Clean, safe to eat, delicious food starts in the fridge. A clean, working refrigerator makes all the difference in stocking up on your favourite flavours and fresh meals you want to share with family and friends. But when was the last time you cleaned your fridge, and are you doing it right?
Whether you’re cooking up a storm for a summer event or finally getting the chance to try out exciting new recipes this quarantine season, think about where and how you store these delicious dishes and ingredients. Are they stored properly in a clean and fully functional refrigerator? It’s time to learn how to clean your fridge in no time and keep it in good condition.
How to Clean Your Fridge in 5 Easy Steps
1. Prepare cleaning supplies
You need all the right tools and supplies to deep clean your fridge, and depending on how long it’s been since it was last cleaned, you might be greeted by a smelly and grotty mess. This is especially true if spills and food items well past their best-before dates went unnoticed.
Just like in basic cleaning packages, professional cleaners recommend coming prepared with trash bags, rubber gloves, a back-up cooler for temporary food storage, a non-toxic cleaning solution, sponges and rags, and microfibre cloths. These cleaning supplies help when eliminating the expired food items and icky stains clinging on the shelves and walls.
2. Empty it and take inventory
You can’t clean the fridge without emptying it. That’s why you need a cooler to store refrigerated items, as well as ample counter space. You might think it’s easier to leave some items behind and move them around as you wipe down the shelves, but that doesn’t guarantee a thorough clean. Removing everything inside the fridge allows you to check what should go back inside once you’re done, and discard food items well past their sell-by date.
Make it easier to keep track of what goes back inside the fridge, and where. Set aside frozen items in the cooler (or keep them in the freezer until it’s time to take them out), and organize bottles, jars, produce, and leftovers on the counter according to the order they go in. Take this time to check on the leftovers and foodstuffs for signs of mould and rotting, and chuck them in the bin.
3. Scrub and wipe it down
Take your cue from the professionals in basic home cleaning packages: remove the shelves, drawers, and door inserts for washing using a sponge and dish soap. This allows you to scrub them thoroughly and remove food scraps and stains from spills. For particularly stubborn stains, you might need to soak them in soap and water to make scrubbing easier.
While they’re drying, you can scrub down the walls with a sponge, and the exterior with a microfiber cloth. These take care of stuck-on food spills and stains on surfaces without scratching the plastic or glass, as well as fingerprints and streaks on stainless steel exteriors.
4. Take care of stubborn stains
While most stains and spills go away with a quick scrub, others require more than a few passes to ease up. Professional cleaners recommend wetting your sponge or rag in hot water to make scrubbing easier and remove congealed items. These should take care of bright stains from condiments, and restore your fridge to its clean, all-white appearance.
5. Put everything back
Yay, you did it! Now that your fridge is clean, it’s time to put the shelves, drawers, and inserts back inside, followed by food items that made the cut earlier. This is also a good time to adjust shelf placement and reconfigure how your fridge is organized. You can easily access frozen items, breakfast food, condiments, produce, and leftovers according to their size and how often they’re used. Before placing them back inside, make sure that all lids and caps are tightly screwed to avoid spills and drips.
Tips for Cleaning the Fridge
Professional cleaners follow the steps above in basic cleaning packages, but knowing what cleaning products are safe to use and how to use them makes all the difference in deep cleaning your fridge:
- Be careful with kitchen cleaners: Not all cleaning solutions were created equally and designed to be used everywhere. Some cleaners tend to be strong and good for killing common germs, but make sure to avoid contact with food. Alternatively, you can also opt for normal dishwashing liquid, instead, to avoid lingering chemical residue.
- Don’t use bleach: Bleach and other disinfectants are harmful when they contaminate food stored inside the fridge. To avoid this, make sure that your cleaning product is specially formulated for use inside the fridge.
- Try natural products: Instead of potentially toxic chemicals in cleaners, opt for a natural clean. Regular baking soda can easily remove stains and absorb bad odours, while white vinegar is good for stainless steel exteriors.
Avoid a Mess in the Fridge
You can’t scrub the interior of your fridge and take out all the food and compartments every day, so the best way to keep it clean for longer is to avoid making a mess in the first place. Make sure to clean up right away if you accidentally knock over a jar or container when reaching between packed shelves. This avoids further spilling, staining, and foul odours, so you can finish your regular deep cleaning faster.
Keeping a fridge clean also means your food stays well ahead of its best-before date. In any case, you should regularly dispose of expired food items. If you don’t, these condiments and leftovers can grow mould and contaminate fresh food in close contact.
Similarly, be conscious when out for your regular grocery trip and meal prep sessions; avoid buying and cooking too much food that you can’t consume before it goes bad. Make sure to store raw meat and fish in sealed containers in the freezer, produce in refrigerator drawers, and jar items on the fridge door shelves to avoid drips and temperature changes.
Need help with cleaning your fridge? Learn more about our basic cleaning packages that include the kitchen. Call Maid4Condos at 647-822-0601 or contact us here.
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