This month’s reader question is, “How do you deep clean a refrigerator and get the gunk out of the crevices?” While this may not be the most fun thing to clean, you will be happy to get it out of the way before the holidays hit. You’ll need extra room for holiday treats and entertaining and it’s always refreshing to open the fridge to clean shelves and fresh, organized food! Grab a rag, a butter knife, and fill up your sink with hot soapy water. Let’s get started!
1) Take a quick look and throw out anything you know is outdated or can see has gone bad.
Before you clean anything, take a quick inventory of what’s in your fridge. Throw out any old leftovers or items that have surpassed freshness.
2) Start at the top and work your way down, cleaning one shelf at a time.
Take all the food off the shelf, wipe the bottom of food if necessary and place it elsewhere in the fridge. If your shelves are really large or do not come out, you’ll obviously have to wipe them down while in the fridge. Leave a rag dipped in hot soapy water on hard to get off food and carefully use a knife to get into crevices. If shelves do come out, remove them entirely and wash in hot soapy water. Use a butter knife to get into the crevices if stuck on food is really stubborn. Rinse the shelf and dry. Before putting the shelf back in the fridge, wipe the walls of the inside of the fridge. Repeat with each shelf and then do the same to the shelves in the door.
3) Organize Food
Once each shelf has been cleaned, organize your food. Anna has some great tips for that here.
4) Place a Box of Baking Soda in Fridge to Keep it Smelling Fresh
Be sure to place an opened box of Baking Soda in the fridge to keep foul odors at bay. Change the box out each month!
5) Wipe down the Refrigerator Door Gasket
I hadn’t noticed this before I was deep cleaning but that rubber thing around the inside of the fridge door gets pretty dirty. Simply take your soapy rag to it, all the way around!
6) Clean the Coils
And last but not least, pull the grill off the bottom of your fridge (on older fridges it may be on the back) and vacuum the coils. This will help your fridge run more efficiently!
And that is how to deep clean a refrigerator!
Kim
Do you have a reader question for Kim? Leave it in the comments. Visit Kim at her amazing blog and get lots of cleaning tips! Here are just a couple.
What’s the best Fridge and Freezer Temp?
How to Clean Stainless Steel without Chemicals
Don’t use warm or hot water on your glass fridge shelves until you bring them to room temperature! My mom did this a few years ago and her shelf shattered! Glass fridge shelves are tempered but not magical.
Before just throwing your dirty shelf in the hot water let the shelf warm up first,or take a rsg and warm it up first. The quick temptation change from cold to hot can dhatter the glass. I’ve had it happen before.
I am asking how to clean the door crevices that are filled with black gunk.
I use a toothpick and damp paper towel, or for larger crevices a damp cotton swab works well too.