How to clean a refrigerator

[mizznicole]

Hi,

I’m gonna ask my stupid question of the day. How do you ladies and gents keep your fridge clean? I mean the plastic shelves…how often do you wipe them down? What do you wipe them with? Seems like a never-ending losing battle to me! Tips?

 

[Sailor_Kenshin]

I use those microfiber cloths! All you need is water or vinegar to dampen them, and then another one to dry.

 

[puzzleannie]

vinegar and water with a new clean sponge, once a month if you don’t have kids spilling juice & milk, once a week if you do. vinegar disinfects but does not damage plastic like bleach or leave a residue like baking soda. you can scrub a stain with a bit of baking soda and a damp sponge, but keep wiping with clear water until the powder is gone.

not stronger than 1 cup of vinegar to a gallon of water, any stronger will leave a smell and possible damage soft plastic or etch clear plastic.

cleaning spills immediately is the best bet (like yeah, our kids and hubbies will do that). just before you go grocery shopping is the best time because you can toss old stuff and inventory what you need at the same time.

 

[redtech]

I usually clean mine every 2 months. We’re not too good about throwing out old food in a timely fashion. Sometimes I’ll pull something out to dump but realize that the dishwasher is already full and don’t want a stinky tupperwear container laying around so I put it back in.

I don’t leave dirty dishes in there for 2 months, but I only really clean it every two months. I use wet cloth diapers with a little bit of soap. (I use cloth diapers for a lot of things) After I have everything scrubbed off, I use a different wet cloth diaper with no soap to “rinse”. If my shelves were as easy to take out as it was advertised, I would just take them over to the sink.

 

[puzzleannie]

old cloth diapers beat microfiber every time

no brainer, but clean from the top down, and wipe of jars and bottles esp. on the bottom before replacing them (might want to get the crud off the ketchup bottle, too).

 

[Pug]

Sometimes I’ll pull something out to dump but realize that the dishwasher is already full and don’t want a stinky tupperwear container laying around so I put it back in.

I do this, too!

Also, I’ve been happier since I’ve put some wax paper on the bottom of my veggie drawers. That way I can just toss it and lay some more down. I have trouble cleaning those drawers because my fridge is wedged in and I can’t get the door open all the way, so I correspondingly can’t get the drawers open all the way either. And with my rotting produce habit, the paper helps. Maybe the rotting produce habit is influenced by the door that doesn’t open all the way, too……I’d never considered that, but I developed the habit after I had the squished fridge.

 

[mary_bobo]

I do this, too!

Also, I’ve been happier since I’ve put some wax paper on the bottom of my veggie drawers. That way I can just toss it and lay some more down. I have trouble cleaning those drawers because my fridge is wedged in and I can’t get the door open all the way, so I correspondingly can’t get the drawers open all the way either. And with my rotting produce habit, the paper helps. Maybe the rotting produce habit is influenced by the door that doesn’t open all the way, too……I’d never considered that, but I developed the habit after I had the squished fridge.

The same guy must have designed both our kitchens. I have a window with shutters near the frig, and I have to close the shutters and pull the frig out of its “hole” in order to open the freezer door all the way. It is a pain in the neck.

 

[Pug]

The same guy must have designed both our kitchens. I have a window with shutters near the frig, and I have to close the shutters and pull the frig out of its “hole” in order to open the freezer door all the way. It is a pain in the neck.

How annoying. It must be those pesky door handles. If we would only saw those off, we’d have two whole extra inches to work with. We are so unreasonable.

 

[whatevergirl]

I can’t believe what I’m about to say, but I don’t know how to clean a refrigerator. Isn’t that so sad? My husband has done it, and the kids sometimes do it…but it’s the one household chore that I just can’t seem to ‘get.’

Like…how often…and why is it necessary to do at all? I know…I guess it’s necessary, but if you throw the food out periodically…why do you have to actually take every thing out, scrub the shelves down, and then put everything back in. I would rather clean the toilets…I don’t know why, but that chore looks daunting to me!