what about cleaning the doors, door seals, hinges, handles. that's the real ordeal.
3
Who waits a year between refrigerator cleanings? Me? I see dirt, grime and spills, I clean it immediately. I don't need a special day. I clean as I go along.
I hate to think of what these yearly refrigerator cleaning people do in their bathrooms, kitchens and cars.
18
Baking soda solution or diluted vinegar is enough to clean a fridge. Bleach is complete overkill.
If your leafy or salad things tend to liquefy rapidly, odds are they're just dirty when you buy them. Bacteria cause decomposition. Cucumbers etc can be washed the day of purchase: they'll last twice as long and stay far fresher. Leafy things are less easy to dry, so maybe consider changing your supplier or your brand: a comparatively expensive box of hydroponic lettuce may be worth the price if you get to eat all of it while it's fresh, rather than a cheap buy that turns quickly to slime.
9
In Europe we use a solution of bicarbonate of soda for cleaning fridges and freezers. It cuts through fat and oils, is moderately antiseptic, is not caustic to skin, is very cheap, neutralizes odours, and, perhaps most importantly - DOES NOT SMELL. Use vinegar and soap products in my fridge?? Do I want my food to smell of vinegar or soap??? Really a no-brainer, folks.
26
Great article. Don't forget these areas.
1) The freezer needs attention too! When freezing items, use a sharpie on the plastic wrap to date them. Toss those that are past their prime or appear to have freezer burn. My rule of thumb is to not retain frozen meats beyond a year.
2) Periodically toss out all the ice and start fresh. It absorbs smells too.
3) The fridge/freezer has a condenser coil above the unit or in back. Periodically vacuum accumulated dirt and dust. Your appliance will be more efficient and hopefully last longer.
7
Reminds me of the ritual freezer defrosting growing up that necessitated removing everything to accomplish. Hot water in a pot to warm up ice enough to break free, water dripping down, took my mother a few hours to accomplish.
10
“Rubber or disposable gloves”? Are you cleaning the refrigerator of somebody who died a year ago? Welcome to America, great land of overconsumption and oversanitization. How about 1 sponge, vinegar/baking soda and washing your hands after? Bonus points for helping the environment, buried under our amount of waste.
48
Install germicidal LED lights to inactivate food borne pathogens and to reduce food spoiling ethylene. This will extend shelf life. The LEDs operate very efficiently at low temperatures. The NY Times can contact me to learn more about my UV Farm to Fork initiative.
2
Do you turn the refrigerator off while cleaning? And what about the freezer? Suggestions for cleaning that portion would be most welcome.
5
if you have a single unit that has both a separate refrigeration and freezer door, I wouldn't turn it off - since you can transfer items none section tother other when cleaning a section.
I would also GUESS that there is a significant strain on the system between leaving a refrigerator or freezer door open for five-minutes as opposed to a half-hour, since most shelves are removable you can clean shelves near the sink.
And vacuuming out crumbs makes that portion of the cleanse brief.
2
Guess this is info for the folks newly out of Mom’s House. After a few months, I hope everyone has learned how to do this - easily, quickly, and more frequently than once a year.
8
Not that I'm a great housekeeper, but this article makes the job sound so daunting that I can't imagine anyone following all the advice. And cleverly timed to add to the holiday stress.....
14
Nothing here about turning the refrigerator down or off while you have it open for the length of time it takes to do this scrubbing. I think it's a good idea, rather than having the motor running while you are scrubbing. Turn it back on and up to the coldest setting when you are done, then adjust the temperature when the interior has cooled.
8
Okay, let me see if I got it straight: Take the stuff out. Clean the fridge. Put the stuff back. And you seriously expect people to take out a subscription to read this sort of thing?
37
I clean out my fridge every time I go shopping, which these days is about once a week. I also clean out one part of the fridge e.g. a shelf or drawer, every time I throw away the old food i.e. once a week. If you go over it that often, everything cleans up very easily, and with just soap, water and a sponge.
9
I do the same...once a week on trash day. Maybe because my mother always gave me the gross twice-yearly job...yuk. Once in my own house, I never let it accumulate.
3
Okay. This article grossed me out. Do people actually live with refrigerators that are toxic waste dumps? Is this a millenial thing? Who can’t figure out how to clean a refrigerator? Just clean it on a regular basis. Ugh!
45
Isn't this an article about food waste? When something spills in my refrigerator, I clean it up right away. I love a clean refrigerator. Just buy what you need for the week. I love opening the door to see food that I have made in nice glass containers. When anything goes bad it's because I didn't eat it in a timely manner.
Example: I always make my own salad dressing which I eat until it is gone. Then I make more. I actually have some door shelves stored in the basement. Less to clean. Please eat food before it rots. The family will just have to suck it up!
7
You should watch "Sleepless in Seattle".
Evidently you are not the target audience for this PSA. Just move along....
8
We use a white vinegar & baking soda concoction . . . it bubbles up the goop!
After boiling a large kettle of water, we mix it further with baking soda and scrub with a clean white wash cloth reserved for kitchen use. We dry the Fridge completely with paper towels.
Lastly, we air out the Fridge by placing a chair in front of its door for about 15 minutes. we then open new boxes of Baking Soda. One for each shelf. One for the freezer.
All sparkly clean!
16
Vinegar is acid, soda is alkali. Mix them together and when the bubbling subsides you have... a salt. Just choose one if you want an effective cleaner.
7