the shelves in, before rinsing and wiping dry.

The 3 Best Natural Cleaning Products for Your Fridge

We have talked on the blog before about the benefits of using natural products around your house and cleaning your fridge is no exception.

1. Baking Soda to Clean Stains

When it comes to natural cleaning products for your fridge, baking soda is our top choice. When there isn’t too much dirt and the surfaces in your fridge simple need a little bit of a shine, sprinkle the baking soda on the surfaces, leave for a few minutes, and then use a sponge or a damp cloth to wipe it off.

2. Vinegar to Remove Odours

The best natural remedy for getting rid of bad odours is a cloth soaked in equal parts of water and vinegar. If you want to be extra fancy, you can add some drops of vanilla oil to a cloth and wipe it round your fridge. This solution should freshen up any stale areas and leave everything smelling fresh and sweet.

3. Salt and Vinegar Paste to Remove Stains

If you notice there are any stubborn stains in your fridge, such as mould or black marks, a paste of salt and vinegar should do the trick nicely. Simply let the solution sit on the stains for a few minutes before scrubbing to remove it. If the stain is particularly stubborn, you may need to repeat the process a couple of times.

Clean Inside the Fridge Doors

If your refrigerator doors have shelving space, this is often where the most dirt can build-up. Make sure that when you clean your fridge, you give the doors a thorough spray and wipe down with an antibacterial cleaner. You should also use this opportunity to clear out any sauces or jars of food that are going off to avoid bacteria and bad odours.

Don’t Forget to Clean the Water Trap

One of the things many people forget about when cleaning their fridge is the water trap. This is the tiny access hole into the water drainage channel, and if it’s not cleaned out every few months it can start to smell pretty bad.

Start by removing any food debris to ensure all clogs and cleared and then pour a teaspoon of baking soda into the drainage channel followed by 200ml of water. Repeat this every 2 or 3 months to ensure the water trap stays looking clean and smelling fresh.

Dry Out the Fridge

After you have thoroughly cleaned the fridge inside and out, you should make sure it is completely dried out before you close the door. If you don’t want to let all the cold air escape while waiting for the fridge to air dry, another option is to dry the fridge using tea towels.

Clean the Outside of the Fridge

The outside of your fridge can quickly become covered in marks, making your fridge look dirty and unhygienic. When you clean your fridge, be sure to finish off the cleaning with an anti-bacterial spray and micro fibre cloth to make it look brand new again.

How to Keep Your Fridge Clean

To help you keep your fridge clean in the future, we have written a quick list to make it nice and easy for you:

  • Clean up spills as soon as you see them.
  • Keep a box full of baking soda at the bottom of the fridge to ease any odours.
  • Regularly check the food inside your fridge for anything that is out of date.

Don’t Use Bleach or Disinfectant

This might seem like odd advice to read on a cleaning blog, but there are some cleaning products that shouldn’t be used inside the refrigerator. Disinfectants like bleach and other cleaning products shouldn’t be used in fridges because the chemicals can make people ill if they come into contact with food. Therefore, when cleaning the fridge, it is best to use natural products instead.

Discover More Cleaning Tips on Our Blog

We hope these cleaning tips will help you keep your fridge spic and span all year round. If you would like to discover more great cleaning tips, check out the Why Bother Cleaning blog. It’s full of top tips from the experts on home cleaning.