How to Clean a Refrigerator

Wondering how to clean a refrigerator? This is one of the many household tasks that, when done on a regular basis, don't require much work at all.

Ok, I'm going to assume you haven't cleaned a thing in your refrigerator for the past year. Your kid spilt juice, and you didn't wipe it up, there's cheese that expired 6 months ago, and you have a small farm growing in the vegetable bin.

Do this cleaning when the refrigerator is as empty as you think it can get, i.e. you need to go grocery shopping.

Ideally, you should remove all items from your refrigerator, and clean the whole thing at once. You can clean it shelf by shelf though, just start at the top and work your way down.

Step 1. Remove all items from the refrigerator and look at them closely. Anything expired gets tossed. Anything that looks or smells suspicious gets tossed. Please be ruthless.

Step 2. Fill the sink with hot soapy water, don your cleaning gloves, and hand wash all removable parts of the refrigerator. Use a soft brush to get into any small spaces. Rinse and dry.

Step 3. Wash the inside of the refrigerator with warm soapy water and dry thoroughly with a clean soft cloth. If you have dried on tough spills, simply let them soak a bit in warm sudsy water, before wiping clean.

Step 4. Put everything back where it belongs in the refrigerator along with a fresh bowl of baking soda.

Step 5. Wash the rubber seal on the door with a soft toothbrush and sudsy water, then wipe clean.

Step 6. Remove anything from the front, sides and top of the refrigerator and wipe these areas with warm soapy water then dry with a clean cloth.

Step 7. Vow to never have a really dirty refrigerator again.

If there's a spill, wipe it up immediately and thoroughly. Watch out for liquid seeping into cracks.

The smart-people-refrigerator-clean takes five minutes once a week. Do it right before you go grocery shopping. You should never need to do a big clean.

Step 1. Purge your refrigerator of expired food. (Did you know that mold on one food can contaminate another through the air?)

Step 2. Spot clean with a cleaning cloth dampened with a little soapy water. Just clean wherever you see marks or specks. Crumbs can accumulate on the ledges that hold the shelves so look there and wipe as needed.

Step 3. Crumbs accumulate on the bottom of the fridge so remove all items from the vegetable bin and empty any bits into the sink. Give the bin and the bottom of the fridge a quick wipe if needed.

Step 4. Wipe the handle, the top of the refrigerator and any dirty spots.

Step 5. Open the door and wipe the rubber seal all around. Close the door - you're done!

So what is the best response to how to clean a refrigerator? Often and with little effort!

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