The Best Tips for Spring Cleaning your Refrigerator

We use a number of appliances in our kitchen but a refrigerator is something no household can do without. It is the hardest working appliance too. But at the same time, it has to bear spills, overcrowding and varied odors. So with spring approaching its time to spring clean your refrigerator.

Spring cleaning your refrigerator is more than tossing old things and straightening up the rest. Spring cleaning means disinfecting and deodorizing your refrigerator. Assuring it runs well using less energy and is clean.

Here are some terrific tips to help you out:

• Wipe Spills:

It should be done regularly or the moment you accidently spill something. See that everything you put inside the fridge is clean, if there are any salad dressing bottles, jam jars or ketchup wipe off their rims.

• Check for Spoiled Stuff:

Check for spoiled things and toss out things that are no longer edible. Especially fruits and vegetables can spoil when placed in fridge for long. Leaky things like berry cartons or defrosting meat should be place in rimmed plate.

• Clean Doors:

Make it more of a weekly habit. Clean the top, edges and door of refrigerators using damp cloth with mild dishwashing liquid and water. Pay attention to handles as they get marks from hands. For stainless steel surfaces, use commercial stainless steel sprays wiping in direction of grains. Clean the seals as well as they collect crumbs.

• Empty Fridge:

For detailed cleaning, turn off the power/ fuse box and empty the fridge contents into cooler. Crisper drawers and glass shelves should be brought to room temperature before you wash them.

• Interior & Exterior Cleaning:

Take hot water and 2 tablespoons of baking soda to clean the interior of the fridge. Rinse with damp cloth and dry with clean towel. This not only cleans but eradicates any odors. For caked-on residue, apply the baking soda solution with wet towel and leave the door open letting it soak for 10 minutes.

Clean the exterior using all-purpose spray. Clean the top first then wipe the rest from top to bottom.

• Consolidate:

Throw away any jars that look or smell funny or weird or have expired. Throw away things you are not going to use. Also place like-items side by side. For example if you have different kind of sauces or salad dressings, place them in a line on the side door shelf.

• Airtight leftovers:

The middle shelf should be assigned to leftovers as anyone can reach them. To prevent odors, storing leftover food in airtight containers is the best way. But even then sometimes, you will get odors in your refrigerators. Spread a box of baking soda on a rimmed baking sheet and leave it in the fridge with door closed until the smell goes away.

• Freshening Up:

Sometimes it is not about cleanliness, food gone bad or electric problem could result in cooling problems of fridge resulting in smell. You can eliminate odors by spreading fresh coffee grounds on tray inside. The coffee scent will go away too.

Hope you found these tips useful! Did they work out for you? Let us know in the comment s below.