At a Glance
How Often Should You Clean Your Refrigerator?
Your Guide to a Clean Refrigerator
Why Trust John’s Appliance & Bedding?
Maintaining a clean refrigerator is crucial for preventing the buildup of harmful germs and prolonging the lifespan of your appliance.
Regularly cleaning your fridge, a task frequently overlooked even during spring cleaning, is vital for both your health and the appliance's longevity. In this article, we explore why cleaning is so crucial, what refrigerator parts you need to maintain, and how often you should clean your fridge.
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Shop RefrigeratorsReasons to Clean Your Refrigerator
Regularly cleaning your fridge has more benefits than you might imagine, including keeping your family healthy and improving the lifespan of your refrigerator.
Protecting your family’s health
An unclean fridge might not always look dirty to the naked eye. Refrigerators can grow all kinds of nasties that affect our health and can make us sick. Even when our fridge looks clear it can harbor dangerous things such as:
- Mold
- Mildew
- E.Coli
- Listeria
- Salmonella
By keeping a clean refrigerator and deep cleaning the inside on a schedule, you can reduce the potential harm to your family.
Maintenance of your fridge
Any appliance purchase is a major investment, and a fridge lives in the “needs” category of appliances in the home. To keep your refrigerator running longer, and efficiently, and prevent premature breakdowns, regular cleaning of your refrigerator coils is recommended.
How Often Should You Clean Your Refrigerator?
Although general cleaning should be done regularly and old food should be cleared out each week, deeper cleanings can help keep your fridge healthy and durable for years to come.
Cleaning the interior of your fridge is only one half of the puzzle. By keeping external parts such as your coils clean, your fridge can continue to work efficiently. Below, we examine how often these cleaning tasks should be done and when additional cleaning might be needed:
- Regularly clean the interior every 3 months: The inside of your fridge is where bacteria and mold can start to grow, and often they are invisible. A quarterly deep clean can keep your fridge sparkling, keeping you confident your kitchen is healthy.
- Clean refrigerator coils every 6 months: An excellent way to prolong the life of your fridge is to plan for regular cleaning of your refrigerator coils. Your coils attract dust and debris that can interfere with the fridge's efficiency and ultimately, stop it from working. By keeping your coils clean, your fridge can keep going for much longer.
→ Learn more: Why is Your Refrigerator Not Cooling?
As we use refrigerators multiple times a day, they often fall victim to accidents, forgotten foods, and other issues between cleanings. Extra cleaning care will be needed after the following:
- Spills: We have spills that turn into sticky messes very quickly. Fridges with edge to edge shelves are prone to spills covering a greater area of your fridge. To avoid any bacteria problems from spills, be proactive about cleaning them up as soon as possible.
- Leaking packages: Grocery packages, specifically liquids, and meats, have a habit of leaking out into the refrigerator even when they are wrapped in plastic. When packages leak into the fridge, cleaning away bacteria is a top priority.
- After clearing spoiled food: There are always a few groceries that end up spoiling in the refrigerator. Green vegetables are a prime suspect as we buy food for the diet we want rather than the one we have. After a product has spoiled in the fridge, simply taking it out and throwing it away is not enough. A thorough cleaning of the fridge eliminates any bacteria and mold in the area.
Your Guide to a Clean Refrigerator
Every refrigerator model is unique, but they all require regular cleaning. Below, we highlight the parts of your refrigerator that need regular maintenance, and how to clean them during each step of the process.
How to Clean a Refrigerator Interior
Keeping a clean refrigerator is not as big a chore as you might imagine, and harsh chemicals are often not needed at all. Using hot soapy water can remove most spills and stains. Make sure you remember to get into all areas of your fridge, including:
- Removing and washing removable shelves and drawers.
- The inside of the doors, including door shelves. These spots frequently gather condiment spills.
- Crumb attracting door seals.
- Ice buckets and dispensers.
Like any new habit, the first time may take a little longer to complete your fridge cleaning. By keeping up the routine, each quarter’s cleaning will take barely any time to complete.
How to Sanitize Your Refrigerator
Even when appliances look clean, bacteria can still lurk. There is a difference between cleaning and sanitizing. Sanitizing your refrigerator helps to eliminate bacteria, mold, and mildew that cause illness.
Sanitizing for a super clean refrigerator is a quick addition to your cleaning routine. Adding one tablespoon of liquid bleach to a gallon of water can create a simple liquid for sanitizing your fridge. There are also cleaning solutions available specially formulated for killing nasties in your fridge if you are sensitive to bleach.
