What would we be without the refrigerator that allows us to preserve food and keep it fresh for longer! Kudos to the creator of this top home appliance. Give some extra love to your fridge by cleaning it regularly. Mascha is an expert on eco-friendly cleaning and shares especially for the thegreenlist.nl the best hacks for cleaning. This time, she gives tips for cleaning your fridge. And that cleaning can be done very easily with the good old green soap.
Here's how to clean your fridge in an eco-friendly way
The fridge is on day and night. The appliance keeps our food fresh and tasty and helps us waste less food. But because we rarely turn it off, it is important to keep the fridge clean on a regular basis. This way, you prevent dirt and dust from blocking air circulation in your fridge, which can lead to increased energy consumption - an old or malfunctioning fridge can really be an energy guzzler - and breakdowns of appliance components. On energy guzzlers, we wrote an interesting article earlier.
Will your fridge break down if you don't clean it!
Yep, unfortunately dirty devices do indeed go break faster. In a dirty fridge, dust and dirt prevent the air from circulating properly. As a result, some parts of the fridge become too hot and other parts too cold. This can negatively affect the operation of the appliance and lead to higher energy consumption. Even worse, it can cause wear and tear on parts and eventually breakdowns. Regular cleaning prevents this! So hop to it!
Grandmother's green soap remains a favourite
Forget kitchen cupboards full of cleaning products! With some basic cleaning products, you have everything you need to keep your whole house spic and span. Your kitchen cupboard doesn't need to be brimming with bottles and jars to keep your home and appliances clean. I prefer to stick to more eco-friendly cleaning products like natural vinegar, baking soda, citric acid and green soap. This saves on my budget and in turn saves extra plastic bottles in the PMD bag. For cleaning the fridge, I like to use green soap or baking soda with a squeeze of lemon. You can find green soap and baking soda in the cleaning section of your supermarket or drugstore; usually at the bottom of the cheaper products!
Prevent food waste
Your fridge is an important appliance. It helps us live more sustainably and cheaply, because olé thanks to this appliance, we waste much less. A fridge lowers the temperature of food, giving bacteria and moulds less chance, and keeping our food and drinks good for longer. This allows us to keep perishable products like meat, fish, dairy and vegetables longer and avoid food waste. We have previously written an article on the best place to store fruit and vegetables.
Furthermore, without a fridge, we would be a disaster with planning. After all, it's great that we only have to go shopping once a week, after which we can keep everything well-organised and refrigerated. As a result, we always have delicious, nutritious meals at our fingertips.
But yes, to keep all that food so nice and fresh, of course, our fridge has to stay a bit clean and fresh and set to the right temperature.
Cleaning the fridge does take some work because of the many slots and shelves. A tip if you can't do it with a washing-up brush or cloth: use a toothbrush! Once the fridge is completely clean again, the most fun part can begin. The layout! Want to know more about the best fridge layout? We figured that out for you too!
Eco-friendly cleaning of your fridge
Tools
- bucket
- green soap (or baking soda with a squeezed lemon)
- crate or box (for the stuff in your fridge)
- cooling elements and bath towel (in warm weather)
- soft cleaning brush or dishwashing brush (also useful: old toothbrush for tricky grooves)
- cleaning cloth
- cotton bud or small teaspoon
- dust brush (for free-standing fridge)
Instructions
- Start by turning off your fridge. You do this by turning the knob by the light to 0, or by unplugging the fridge.
- Make suds in a bucket with green soap (or a scoop of baking soda and some lemon juice). Using less hot water and properly dosing your detergent is the most sustainable. Use about 1 tablespoon of green soap per litre of water or about 2 tablespoons of baking soda per litre of water.
- Remove all food from your fridge. Put the food temporarily in a grocery crate or box. If it's colder than 10°C outside, it's fine to put the crate or box outside to keep your food cold. Is it warmer outside? Then it's wise to put cooling elements with your food so it doesn't heat up too much. Place a blanket or bath towel on top of your crate of food to keep your food cooler.
- Pull all drawers, shelves and racks out of the fridge and clean them in your bucket of soapy water with a soft brush or cloth. Let these items drain and dry them well with a tea towel.
- Take a clean cloth and thoroughly clean the rubbers of your doors. Immediately check whether the rubbers still allow your door to close properly. If not, consider buying new rubbers. A door that closes properly ensures that the fridge uses less energy.
- Wipe the inside and door of your fridge well with your cloth. Clean the condensation drain of your fridge especially well. Dirt can remain here, preventing the condensation from draining away properly. Is the drain blocked? Clean it with a cotton swab or cloth over the back of a teaspoon (an old toothbrush often works well too). Let the fridge air dry or use a tea towel to dry it. This prevents a lot of moisture from staying in your fridge, which costs more energy to cool.
- If you have a freestanding fridge, pull it off the wall. Carefully vacuum the dust off the grill with a brush and then clean with your cloth. A dusty grill prevents your fridge from getting rid of its heat properly and increases your appliance's energy consumption. Put your fridge back, but make sure there is enough space between the wall and your fridge for the cooling to work optimally.
- Put your drawers, shelves and racks back in your fridge and put your food back in the appliance. Extra tip: immediately check the best-before date of your food. Are products nearing their expiry date? Then put them at the front to be used up immediately. Is it spoiled? Get rid of it!
- Turn your fridge back on and close the door.
- Bonus tip: check the temperature of your fridge after a few hours. Ideally, the temperature in your fridge should be around 4°C. This is how food stays good the longest.
Cleaning your fridge is environmentally and budget-friendly
If you regularly clean your fridge, you will ensure that energy consumption remains low and prevent appliance breakdowns. What's more, you'll also ensure that your food doesn't spoil too quickly. This is not only good for the environment, but of course also the most budget-friendly choice! Do you have another great cleaning tip for your fridge? You can contact us via the follow and contact buttons at the bottom of the page with thegreenlist.nl get in touch. We'd love to hear from you!
More eco-friendly cleaning tips from thegreenlist.nl
Want to keep other appliances in your household well maintained too? We have more cleaning tips for you:
- Also see: easy step-by-step plan for eco-friendly cleaning of your dishwasher and That's how you get the freezer clean.
- Do you have a washing machine that could also use a cleaning? Then read on quickly.
- Not polished yet? We have also conveniently listed what you can clean with baking soda, natural vinegar and citric acid.
Photo credits: main image: Mascha Bongenaar.
