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How to Clean your Fridge: Easy & Detailed Step by Step Instructions

Turn Off and Empty the Refrigerator

First, you need to empty out all shelves of the refrigerator, which surely needs some planning. Make sure that you remove the plug from the main supply to turn off your fridge completely. Now, if you have separate sections for the freezer and refrigerator, then start by emptying the freezer and all the stuff put in it.

You can use big baskets or big trays to empty the stuff from your fridge to put them systematically. This will help you in putting them back nicely without wasting much of your time. Ensure that you do not leave the food out for more than an hour; else, it can go wrong. Try to be as quick as possible. Also, throw away unused or waste items, if any, in this cleaning process.

Gather Your Supplies

Now that you want to learn how to clean a fridge after emptying it out, it is time for you to gather your supplies first. You can do it before you even start emptying your fridge to save some time too. Your supplies are basically the items you will need to clean the fridge.

This can include vinegar, baking soda, hot water, cleaning gloves, cleaning clothes, and much more. You should better be ready with your supplies beforehand rather than looking for them at the last moment. Scrubby sponges and a few microfiber towels are things you should keep handy for deep cleaning of the fridge.

Clean the Removable Parts

Working shelf by shelf is the best way of cleaning a fridge. For this, you can start by cleaning all the removable parts of the fridge like shelves, vegetable baskets, glass surfaces, side shelves, etc. If you have less counter space or no backup cooler to keep your stuff, you clean one shelf and then put the stuff back in it.

You can use a vinegar solution to clean all the shelves or wash them with dish soap under running water. Then use a microfiber napkin to dry them thoroughly before assembling them back in the fridge. This is such a simple process, but for this, you need plenty of space in your kitchen to empty all the things in your fridge.

Clean the Interior of Fridge

Now that you have removed all the removable parts from the fridge and have cleaned them, you can move on to cleaning the refrigerator's interior. Learning how to clean a fridge at home is a straightforward process, and you just need to follow the steps. For cleaning the fridge's interior, you can mix 1 part of baking soda and 7 parts of water to prepare a mixture.

You can start by cleaning top surfaces first and then moving on to the bottom. Also, use a toothbrush or toothpick to scrub the areas where grease has accumulated. Once you have cleaned everything, it's time to use your microfiber towel to wipe everything dry, and you are good to go.

Doors and Drawers

If you have covered all the areas in your fridge's interior, you can move out of it and start with cleaning the door and exterior of your fridge. If you have a drawer on the bottom of the fridge, it would be better to take it out and clean it with dish soap. Moreover, for the fridge door, you can use liquid soap to clean and then wipe dry with a towel or napkin.

Pay special attention to the handle of the fridge, where you can find most of the grime. The top of the refrigerator is the most unused space, but dust can accumulate there, so do not forget to clean it.

Cleaning of Refrigerator Water Dispenser

You have entirely learned how to clean a fridge on your own, but there are still a few things remaining. These days, most fridges have a water dispenser system, which must be cleaned timely to enjoy fresh and filtered water every single time. For this, you should better refer to the instruction manual provided with your fridge.

If the filter in water dispenser and ice maker needs a replacement, make sure that you do it timely. This will not only keep your fridge working fine but also increases its life too. You can also consult customer care for any major troubleshooting problem and call a professional for your help.

Clean Mold If Any

Refrigerators have a damp environment inside, which can cause the accumulation of mold in there. While you are cleaning everything inside and outside your fridge, do not forget to clean out the mold. To clean the mold and make sure it doesn't accumulate again, do not use bleach-based cleaning products. You can simply use baking soda and warm water mix to clean the moldy surface and then use a clean towel to wipe the surface dry.

If mold is growing in the fridge's inner areas, you would have to take some major steps to eliminate it. This can also include recycling or replacing your refrigerator too. You should better consult a professional for this.

Preventive Measures to Keep Fridge Clean

After getting to know everything about how to clean your fridge, what you should need to learn is to maintain your fridge in such a way that it doesn't need much cleaning now and then. For this, keep checking your fridge every day, remove expired products such as stale veggies and fruits right away.

Also, use good quality food containers to avoid spills in the fridge. Keep a mixture of baking soda and water handy with you to clean the containers with crusty lids. Also, always leave your fridge fresh and dry by using a fresh cloth to wipe it.

Hacks to Remove Odour from Your Fridge

Let us know see how you can remove that nasty smell from your fridge timely. Sometimes, despite the deep cleaning, a weird smell from your fridge just won't go. But not anymore! You can try these different hacks to remove that unpleasant smell from your fridge and leave it smelling fresh and nice.

