How to clean your refrigerator the easy way!

Not long ago, the freezer portion of our kitchen refrigerator quit working. While I had it unloaded, the gunk and build-up became rather obvious. It needed to be cleaned, and cleaned WELL!

In times past, I would have squirted it down with watered-down bleach, let it set, and wiped it down. This would have meant my girls could not have been in the kitchen doing their schoolwork while I was doing this job. It also would have meant wearing old clothes as the bleach would have most definitely ruined anything I had on. And it would have meant a headache from the bleach fumes.

Thankfully, I’ve switched to more natural cleaners and knew my handy squirt bottle of orange vinegar would do the job! This cleaner is the easiest, and also the least expensive, cleaner I’ve ever used. I am quite a frugal gal, who loves to coupon and get a good deal. I can’t beat this cleaner for price, and I certainly can’t beat this cleaner for its wonder-working power! Simply slice off the peel of an orange (or more if you are making it in larger quantities), place peels in a jar, then cover with plain white vinegar. Let steep a few days, until the vinegar smell becomes a nice, fruity, orange one. Pour into a squirt bottle and it’s ready to use!

 

I hesitate to share with you just how bad my refrigerator looked before I got started cleaning it. But, in the interest of public safety (ha!), I shall do just that since it looks nothing like that now!

 

Yes, folks, that is how nasty our refrigerator looked. I am embarrassed to share it with you. But! Look at how well the orange vinegar and a bit of time made it look:

I have placed paper towels in the drawers for easier cleaning. To clean behind the grate below, I removed said grate, then used a DRY toothbrush to sweep it all out to the front. It worked quite well.

For my first use of this orange vinegar mix, I placed it in a mason jar with a regular canning lid. This did not work out so well. The rubber on the lid swelled. As you can see on the sides of the mason jar, it made a white, gritty substance form. Using a plastic canning jar lid would be better. Or, you can do as I’ve done below and use a plastic jar. 

I hope this post, with all of its refrigerator honesty, has encouraged you to give homemade orange vinegar cleaner a try!

I’d love to hear your tales of cleaning with vinegar and natural cleaners!