March 2, 2011

How to Clean Your Refrigerator

Keep your refrigerator fresh and clean with tips from our cleaning expert.

  • Remove all decorations on door before you start cleaning.
  • Apply Seventh Generation All Purpose Cleaner to a microfiber cloth and clean the outside of your refrigerator, top to bottom.
  • The handle will be the dirtiest. Start from the bottom of the handle and use your towel to go side-to-side like shoe shining.
  • If your refrigerator is stainless steel, your towel doesn't need to be very wet.
  • Check exterior for spots or stickiness, before moving to inside.
  • If there are sticky spots, gently remove them with a wet sponge and metal spatula (using a top to bottom motion).
  • Don't forget to clean the exterior borders of the refrigerator.
  • Inside your refrigerator, the dirtiest place will be the plastic seal at the top of the door. Use a spatula wrapped in a microfiber cloth that has Seventh Generation All Purpose Cleaner on it to clean the lines of the seal.
  • Inside, clean the shelves from top to bottom and back to front. Clean them with microfiber with Seventh Generation All Purpose Cleaner.
  • Finish with the condiment shelves on the inside of the door.
  • To keep the fridge smelling fresh, be sure to remove spoiled food.

Ivette is a trainer at Women's Action to Gain Economic Security (WAGES), a non-profit organization helping low-income women in the San Francisco Bay Area establish cleaning service cooperatives that use environmentally-safe methods to protect everyone's health.