Ask yourself, what’s the home appliance that you spend the most time with, the one that you use every single day, morning, noon, and night, the one that almost feels like an old friend as its cheery light greets you in the midnight gloom?
Well, obviously we are talking about your fridge, of course! Sure, the washer, dryer, and dishwasher are great to have around, they are a huge help, but no appliance feels so dear to your heart as your trusty fridge, except maybe your second best friend, the microwave.
So, like any good friendship, there is some maintenance involved to keep the affection going. Now, we aren’t here to judge, but the chances are you probably should clean your fridge more often. Like at least three or four times a year more often than you do. Bear in mind that the fridge is a kind of revolving door of food. You have meats, dairy products, produce, condiments, take-out containers from the Chinese place, beverages, and heaven knows what else in there! Moreover, all of these consumables come with various expiration dates, and chances are some of them are long in the past! If it gets to the point where you can’t tell if the brown thing on the plate wrapped in film is meat or if it’s cake, then you have waited much, much too long!
Cleaning your fridge is a really healthy thing to do. The low temperatures inside the fridge can prolong the edibility of food, but nothing lasts forever, and that bit of fancy cheese you were saving for a special occasion is now a Petri dish for moulds and spores. There’s going to be bacteria too, count on it!
Opening your fridge to find a pulsating midden of strange old foods turning strange new colours isn’t any fun, and certainly isn’t going to whet your appetite for a snack stored within, which is the whole point of having the thing in the first place! So, put on your rubber gloves, it’s time to clean up the mess! Think about how nice it will be to open the cheese drawer and not have to look for the part that isn’t mouldy yet!
Step One- Take It All Out! I mean everything, even the jar of mustard, you need to check the expiration dates and the quality of all that lurks within. If the date says it’s too old don’t take your chances, bin it now! Don’t worry about leaving the Mayo out on the counter for a little while, as long as its not in the direct sunlight or on a hot stove it will be fine!
Step Two – Wipe It All Down! Take a handful of paper towels and wipe down every inch of the interior. Make sure to nab any crumbs, spills, or unidentified oozes, there should be nothing left inside that’s visible to the naked eye!
Step Three – Scrub! Now get out the microscope- just kidding! Put some hot water and antibacterial dish soap on a clean scrub sponge and get to work!
When you are all done you will have a nice clean fridge to enjoy! Snack time!
