Your fridge is a really important appliance to keep as clean possible to ensure your food is always fresh and safe. The easiest time is just before a big food shop when your fridge is low on stock so you have less items to work around.
- Remove all food from the shelves of the fridge and place on your worktop. Working with an empty fridge is much easier and quicker.
- Check the use by dates on the food and dispose of any out of date items.
- Vacuum any crumbs from the inside of your fridge with the brush attachment of your Shark vacuum.
- Remove the shelves and any drawers from the fridge. Wash them in the sink with hot water and a little disinfectant. Then thoroughly rinse with hot soapy water to ensure that no disinfectant is left on them. Leave to dry while you clean the inside of the fridge.
- Using a cloth and hot soapy water wipe the inside of the fridge, ensuring that you reach every corner and inside all attached fridge baskets. Start from the top and work downwards. Work quickly to ensure that food is not left out of the fridge for too long.
- Clean the rubber edge of the fridge using hot soapy water and dry with kitchen towel.
- Use a Shark steam mop to steam the inside of the fridge, all shelves and drawers, to ensure that all germs have been killed.
- Place the shelves and food back in the fridge.
- Now begin on the freezer and remove all food and shelves.
- Vacuum any crumbs from the inside of your freezer with the brush attachment of your Shark vacuum.
- Clean shelves and the inside of the freezer using the same method as above.
- Put shelves and food back in the freezer.
- If the bottom or back of your fridge is accessible, turn the fridge off and vacuum any crumbs and dust away.
- Spray the exterior of the fridge with antibacterial spray (or stainless spray for stainless fridges) and buff with a microfibre cloth to finish.
Tips and Tricks
- Use a fridge freshener or half a lemon in a bowl to keep it smelling fresh and eliminate any odours
- Use plastic containers to organise your shelves, this not only looks neat but also means that any spillages are contained within the box/ and you can easily clean it without it spilling on to other shelves. It is also much easier to unpack and keep your fridge neat when everything has a place to go – spending a few minutes each day putting things in the right place will save the need for a time-consuming reorganise later.
- Clean spillages as soon as they happen to avoid them drying on and becoming sticky.
- Wipe sticky condiment bottles and jars with soapy water or an antibacterial wipe before putting back in the fridge to minimise mess.
- Use open zip lock bags to store groups of vegetables together, this prevents mess inside the drawer and also makes it easier to find what you’re looking for.
- If you are concerned about leaving food out for a long time while cleaning, clear and work on one shelf at a time starting from the top and working your way down to avoid having to clean twice.
- Keep leftovers in bowls covered with cling film or plastic boxes, this will stop contamination, minimise odours and also avoid spillages.
- Keep raw meat on the lowest shelves to prevent any drips from contaminating other food.
- Place the items that expire first nearer the front of your fridge/containers so that they get used first.
