Cleaning the Fridge

Written by Doris Donnerman (last updated October 11, 2021)

In most homes, the refrigerator is the busiest appliance, being used all the time. Periodically you have to clean it out, as it has a tendency to collect spills, stains, and leftovers. You know you have to clean out the fridge, but you are not sure where to begin. Don't worry—it really isn't that scary and when you are finished you can feel the sweetness of accomplishing a great task.

When it comes time to clean out the fridge the best thing to do is to break it into small steps. First, gather all the items needed to make this chore simpler. Here's what you need:

  • 1 box of baking soda
  • 1 bucket
  • Plenty of warm water
  • 3 clean cloths
  • Paper towels
  • 1 picnic cooler

With all your supplies in place, remove all the food items and throw away those that are getting old. (Pay particular attention to any leftovers that are no longer edible.) Place the good food items—the ones that you want to keep—into a cooler (like a picnic cooler). This will keep the good food items cool while you clean the fridge.

Take out all removable parts, shelves, drawers, and bins. Place them near the sink. Get your bucket of warm water and pour in the baking soda. Baking soda is a great cleaner; it's abrasive enough to remove stains and the sticky residue left behind by spills but won't scratch the surface.

Take your clean soft rag and dip it into the baking soda and warmwater mixture. Start wiping the top of the inside of the fridge, move to the back of the fridge, then the sides and finally the bottom of the fridge.

With the second dry, clean cloth dry each interior surface as you finish it. Take the cloth that you dipped into the water and dip it again. This time use it to wipe down the inside of the door. Use the dry cloth to finish drying the wet surfaces.

With the inside of the fridge clean, you are ready to turn your attention to all the pieces and parts you removed from the fridge. Follow the same cleaning steps as before, but this time with those removable shelves, drawers, and bins. This step is much easier to do in the sink or on a counter top.

When finished with the washing and drying, place a clean piece of paper towel in the drawers. This helps to keep the drawers clean until the next time you need to clean the fridge. You may have to replace the paper towels before the next time you clean the fridge, but it is easier than doing an in-depth cleaning.

Replace all the parts (shelves, drawers, bins) back into the fridge. With the last piece of dry cloth, dip the cloth into some plain warm water so you can wipe off any of the jars as you place them back into the fridge.

Your fridge is now clean and sweet smelling.

Author Bio

Doris Donnerman

Doris is a jack of all trades, writing on a variety of topics. Her articles have helped enlighten and entertain thousands over the years. ...

MORE FROM DORIS

Stop Puppies from Chewing Carpet and Furniture

While puppies are unbelievingly adorable, they do have their not-so-great behaviors. If you have a puppy and are fed up ...

Discover More

Grilling Meat Outdoors

Do you love a freshly grilled steak or hamburger? Check out some advice on grilling meat before you light the barbecue ...

Discover More

Perfect Popovers

If you grew up eating popovers or if you've never had them before, it doesn't matter when it comes to this recipe. Make ...

Discover More

The Power of Microfiber! Zwipes Microfiber Cleaning Cloths will become your favorite tool for every cleaning task. This 36-cloth package is perfect for hundreds of uses in the garage, kitchen, bathroom, laundry, and all around the house. Each cloth is tough, streak-free, lint-free, reusable, and washable. Check out Microfiber Cleaning Cloths today!

More Cleaning Tips

Removing Seafood Odor from Refrigerators

There are all kinds of ways that a refrigerator can obtain some kind of strange or nasty odor. But there is one odor that ...

Discover More

Make Quick Work of Cleaning Your Refrigerator

This is a quicker way to clean your refrigerator. All you'll need is antibacterial wipes, a wastebasket, and about a half ...

Discover More

Dealing with Magnet Stains

For many people, refrigerators are more than something to store their food in. If there are children in the home, then ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in Cleaning Tips from Tips.Net. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is four more than 6?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in Cleaning Tips from Tips.Net. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.