With Baking Soda

You must have seen people asking this query that how to clean a fridge with baking soda? Well, now we are finally answering, but regarding the context of smell. Baking soda has amazing odour killing properties, and hence you can use it for your fridge too. All you have to do is just take a bowl and fill it with baking soda. Place this bowl inside your fridge, close the door and let it be there for a couple of hours. Simply remove the bowl afterward, and you can smell that it works like a charm!

Oatmeal

So oatmeal isn't just for your weight loss, and you can use it for removing that foul smell from your fridge too. Oatmeal is just fabulous at absorbing oils as well as eliminating smells too. What you have to do is take an aluminum bowl and pour some uncooked oatmeal in it. Keep this bowl in your fridge until you feel there is no unpleasant smell left in your fridge. It works just like baking soda and neutralizes all the offensive odour.

Charcoal

We all know about charcoal's cleaning and absorbing properties because who hasn't tried a charcoal face mask yet? Well, moving over with this facemask, you can use charcoal to get rid of that nasty smell from your fridge too. Take a bowl and pour some charcoal in it. Put this bowl in your fridge and set the temperature to a minimum. Let it remain in your fridge for at least three days, and you can see the difference for yourself.

Vinegar

It's time for you to learn that how to clean a fridge that smells really bad. Well, first start with that smell part, and for that, you can use vinegar. Vinegar is a superb cleaning agent and can be used to neutralize smells too. Like all the other ideas, put a bowl full of vinegar in your fridge and close the door. You can see the difference in a few hours only. Moreover, you can keep this bowl as a staple and keep changing the vinegar when you see it isn't working anymore.

Lemon

While all the other ingredients only neutralize the smell in your fridge, lemon is the only agent that gets rid of the smell and leaves your fridge lemony fresh. This means every time you will open your fridge, it will smell a little lemony and super fresh. For this, you just need to cut a lemon into a few slices and leave them in your fridge. It absorbs all the bad smells really quickly and works wonders for your fridge. You can change the slices once they go bad.

Cool Fridge Organization Hacks You Should Know About!

Your fridge gets dirty and messy when it lacks proper organization and system. If you would start keeping your fridge more organized and tidy, you won't even need the special cleaning drive. For this, we have found some valuable hacks and tips which can help you to arrange your fridge more systematically.

Make an "Eat Me First" Box

Before you learn how to clean a fridge, you should better learn how to organize it. For this, you can start by creating an "eat me first" box that can save a lot of space and a lot of time. You can put all the items in it which are close to their expiration date and need to be consumed quickly. Create a box and fill these items in it and label it "eat me first" and you are good to go. Not only will you be saved from consuming expired items, but you can save some money too.

Use Rotating Plates for Better Access

Source coolthings.com

Sometimes you have to search a lot in your fridge to find the items you want. It can be a big black hole like situation and quite frustrating too. Instead, you can install a rotating plate in your fridge so that all the essential items you want are easy to access. You must have seen such plates in the spice cabinet, but using them in the fridge is smart to access all the jars, snacks, and other items. These are usually called lazy Susans, and you can easily buy these plates online.

Hanging Baskets for More Space

Source amazon.in

You may not have noticed it, but your fridge provides a lot of wall space, which often goes unutilized. It's time for you to use this space by hanging baskets with the help of suction cups. You can use these baskets to keep small kinds of stuff which are often hard to find in the fridge. You can use also use these baskets to keep your herbs, cheese rolls, butter packs, and other things in them. This way, it will be easy to access these little things, and you can always find them on time.

Group Similar Items Together

How to clean a fridge when it's super messy and super unorganized? Well, your answer to this is to learn to group similar things. Next time when you arrange the items in your fridge, make sure that you store them properly. For this, you can use old boxes. For example, all the leafy things can be stored together, or maybe you can make a box for sauces or eggs, etc. You can also use these boxes to store your meal prep items too.

Use Drawer Dividers

Source amazon.in

Your clothing drawer must be having some dividers to keep your clothes well-arranged and organized. It is time for you to use these dividers in your fridge too. Use these dividers in your vegetable box to sort out different vegetables and fruits. You can also use these dividers at other parts of the fridge for sorting out leafy greens, ginger, lemons, etc. This way, one fruit won't be smelling like another, and you can always enjoy fresh veggies and fruits.

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From our editorial team

How Many Times Must You Clean Your Fridge?

Your fridge is probably the most crucial aspect of your kitchen; therefore, it requires constant upkeep, and a clean fridge definitely means a much healthier kitchen! Experts recommend deep-cleaning your refrigerator at least every three to four months, while you must give it a quick wipe for any spills or if anything seems out of place. But, as said, healthy fridge aids to an overall healthier kitchen; the more frequently you clean your fridge, the better it would be!