Home Manager
  • Home
  • Features
    • Overview
    • Maintenance Reminders
    • Home Financial Summary
    • HomeTeam Contractor Portal
    • Home Inventory Manager
    • Home Items Replacement Budget Calculator
  • Pricing
  • Resource Center
  • Support
Menu
  • Home
  • Features
    • Overview
    • Maintenance Reminders
    • Home Financial Summary
    • HomeTeam Contractor Portal
    • Home Inventory Manager
    • Home Items Replacement Budget Calculator
  • Pricing
  • Resource Center
  • Support
Login
Claim Your Home
Home Manager
  • Home
  • Features
    • Overview
    • Maintenance Reminders
    • Home Financial Summary
    • HomeTeam Contractor Portal
    • Home Inventory Manager
    • Home Items Replacement Budget Calculator
  • Pricing
  • Resource Center
  • Support
Menu
  • Home
  • Features
    • Overview
    • Maintenance Reminders
    • Home Financial Summary
    • HomeTeam Contractor Portal
    • Home Inventory Manager
    • Home Items Replacement Budget Calculator
  • Pricing
  • Resource Center
  • Support
Login
Claim Your Home
Home Manager
  • Home
  • Features6
    • Overview
    • Maintenance Reminders
    • Home Financial Summary
    • HomeTeam Contractor Portal
    • Home Inventory Manager
    • Home Items Replacement Budget Calculator
  • Pricing
  • Resource Center
  • Support

HomeManager

  • Home
  • Features
  • Pricing
  • Resource Center
  • Login
  • Start Free Trial
Home MaintenanceHouse Cleaning TipsInterior Home MaintenanceMaintenance Resource

How To Clean Your Fridge and Freezer

Doing routine maintenance on your fridge or freezer can help extend its overall lifespan. If you have pets in the household, their hair can quickly cover the condenser coils. This can lead to your appliances needing to use more energy to work efficiently, which will can mean you’re paying an extra $7 a month on your energy bill (per each individual freezer and fridge).

This is a Safety Task!

Make sure that when moving the refrigerator, you keep the electric cord from being pinched between the floor and the refrigerator. Vibration from the refrigerator can cause the cord to fray, exposing wires that can arc and cause a fire.

This is a Health Task!

What you don’t see in your refrigerator could be contaminating your food and making you sick. Dirty fridges can act as a breeding ground for harmful bacteria such as salmonella, listeria, and E. coli. Proper cleaning should be performed regularly to avoid bacterial growth. Expired foods can grow bacteria in your fridge, so remove all expired food products.

This is a Preventative Maintenance Task!

Cleaning your refrigerator properly can increase its useful life by 40% or longer.

This is an Energy Efficiency!

Cleaning your condenser coils can also mean your freezer and refrigerator will work more efficiently, saving you up to $7 per month per unit on electricity.

Tasks can be done by: Homeowner, Handyman, or Cleaning Company

Task Steps

Step 1 – Inspect Freezer

  • Go through and remove anything that is out of date. You can choose to dispose of out-of-date food however you see fit.
  • Having removed all the disposable items, take out everything else and put it in coolers or cover it with blankets to keep from defrosting.
  • Unplug the unit. Mix 1 tablespoon of baking soda in 1 quart of warm water to make a paste
  • Use a rag to disperse the paste on all sides of the freezer. This will clean and deodorize it.
  • Finally, make sure the freezer is immaculate and dry before returning any food to it.
  • Make sure your unit is still unplugged, locate the freezer grille, open it, and find your condenser coils. Note only some units have coils you can reach. Otherwise, the coils are located within the freezer walls. At that point, just make sure to reference your owner’s manual for the specific unit.
  • If you locate your freezer grills, grab a brush and lightly scrub the coils while also using a vacuum to clean up the excess dirt and dust that you’re scrubbing off.
  • Clean your freezer fan the same way you did the condenser coils but be careful not to bend them
  • Make sure you plug the unit back in.

Step 2 – Inspect Fridge

  • Go through and remove anything that is out of date. You can choose to dispose of out-of-date food however you see fit.
  • Having removed all the disposable items, take out everything else, put it in coolers, or cover it with blankets to keep everything still good.
  • Unplug the unit—mix 1 tablespoon of baking soda in 1 quart of warm water to make a paste.
  • Use a rag to disperse the paste on all sides of the fridge. This will clean and deodorize it.
  • Finally, make sure the fridge is immaculate and dry before returning any food to it.
  • After you’re finished cleaning out the refrigerator, change the water filter (if applicable)
  • Now locate the fridge grille, open it, and find your condenser coils
  • Grab a brush and lightly scrub the coils while also using a vacuum to clean up the excess dirt and dust that you’re scrubbing off.
  • Clean your refrigerator fan the same way you did the condenser coils but be careful not to bend them
  • Make sure you plug the unit back in.

Want to know more useful information such as this?

Sign up with us at HomeManager!

Also, check out another interesting article- How to properly test your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors!

Get tips like this every week in your inbox!

Signup for HomeManager's FREE newsletter to receive valuable home maintenance tips and articles.

Related Posts

Home MaintenanceMaintenance ResourceTips for Homeowners

Can Home Maintenance and Improvement be Deducted on Your Taxes?

January 8, 20210 Comments
Maintenance ResourceTips for Homeowners

The Best Way to Increase Home Value!

January 7, 20210 Comments
Home MaintenanceMaintenance Resource

Top 6 PPE Needed Around the Home!

January 8, 20210 Comments

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

View All Resources
View by Topic
  • Home Safety
  • Interior Home Maintenance
  • Exterior Home Maintenance
  • House Cleaning Tips
  • Tips for Homeowners
  • Hiring a Contractor
View by Library
  • Home Maintenance Checklists
  • DIY Home Videos
  • Maintenance Resources
  • Reference Sites

Get Maintenance Under Control with HomeManager

Signup for a FREE 15 day trial - no credit card required.

Get Started

Download Free 2023 Home Safety Checklist!

DOWNLOAD FREE
HomeManager
  • Product Overview
  • Features
  • Pricing
  • Login
  • Support
Professionals
  • Real Estate Brokers and Agents
  • Home Maintenance Professionals
  • Book Free Demo
  • HomeManager API
Company
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Resource Center
Contact Us

HomeManager®

207 S 2nd St, Livingston

MT 59047, USA

833-466-3647

support@homemanager.io

logotype
FacebookTwitterLinkedin-inPinterest-pInstagramYoutube

Terms of Use

Cookies & Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 HomeManager®. All Rights Reserved. (Patent Pending)

Start Free Trial