{"id":32971,"date":"2023-12-25T19:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-25T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thegreenlist.nl\/?p=32971"},"modified":"2025-11-26T06:14:56","modified_gmt":"2025-11-26T05:14:56","slug":"eco-friendly-cleaning-this-is-how-to-get-the-freezer-clean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thegreenlist.nl\/en\/milieuvriendelijk-schoonmaken-zo-krijg-je-de-vriezer-schoon\/","title":{"rendered":"Eco-friendly cleaning: this is how to get your freezer clean!"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Who could live without a freezer? A freezer, even if it's a small compartment in your fridge, is darn handy for storing food. It means you waste less and you always have a buffer in the house. But of course, you also need to maintain it properly. It will last longer and save energy. Mascha is an expert in eco-friendly cleaning and shares her best cleaning hacks with us. This time she shares how she takes good care of her freezer and how she uses this energy guzzler more efficiently. Guess what?<\/em> Again, you won't need as much heavy-duty cleaning stuff as you think.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

<\/a>The advantages and convenience of a freezer<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As quite an energy guzzler, a freezer is not exactly known as an energy-efficient appliance, and yet this appliance is an important aid to a more sustainable life. Producing and transporting our food is incredibly harmful to the environment. So you can imagine that wasting food is therefore the very worst thing you can do. So much effort has gone into producing the food and getting it here, and then we throw food away quite often. On average, a third of all food is wasted, which is 33 kilos of food and 45 litres of drink per person per year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That fine freezer that is admittedly bellowing 24\/7 is an important tool in the fight against food waste. Food keeps much longer if you freeze it and you can freeze much more than you think. For example, many products can be kept for up to three months longer in the freezer. Expiring THT date? Freeze it and it will keep for ages. We have previously written an extensive article about that THT date<\/a>, should you want to know more about that. But also vegetables, fruits, herbs<\/a>, pizza dough<\/a>, cheese and much more can be kept longer by freezing. This is even more effective than storing it in the fridge where it will spoil and wilt after a few weeks anyway. You can also freeze seasonal produce when it is abundantly available and cheap, so you can enjoy it all year round. In short: the freezer is even a sustainable budget tip!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What's sustainable about cleaning your freezer?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A freezer is on 365 days a year, 24 hours a day in most households. By using your appliance correctly, keeping it clean and maintaining it properly, you make the most efficient use of your chest freezer, freezer compartment or freezer. This way, you ensure that your appliance lasts longer, you don't have to face expensive repairs and you are less likely to have to buy a new one. Moreover, proper cleaning and maintenance ensures that your freezer does not use too much electricity. A 2 mm layer of ice even seems to 10% more energy consumption<\/a> to ensure. And especially if ice gets in the way of the door closing properly, that energy loss can add up considerably. Defrosting and cleaning your freezer regularly is therefore good for your budget and good for the environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The footprint of a freezer<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, the production of an appliance like a freezer also results in environmental drawbacks. That's because of the raw materials and energy for production and transport that are all required before the appliance is in your home. But it doesn't stop there. About three-quarters of your freezer's environmental footprint is in its energy consumption. An average Dutch household uses about 2,480 kWh of electricity per year<\/a> and of that, 400 kWh is due to refrigerators and freezers. So it can also save a lot of money to use them sparingly! If you have an old inefficient freezer, it is more environmentally friendly to exchange the old appliance for one with the highest possible energy label (A++ or A+++). The energy savings far outweigh the negative impact of producing a new appliance and disposing of your old freezer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Left: even a small layer of ice in the freezer can cause significantly higher energy consumption. Middle:<\/em> keep the food in a crate with an old blanket while cleaning the freezer and right: do a quick check for shelf life of the products when putting them in.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>This is how to clean the freezer in an environmentally friendly way<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It seems like there is a different cleaning product for every cleaning job, appliance or surface these days. Before you know it, your cleaning cupboard is bulging and you are running out of money. Because especially those special agents can be quite pricey. Which is why I have good news: for a lot of cleaning jobs, you don't need that much cleaning power at all and you can get by with simple cleaning products. The same goes for cleaning the freezer. Put in your sink cabinet natural vinegar<\/a>, baking soda<\/a>, citric acid<\/a> and green soap and you avoid buying dozens of plastic bottles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For eco-friendly freezer cleaning, I use a soapy green soap. This fine soap from grandmother's time is still a perfect choice for getting things shiny and hygienically clean. It is budget-friendly and also an eco-friendly choice. We love that at thegreenlist.nl<\/em>!<\/p>\n\n\n

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Environmentally friendly cleaning of your freezer<\/h2>\n
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It takes quite some time to defrost your freezer. That's why I often put off this chore until I could no longer open the drawers. And that's a really bad idea, because that way the freezer uses more energy than it needs. To avoid this, I have a note in my digital diary every six months to remind me to clear our freezer of ice. This step-by-step plan will ensure that cleaning your freezer does not become a big cleaning chore that you look forward to for weeks, and you will keep the appliance more energy efficient.<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
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Total Time<\/span>45 minutes<\/span><\/span> mins<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/div>\n
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Keyword: <\/span>household, cleaning, green soap, freezer, ice cream, freezer<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n

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