Complete guide on how to clean your refrigerator the right way

The not-so-bad exterior of a refrigerator might sometimes make you assume that its inside is also nice and clean. However, that’s not always the case. Since you’ve chosen the best refrigerator to store your family’ food in, make sure it is one of the purest places in your house.

In today’s article, Electrolux Indonesia will give you a complete step-to-step guidance on how to clean your refrigerator the right way. Good news is these tips are applicable for both 1 door and side-by-side 2 door or any big-sized fridges. Plus, you will also find some extra after-cleaning tips such as how to turn on the fridge at the end of the post.

The satisfaction of a sparkling-clean fridge

Before the cleaning

Before we roll up our sleeves for the deep cleaning job, let’s make sure to get the following things done first:

Schedule a proper timing for your fridge cleaning

Timing your refrigerator cleaning before the weekly or daily delivery of your grocery shopping will make your life easier. If yours is a fridge freezer, you would also want the freezer compartment as empty as possible when you start the clean-up.

>>> Read more: When is the right time to clean your refrigerator?

Prepare surface area for temporary food storage

Since it’s obvious that we will need to completely empty the fridge before cleaning, preparing enough surface area for temporary food storage would be a good idea. You might want to empty your kitchen sink as well.

Gather items needed to clean your refrigerator

Here is the list of supplies you will need for your cleaning:

• Vinegar or baking soda
• Spray bottle – the container for our food-safe cleaner made from vinegar/baking soda and hot water
• Scrubby sponge or cloth
• A large microfiber towel to place at the bottom of your refrigerator to absorb the water drops if any
• The recycling bin – put it somewhere nearby as you might be tossing expired items.

 

Spray bottle – the container for our cleaner

Turn off & empty your fridge

Now turn off your fridge and make sure to let the plastic shelves come to room temperature before you start removing them in the next steps. Trying to remove plastic shelves from your fridge when it’s still cold might cause unwanted cracks or other damages.

While you are transferring all the contents of your fridge onto the kitchen countertops or any surface area, remember to:

• Check for use-by dates and through away anything that’s already expired or spoiled. Our simple tips to make plant food from leftovers might come in handy here.
• Clean the bottom of sticky jars or bottles
• Consider putting your perishables in a cooler, especially if you are planning for a really thorough clean.

Below are some more tips on how to deal with leftovers from your fridge the “green” way:

• How to make broth from leftover vegetables
• Turn kitchen leftovers into restaurant-style omelets

Step-by-step on how to clean your refrigerator properly

Step 1: Remove & soak the shelves and drawers

Now that the fridge’s inside must have come to room temperature, take all the shelves and drawers out and soak them in the kitchen sink. If they won’t fit your sink, spray them with dish soap and hot water.

Leave them there while we are heading to work on the inside of the fridge.

Step 2: Soften the accumulated gunk from inside of the refrigerator

Spray all over the interior of your fridge with the DIY vinegar solution mentioned earlier. Concentrate on areas with gunk. The simple combination of vinegar and water works like magic at cleaning up not only sticky germs, but also smelly fridges as well.

Leave the fridge’s interior to soak while you get back to the disassembled shelves and drawers earlier.

Step 3: Wash the shelves and drawers

The gunk on the shelves and drawers should be loosen by now. It’s time to wipe and clean them in dish soap water. Let them dry while you return to wash the inside of your fridge.

Step 4: Clean the inside of your refrigerator

First, give the fridge walls an initial scrub to wipe out any gunk. Then, clean the fridge’s interior surfaces thoroughly with a soft, damp microfiber cloth. Make sure to have it rinsed and squeezed out regularly.

Clean the fridge’s interior surfaces thoroughly with a damp microfiber cloth

Step 5: Dry and reassemble all washed parts

When all the parts which are disassembled in the initial steps are dry completely, you can start having them reassembled.

Step 6: Clean jars and bottles before putting them back

It’d be pointless if we put sticky jam jars and crusty bottles back into a thoroughly cleaned fridge.

If you have already cleaned the bottom of those containers at the very first steps while clearing out your fridge, that’s pretty much all the main work. However, sometimes gunk has accumulated around the edges of the cap or the seal, so you might want to take the lid off and wash it in the sink before putting them all back to the fridge.

