When cleaning the refrigerator/freezer, should I turn off the power?

Question

How should I clean it? Should I just wipe everything down or take certain parts out & wash it in the bathroom tub or kitchen sink? What should I clean it with-Pine Sol or dish detergent?

Answer 1

Don't use Pine-sol or any chemicals like that in your refrigerator. The best thing to use is baking soda and warm water. You can use 1/2 cup or so to a gallon of water. You could take everything out and turn the cooler off: what I do is clean it in stages. I start at the top shelf, move things, clean the shelf, put things back, go to the next shelf, etc. Unless your fridge is really dirty, you can probably get it clean without taking it apart. The drawers I usually take out one at a time to clean, rinse, dry, put back. Wipe down the sides of the refrigerator as you work down the shelves.

Another thing I try to do, is when a shelf is getting empty, I take my dishcloth and wipe down just that shelf. If you wipe down a shelf here and a shelf there, it stays pretty clean and it's never a major job. Hope this helps. Good luck!

Answer 2

You didn't tell us how old the frig is :) but it's usually easier to clean when you empty everything out and then turn the thermostat control down to "0" instead of turning it off completely.

The trays, shelves, racks, and drawers can be cleaned in the kitchen sink,  using hot soapy dishwater and a scrub brush. Afterwards, rinse the parts with hot rinse water. While they are air drying, I wipe down the inside of the refrigerator with hot soapy detergent again, and then dry it down with a towel.

If there's something S****y growing on the rack or walls, clean it as best as you can with the soapy water first, and then rinse it with a mild bleach/water combo to disinfect it.

That's all there's to it :)