Top Tips for a Clean Fridge and Freezer

How often do you clean your fridge and freezer? If you’re like most people, then the answer is likely once a year, at best. Perhaps you’ve even gone far longer between cleanings, and it’s starting to show in the strange odours that hit your nose every time you open the fridge door.

Not cleaning your fridge and freezer can mean a lot more than funny smells. You could risk getting sick from all the unseen grime and bacteria that builds up over time. That’s why keeping your fridge in tip-top shape is important.

Here are some tips to do just that! Read on…

Daily Wipe-Down

Take care of any spills in your fridge and freezer as soon as they happen, rather than let them sit around. Every night, wipe down visible surfaces of your fridge and freezer to prevent cross contamination and the build-up of crud. Deodorise with a mixture of two parts hot water, one part vinegar and a couple drops of lemon essential oil or lemon juice. This combination will help loosen spilled food and purge unpleasant odours. You’ll be glad to open your fridge every morning without holding your nose!

Weekly Clear-Out

It’s recommended to deep clean your refrigerator every three to four months. However, there’s no need to wait that long and let the work pile up on you.

Once a week, go through the contents of your fridge and freezer and toss away expired condiments and leftovers. This ensures old food doesn’t get lost in the back of your fridge, where it’ll grow mould spores and other weird life forms until you rediscover it months later.

Allowing mouldy food to sit in your fridge is bad for your health, even if you don’t consume it. That’s because mould can cause allergic reactions or other respiratory problems. Worse still, some mould can even be toxic!

Round-the-Clock Deodoriser

Manually wiping down the shelves of your fridge and freezer is the best way to keep your refrigerator clean, but you also want something that passively neutralises strange odours so you don’t have to clean so vigorously. Putting a deodoriser out to sit in your fridge and freezer is a great option.

Baking soda is a tried-and-true deodoriser that does an excellent job of sucking up pungent smells in your fridge. You can put some baking soda in an open bowl on a shelf on your fridge, or you can even let the opened box sit out as is. Additionally, a cotton wool soaked with vanilla extract or freshly squeezed lemon juice can help add a more pleasant aroma to your fridge.

Deep Clean Every Three to Four Months

We saved this tip for last, because the words ‘deep clean’ might frighten some of you away! But deep cleaning your refrigerator isn’t as scary of a task as it might seem. If you’ve been following the other steps above, then your workload will be so much lighter. You’ll just need to mark your calendar for ‘the big day,’ then take your food items out of the fridge and freezer, wipe down the shelves thoroughly with a cloth and hot, soapy water – and that’s it!

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Until next time…