Step 7: Wash the outside of your fridge, too

Don’t forget to clean the outside of your fridge, too!

Once everything is in place in your sparkling clean refrigerator, spray the vinegar solution all over the outside of the fridge. Then use a soft and clean microfiber cloth to wash it off. Don’t forget to give a good cleaning to the refrigerator handles, edges, and seals.

>>> Read more: Refrigerator buying guide

After the cleaning

How to turn on your refrigerator after the cleaning?

Good news – once your refrigerator is clean and dry, it's ready to go. You can turn on your refrigerator right after the cleaning without having to wait anytime at all.

Clean kitchen counters or surface areas that held food, drinks, refrigerator parts

Don’t forget to wash your kitchen countertops or any surfaces that held your food and refrigerator parts. Give the floor a quick clean-up is also a good idea as the whole cleaning process might leave your floor dirty.

How often should you clean your refrigerator?

It’s advised that you should give your refrigerator a deep clean every 3 or 4 months. According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics though, a light clean-up for your refrigerator should be done once every week.

Keeping your fridge sanitized is important. It’s obvious for health reasons but other than that, regular cleaning will make sure your fridge work properly and thus, last longer.

Not only providing useful tips on how to pro-long the lifespan of your home appliances, Electrolux also ensures customers’ a peace of mind while using our products by offering extended warranty package for any purchases made from Electrolux Indonesia official stores.

Extra tips on how to clean a side-by-side or 2 door refrigerator

Owners of French door refrigerators might need more space for temporary food storage

As big-sized refrigerators obviously contain a lot more stuff than 1-door counterparts, here are 2 extra tips for owners of side-by-side, 2-door, or any sorts of large refrigerators:

• Use folding table or a few chairs to get more space for temporary food storage. Whatever you might use, make sure you prepare at least enough space to hold a shelf’s worth of stuff.
• Clean shelf by shelf: Not everyone has enough space on kitchen countertops to hold all the stuff taken from the fridge before cleaning. So, working shelf by shelf is the go-to cleaning method for owners of side-by-side, 4-door, 2-door, or any big refrigerators. By doing so, your perishables won’t be left out for too long.

>>> Read more: Frequently asked questions about refrigerators

Electrolux refrigerators can stay clean and fresh for longer

Let’s enjoy the satisfaction of a sparkling-clean fridge, for a while. If you want to keep it smelling fresh for longer, try using some refrigerator fresheners.

To free you from frequent maintenance process, Electrolux UltimateTaste refrigerators come equipped with the latest technologies to keep your fridge not only clean but also last for longer. Keeping your food fresh longer also means maintaining your fridge clean for longer.

While the TasteLock feature maintains a humid environment to keep fruit and vegetables fresh with flavor for all week long, the TasteSeal compartment ensures a consistent temperature to keep your ingredients in prime condition for up to 7 days without freezing.

TasteLock feature maintains a humid environment to keep fruit and vegetables fresh for all week long

TasteSeal compartment keeps your food in prime condition for up to 7 days without freezing

A research conducted by World Nutrition Journal shows that our Electrolux UltimateTaste refrigerators are being able to maintain freshness and antioxidant nutrient contents of selected vegetables and fruit better than other brands.

Choose yourself a quality-proven products from the following Electrolux UltimateTaste refrigerators:

Electrolux UltimateTaste refrigerators

Besides UltimateTaste series, Electrolux NutriFresh refrigerators are also popular among Indonesian consumers for their TasteGuard, 360 AirCool support, and TasteLock feature. Food preservation capability of Electrolux NutriFresh refrigerators has even made them to the MURI records (for being able to preserve the freshness of fruits and vegetables for the longest time.)

Here are some highlighted products from our NutriFresh Inverter series:

Also, most of our refrigerator products offer Door Alarm feature which will sound when the refrigerator door is left open for a long time. This will help you save energy, and therefore prolong the life of your appliances.

Applying technologies to offer low energy-consuming yet high performance home appliances is what Electrolux has been known for years. Through Make it last campaign, we seek to inspire change to shape a more sustainable world.

Make It Last with Electrolux UltimateTaste

Hopefully our post today on Electrolux Indonesia has provided helpful tips on how to get rid of your smelly fridge and clean your refrigerator the right way. Visit our website for more expert tips and advice to take better care of your home.