After sanitizing, leave your fridge door open for a few minutes to help any odors escape. Placing baking soda packs in your refrigerator can reduce any ongoing odors.
→ Learn more: Side-by-Side Refrigerators: Pros and cons
How to Clean Refrigerator Coils
Your refrigerator coils are a vital piece of your fridge's design, crucial for keeping your fridge cold. These coils can pick up dust and debris from the surrounding area over time, and the coils become less effective as a result.
To clean your coils, follow a simple step-by-step process:
- Disconnect from power: Unplug your fridge from its power outlet or turn off the circuit breaker for safety.
- Locate the coils: Refrigerator coils are often found at the back of your refrigerator or behind a grill panel at the bottom. You may need to unscrew the covering panel to access them.
- Clean the dust: The best way to clean refrigerator coils is by using a vacuum cleaner and a very soft-bristled brush. Using a brush with hard bristles risks damaging the coils as you work.
- Replace any panels or grills: Replacing any panels after cleaning helps to hide the coils and protects them from building up dust at a faster rate.
- Repeat the cleaning: Clean refrigerator coils about once every 6 months, or more often to keep your coils super clean.
How to Clean Refrigerator Air filters
The air filter in your refrigerator is responsible for keeping the air inside fresh. They extend the life of your groceries and reduce odors.
Some refrigerator models recommend changing your air filter at regular intervals. Other models are built with washable air filters. These air filters can be removed and washed with soap and water during your quarterly cleaning process.
How do You Clean a Stainless Steel Refrigerator
Cleaning stainless steel can be challenging as it often shows streaks and fingerprints easily. Not all cleaning products can be used with stainless steel. Avoid using chlorine bleaches, abrasive pads, steel wool, and water that is high in mineral content.
Some ways to create a gleaming stainless steel finish include:
- Pre moistened stainless steel wipes.
- Stainless steel polishing sprays.
- A paste made with baking soda and water.
- Using a vinegar and oil combination.
In conclusion
A clean refrigerator helps to keep your home healthy, extends the life of your refrigerator, and can improve your general mental well-being. Taking a little longer the first time, once you have a routine in place, cleaning your refrigerator becomes a simple and satisfying process.
FAQ
Here are some frequently asked questions about refrigerator maintenance:
How to clean refrigerator coils?
Refrigerator coils gather dust and debris over time. Tucked behind a vent or the refrigerator itself, it is often an easy area to miss when cleaning your fridge. Wondering how to clean refrigerator coils? It is easier than you might think. Simply turn off the power to your refrigerator, locate your fridge coils underneath or behind your refrigerator, and simply use a vacuum and a very soft bristled brush to clear the coils.
How to clean a Samsung refrigerator?
Wondering how to clean a Samsung refrigerator? Following a standard schedule of cleaning your interior every 3 months with soap and water or a specialized cleaning spray will keep your Samsung free of nasties. You can clean your coils regularly by using a vacuum and a very soft-bristled brush.
What to use to clean the refrigerator?
You can achieve a clean refrigerator by using hot soapy water for the interior of your fridge. Some people like to use diluted bleach to ensure the inside is sanitized, with others turning to baking soda and water to remove tough stains. Cleaning the exterior of your fridge will depend on the finish, with cleaning products available for every possible finish.
Where to buy a refrigerator near me?
Serving the Central Florida community for over 45 years, John’s has built a reputation for providing high-quality discount appliances with old-fashioned personal customer service. Getting to know your individual needs to find the perfect refrigerator for your home, John’s is proud to have expanded, offering incredible deals to customers in New Smyrna, South Daytona, Orange City, and Palm Coast.
Why Trust John’s Appliance & Bedding?
Our family-owned and operated store started with a pick-up truck and a dream. When John Hinton Jr. first opened his storefront in 1972, he never envisioned that over the next 50 years, he would outgrow his flagship location and need to open several other locations. However, that’s just what he did.
Thanks to John and his team, John’s Appliance & Bedding has been able to provide our customers with the best appliances, mattresses, and cabinet solutions in South Florida. We view our customers as an extension of our family and seek to provide the best service and expertise that we always have.
Shop Refrigerators at John’s Appliance & Bedding
At John’s Appliance & Bedding, we provide high-quality, name-brand products for the best possible price. Shop refrigerators online or visit one of our four South Florida showrooms and experience world-class customer service. Our friendly product experts are always happy to help you find the perfect refrigerator for your kitchen — whether you call us, use our online chat feature, or visit us in person.