January 8, 2019 – Ever thought of “detailing” your refrigerator?

        Much like when you wash your car and keep it clean – every so often you have to do a “deep clean” or a “detailing” is what the auto buffs call it.

         We’ve just finished the holidays and if your refrigerator is anything like mine, it has seen a lot of traffic and not all of it was “neat and tidy” traffic. You know what I mean – rush, rush, rush and push, push, push more in causing a mess.

         One day last week opening the bottom crisper in the refrigerator for something, I noticed something had spilled from an upper shelf and a dreadful puddle of red goo was under my crisper.  Oh, yes, someone must have nudged that bowl of leftover beets, and its red liquid spilled and ran down the back of one shelf onto another, then another and kept on going – gravity will do that you know – eventually puddling in the bottom under the lowest crisper drawer.

         Today I tackled the refrigerator – it was not just a wipe down – but a deep down cleaning – a “detailing”.

         I took all food items out of the refrigerator and checked for dates. I tossed stuff out.  Then I wiped the bottoms on all the good items and set them on towels on the kitchen table – where they would have condensation from being warmed up during this process.

         Next came out the plastic bins and all the shelves for a scrub down. I stacked them up in a row on the floor in the kitchen and went to the trouble of taking off the door shelves.  The shelves pop off when you nudge them from the bottom.  I keep these in the same exact sequence I take them off so that they go back on without much effort. I don’t usually do the door shelves this rigorously – but today “detailing” was the objective.

         Let me share a few tips here. 

         No matter how neat you are trying to wash the shelves or the plastic trays at a sink – you will get lots of water on the floor. 

         No matter how you wipe out the inside of the refrigerator – you will get crumbs, drips, or a mess on the floor in front of the refrigerator. 

         And, once you’ve washed them – you want the shelves and trays to be absolutely dry before putting everything back in.

         How I proceed:

         The cleaning fairies recommend that once or twice a year you should move the refrigerator out to clean and dust under and behind it – especially the coils on the back – on the older models.  With the refrigerator empty – it is easier to do.  Pull off that front kick plate at the bottom and give it a good brush scrub and set it aside. Check the drip pan if it has one and clean it out. It is splendid if you have help doing this – you sort of wiggle the unit back and forth to get it to come out of the slot. Once the outside has been cleaned, push it back it and start on the inside.

         I use three beach towels for this – one in front of the sink to catch the inevitable water splash that makes the floor slippery, one in front of the refrigerator to catch any drips, spills, or mess as I am cleaning the inside and the door interior shelves. And, one more I set near the kitchen sink to use as a drain pad when I have finished washing and rinsing the shelves or crisper bins to let as much water run off them before I start to dry them.

         I use whatever takes the gunk off.  But, usually it is hot water and dish soap that I liberally use on the gunk and let it run down into dry towels in the bottom to soak it up.  The door shelves seem to catch tougher dirt – icky bottoms to condiment jars, etc., that is where I use a Brillo of SOS pad judiciously.

         Once I have scrubbed with soapy water and wiped that out, I go over the entire interior with fresh cleaning towels and a homemade cleaning spray I make with orange skins that have been soaked in white vinegar, then the drained solution is diluted with water.  It makes the interior smell fresh and clean and removes any stickiness from soapy water.

         I next clean the dust and grime off the top of the refrigerator.   Then, I use those eraser sponges on the sides of all the doors along the gussets. Eraser spongers are extremely flexible and get the job done.  Next, I do the front doors and handles.

         I put all the shelves and crisper bins back where they belong and don’t forget to put the plastic grill plate on at the bottom front. 

        

         Lastly, I dry the condensation from each item as I set it back on a shelf or in a crisper.

         Then I take all my cleaning rags and beach towels and run them through the washer and dryer while I make myself a lovely cup of tea to relax and congratulate myself on a job well done.

         One more word . . . . advise the rest of the household to be “neat” using the refrigerator. Caution them to “be sure to wipe the bottoms of jars and bottles that you use before you put them back in the refrigerator”. . . the refrigerator cleanliness might just last a little bit longer.  Well, I am hopeful about that anyway.

Note:  One of many recipes for Vinegar orange peel cleaner

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GA8JhHTUPZQ