Whether you’re moving out of an apartment or just want to find the source of that horrible smell, refrigerator cleaning can be a taxing task. Rather than haphazardly throwing food in the trash and scrubbing off gravy stains, follow our refrigerating cleaning checklist to make your appliance spotless.
How to use the Excel Fridge Cleaning Checklist
Download the checklist and either print it out or use it in Excel. The spreadsheet is divided into three sections: the check column, a step summary, and the cleaning task portion. This separates the process into an easy to follow guide.
Step one requires unplugging the fridge (for safety) and cleaning underneath it. Many people forget this area, even though it is most prone to collecting dust, dirt, and food bits. Use a coil brush to clean this and if possible, move the fridge and get the area a good scrub.
Next, take everything out of the fridge – good and bad food. Throw out expired items, and combine things if possible (two half-filled coke bottles can be poured together into one full bottle). Once it is all removed, take out the drawers and grates. Fill a sink or tub with warm water and scrub them with dish soap and let air dry.
While the shelves are drying, use a cleaning spray to white the interior of the fridge. A tooth brush or small hooked brush can reach the crevices and corner where grime collects. After this, put your dry shelves back in the fridge and re-stock your food.
An open box of baking soda or specialty baking soda pods should be placed in the fridge to maintain cleanliness. After this, close the fridge and work on the outside. Again, a toothbrush may be needed for crevices and corners.
Tips for using the Refrigerator Cleaning Checklist
- Do this about every six months. The more often you clean, the easier each time it will be. This will also help you avoid stubborn stains.
- Keep quickly expiring food on a separate shelf so you can easily sort through it weekly. This will prevent moldy food from stinking up your fridge.
- The freezer portion needs the same treatment as the rest of the fridge. Once it is unplugged, you won’t have to worry about the cold. Scrub it just as you did the rest.