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By Michele Payton Cleaning your refrigerator never seems to top your priority list until you’ve already made your weekly grocery shopping excursion. Don’t deny it. You were scouring the aisles like a maniac, as though you were a contestant on SuperMarket Sweep, not once remembering the filth that lies ahead. You arrive home, open the refrigerator door and feast your eyes on what could surely become the next biggest horror film…Rotten decaying vegetables, last months forgotten moldy leftovers, hardened orange juice spills and something gray and furry hiding behind an expired jar of mayonnaise. Now, you’ve no idea where you are going to put all this newly purchased food. So, what do you do? You start tossing the obvious to make room and forget all about it. Until next week when you repeat the process all over again. Don’t fret, there is a simple solution just ahead. But, first, mark a date on your calendar, before you go grocery shopping next week, to clean that filthy refrigerator. I know it sounds silly, making a date with your refrigerator, but be honest, are you going to remember to clean it? The first thing you want to do is turn off the refrigerator and unplug it. Remove all food and condiments. Put perishable items in a cooler to keep them fresh, making sure to check the expiration date. Discard anything questionable. Take out all crisper drawers and wash them by hand in the sink. Leave them to air dry. Now, you are ready to battle what has become the longest running scientific experiment known to your family, or what is commonly referred to as, the refrigerator. Starting from the top and working your way down, wipe with a solution of dishwashing liquid and one gallon of warm water, and lot‘s of elbow grease. If it’s quite odiferous, use baking soda instead of soap. If you see anything that looks as though it has become permanently affixed, place a heated bowl of vinegar in your refrigerator for about five minutes. The steam will loosen up those stuck-on foods and hardened spills. Once you have fought the battle and won, take a clean cloth and rinse everything down with plain water. Dry it with a towel or leave it to air dry. Now, that your refrigerator is sparkling clean reacquaint your crisper drawers to their spotless home. Let’s not forget to clean the outside. Wipe the top and sides down, and while you’re at it, grab the vacuum and get those coils behind the refrigerator, too. If you are so inclined, add a box of baking soda or a small bowl of kitty litter to keep it smelling fresh. Voila! Your family will thank you for saving them from food borne illness. Okay, maybe they won’t, but at least you’ll know that the apple they are eating was purchased last week and not last month.
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Refrigerator
Cleaning 101