HOW TO CLEAN THE REFRIGERATOR

Housekeeper services from Virginia Housekeepers can include cleaning of your refrigerator. To clean it by yourself, consider these techniques:

Defrost the freezer section of your fridge when the frost gets to be about a half-inch thick, not when you have to chip away at it to insert a half-gallon of ice cream. Defrosting, of course, means unplugging the unit. When you do, be sure to also tackle the drip pan and the interior of the freezer and refrigerator. A frost-free refrigerator should be defrosted annually because frost can still form on the evaporator covers, reducing performance and efficiency.

Sponges dipped in baking soda solution work great on refrigerator interiors (don’t forget the crispers!) and adding some vanilla extract will give it a nice deodorization. Leaving an open box of baking soda on a refrigerator shelf will famously control food odors as well. Each box will last about two months.

At least twice a year, use a vacuum cleaner attachment and a long-handled brush to clean the dust and dirt from condenser coils in the bottom grille/kick plate. Unplug the appliance first! You might be surprised to learn that doing this regular coil-dusting may:

• Increase the efficiency of your fridge by 3–5%
• Save you something in the neighborhood of $100 year in electricity costs

Clean the doors of your fridge with a cloth dipped in a mild dish detergent. Stainless steel doors should be cleaned with commercial stainless steel spray.