One of the ways of keeping the refrigerator in top shape is by regularly cleaning it. While people have been cleaning refrigerators for years, refrigerator repair professionals observe that they don’t clean them as well as they are supposed to. To help you out, here are refrigerator cleaning hacks that will be of value to you:

Always get rid of all food

The first step to cleaning the unit is getting rid of all food in the fridge. The best time to remove the food is when the food levels in the fridge are low. This is often before the weekly shopping trip. This way you have fewer items to get rid of.

Most of the food will remain fresh when they are out of the fridge for a short time, but when you remove it for an hour or so, you will be putting it at the risk of getting spoilt. One of the ways of ensuring that the food remains fresh is having a cooler in place.

When you remove the food, throw away any aged, moldy, inedible, or any other food that is questionable in any way. The key to telling the food that should be thrown out is to check the expiration date. If any of the food is beyond its day of expiration, it’s time that you think about throwing it away.

You also should think about whether you have used the materials lately. If you haven’t touched the materials for months, you most likely won’t use it in the future thus you should throw it out.

Clean the interior of the fridge

After you have removed all of the food, you should now clean the fridge, starting from its interior. Take out the shelving, drawers, and other removable surface areas of the unit. Clean the drawers, shelving and other surfaces by hand. You don’t have to use a fancy soap—dish soap is enough to give you the desired results.

If you have a glass shelf, don’t clean it with hot water. This is because the sudden temperature change will shatter the glass. Are there heavy duty spills on the drawers? Use dilute ammonia and warm water to get rid of it.

In addition to cleaning the drawers, also remember to clean the insides of the fridge with your preferred cleaning solution. You shouldn’t use a strongly scented soap or cleaner as it will give your unit a bad look. It can also make the food go bad.

One of the best cleaning solutions you can use is baking soda and apple cider.

Pay attention to the outside of the fridge

Once you are done with the interior, now you should turn your attention to the exterior. Clean all the exterior parts of the unit. These include the front, back, sides, and top. On the outside, its where you will see the condenser coils and fan blade.

The role of these parts is to release heat back into ambient air. When the coils are covered with dust, debris, or hair, they make the compressor work harder than it should. You should use a vacuum to get rid of dust from the coils.

You can also use a coil brush and a damp piece of cloth to remove all the dirt that might be on the condenser fan blade.

Tips to keep the fridge clean all year round

For you to keep your fridge clean and tidy you need to observe a number of tips. One of the things you should do is to undertake seasonal cleanings. At least once every three months, remove all the food from the fridge and give your unit a thorough cleaning.

Do you want your unit to smell great and be odor free? Make use of homemade air fresheners. You can place freshly ground coffee. All you need to do is to put the coffee ina small dish and you will be good to go.

Appliance repair Fairfax professionals also observe that unscented chlorophyll cat litter comes in handy at keeping the fridge smelling fresh. You need to place the kitty litter in a shallow pan at the back of your fridge and your fridge will function properly.