How to clean your fridge easily in the right way – complete guide

The not-so-bad exterior of a fridge might sometimes make you assume that its inside is also nice and clean. However, that’s not always the case. You’ve chosen the best fridge to store your family’ food in, we have to make sure it is clean and hygienic for storage.

In today’s article, Electrolux Singapore will give you a step-by-step guide on how to clean your fridge easily, what to use to clean fridge, how to clean fridge outside, inside, ... Good news is these tips are applicable for all types of fridges – be it a mini fridges,  1-door, 2-door or any big-sized fridges.

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 fridge 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 do the cleaning.

You may wonder how often we should clean the fridge. It is recommended to clean your fridge every 3 to 4 months. In between cleanings make sure to wipe up spills before they dry up and remove foods that are spoiled or past their expiry date.

Prepare surface area for temporary food storage

We need sufficient counter-top space to place the items removed from your fridge. You might also want to clear out your kitchen sink to hold wet stuff.

What to use to clean fridge?

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

• Vinegar or baking soda
• Spray bottle – the container for our home-made food-safe cleaning agent made from vinegar/baking soda and hot water
• Scrubby sponge or cloth
• A large microfiber towel to place at the bottom of your fridge to absorb the water droplets, if any

And don’t forget a rubbish/recycling bin. You can put it somewhere nearby as you might be throwing out expired or spoilt items.

Switch off & empty your fridge

Now switch off your fridge and make sure to let the shelves and drawers cool down to room temperature before you start removing them from the fridge. Removing plastic shelves and drawers 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 counter-tops or any surface area, remember to:

• Check for use-by dates and through away expired or spoiled items.
• Check and clean “sticky greasy” containers such as jars, bottles, boxes etc.
• Put your perishables or frozen food in a cooler box if you need a longer cleaning time

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

Step 1: Remove & clean the shelves and drawers

Ensure the interior of the fridge is at room temperature before taking out all the shelves and drawers and soak them in the kitchen sink/pail with warm water. If they could not fit into your sink/pail, spray them with dish detergent or the home-made cleaning agent.

Leave them to soak through while we work on the inside of the fridge.

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

Spray all over the interior of your fridge including compartments that cannot be removed with the DIY vinegar solution. Concentrate on areas with grease and filth. This simple combination of vinegar and water works like magic at cleaning up not only sticky germs, but also smelly fridges.

Get back to the shelves and drawers while we let the cleaning agent work its magic on the interior of the fridge.

Step 3: Wash the shelves and drawers

The gunk on the shelves and drawers should be loosen by now. Wipe and clean them in warm water, wipe dry with soft microfiber cloth and let them dry completely.

Step 4: How to clean the inside of your fridge

Clean the walls of the fridge and compartments with a soft microfiber cloth to wipe off any gunk. Clean these areas again with the clean damp cloth.

Step 5: Dry and reassemble all washed parts 

You can put the shelves and drawers back when they are completely dry.

Step 6: How to clean the outside of your fridge

Spray the vinegar solution all over the outside of the fridge. Use a soft and clean microfiber cloth to wipe it off. Don’t forget to give a good cleaning to the fridge handles, edges, and the door seals.

Step 7: Putting items back to the fridge

It would be a wasted effort if we are putting back dirty and uncleaned items into our now freshly cleaned fridge. Do clean any sticky, greasy surfaces, caps of containers and/or items before putting them back to the fridge.

After the cleaning

You can immediately switch on your fridge right after the cleaning.

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

Don’t forget to wash your kitchen counter-tops or any surfaces that held your food and fridge parts. Give the floor a quick clean-up is also a good idea as you have dirtied your floor while cleaning the fridge.

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

Don’t forget to wash your kitchen counter-tops or any surfaces that held your food and fridge parts. Give the floor a quick clean-up is also a good idea as you have dirtied your floor while cleaning the fridge.

As big-sized fridges normally contain a lot more stuff, here are 2 extra tips for owners of side-by-side, multi-doors or any big capacity fridges:

• 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: Cleaning shelf by shelf is the go-to cleaning method for owners of big sized fridges. By doing so, your perishables won’t be left outside for too long.
• >>> Read more: Frequently asked questions about fridges

Electrolux fridges can stay clean and fresh for longer

To free you from frequent cleanings, Electrolux UltimateTaste fridges come equipped with the latest technologies to keep your fridge not only clean but also smell good. 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 fresh produce in prime condition for up to 7 days without freezing. The TasteGuard Deodoriser helps to remove smelly odour from the fridge.

A research conducted by World Nutrition Journal shows that our Electrolux UltimateTaste fridges 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 fridges and find more about how to choose the best fridge for your house.