Fridges are fantastic creations.
They allow us to keep all our food just at the right temperature to ensure we can eat it whenever we want, and they mean that we don’t have to constantly keep going out to the shops.
However, if your fridge is in need of defrosting then it can open some serious questions. What is the best way to defrost your fridge
How to defrost a fridge? Well all of these questions and more will be answered in this article.
How To Defrost A Fridge?
Fridges are great at keeping food fresh, but they don’t always get along well with other appliances.
If you’re using your fridge as a freezer, then you’ll want to defrost it regularly.
Otherwise, you might risk damaging your appliance or having food spoil.
You can defrost your fridge manually by opening the door and letting cold air circulate around inside. Or you can let your fridge run overnight to defrost itself.
The latter option is better because it uses less energy.
If you have an electric model, you can also use a dehumidifier to help prevent condensation from forming on your fridge.
You can defrost your fridge every week if you like, but there isn’t any harm in doing so more frequently. Just make sure that you clean out all of the ice first!
What Do I Need To Know About Defrosting A Fridge?
There are some things you should be aware of when defrosting your fridge:
- Don’t open the door while the fridge is running. This could cause water to leak onto the floor.
- Keep the doors closed for as long as possible after defrosting. Leaving them open will allow warm air to escape, which may damage your fridge.
- You shouldn’t defrost your fridge during winter months, as this could lead to frost build-up. Instead, leave your fridge to defrost overnight.
- Make sure that your fridge has enough ventilation holes. If not, you could end up with condensation on the outside of your fridge.
- Always keep your fridge away from heat sources such as radiators, fireplaces and stoves. These can melt the ice and cause water to drip into your fridge.
- Check the temperature settings on your fridge. It should be set to between 0°C (32°F) and 5°C (41°F).
- Never put hot objects near your fridge. They could burn your hands or even start a fire.
Now that we’ve explained some of the basics of ensuring that your fridge is properly defrosted, let’s turn to exploring some of the Do’s and Don’ts of maintaining your fridge to the highest possible standard that you can.
How To Maintain Your Fridge – The Do’s And Don’ts
It is important when you are looking after an expensive and important piece of machinery like a fridge it is critical that you understand all the Do’s and Don’ts.
There are many various Do’s and Don’ts to properly maintaining a fridge and ensuring that it is in the best possible condition to keep your food as fresh as possible.
So we’ll now run down some of the most important Do’s and Don’ts that there are in order that you can ensure your fridge doesn’t malfunction anytime soon.
Don’ts
Don’t Place Anything Metal Or Glass In Your Fridge. This Includes Knives, Forks And Plates
This is not only for sanitary reasons (you don’t want a dirty knife mixing in with your food as it could cause bacterial contamination) but also because if you put something like metal or especially glass into a cold place for too long it can expand and break, meaning you won’t be able to use it again.
Don’t Touch The Fridge Coils. Doing So Could Result In Burns
The reason for this is pretty simple – the fridge coils contain the cooling mixture that keeps your fridge cold and if you touch it you could end up with burns from the cold liquid nitrogen that is being pumped into the fridge.
Whilst it might seem, you think, impossible to get a burn from a fridge it of course isn’t – extremely cold liquid or objects can burn you in the exact same way that extremely hot material or objects can.
Don’t Plug Any Electrical Devices Into Your Fridge. Doing So Could Electrocute Yourself
This is similarly straightforward – by plugging another electoral object into your fridge you are disrupting the natural workings of the fridge and this can of course lead you to receive an electoral shock.
Now that we have run down some of the Don’ts, let’s turn to look at some of the Do’s – the things you should do to ensure that your fridge functions just as well as it should do.
Do’s
Do Remember To Turn Off Your Fridge Before Cleaning It
This is important to do for two reasons. Firstly, it ensures that your fridge’s internal functions won’t be disturbed by the work you are doing to clean it.
Secondly, it is better that your fridge is turned off when you are cleaning it because you don’t want to get your hands cold whilst you are doing your work on your fridge!
Do Check The Temperature Setting On Your Fridge
This is critical because if your fridge is accidentally put onto the wrong setting then your food can either end up too hot in which case there isn’t much point in putting it in the fridge in the first place or it can be so cold that it will freeze inside your fridge, something you don’t want!
Do Wash Your Hands Before Touching Any Parts Of Your Fridge
The reason for this is simple – if your hands are dirty then you might bring some bacteria to the fridge and you don’t want germs to come into contact with the place you store your food.
Do Wipe Down The Inside Of Your Fridge With A Damp Cloth
When cleaning your fridge, it is important that you wipe the inside of your fridge down with a damp cloth because the inside of your fridge is naturally cool and slightly moist and you want to ensure it stays that way as that means the fridge is properly working.
Do Keep Your Fridge Away From Radiators, Fireplaces, Etc
This is one again crucially important because you don’t want your fridge to get too warm and one of the worst ways for your fridge to get too warm is if it is next to a radiator or fireplace.
Either of those things can easily damage your fridge or mess with its delicate internal system.
Why Knowing How To Look After Your Fridge Is So Important
It truly is important that you know all you can about how to defrost a fridge.
The simple reason is this – defrosting a fridge is crucial for being able to ensure that your fridge is properly working and has not developed a fault with it which means you might have to buy a new one.
Therefore, knowing how to look after your fridge can ensure that you save money.
It can also mean that you have knowledge that will serve you well in the future and allow you to concrete on the truly important things in your life.
So, if you haven’t found out how to properly look after your fridge then now is the time to learn all you can about how to look after it.
