How to clean the fridge without chemicals using natural ingredients
Cleaning the refrigerator with natural and environmentally friendly ingredients is simple, especially if you maintain it regularly.
The basic idea is to have a mild dissolvable abrasive, a mild deodorizer or odor absorber, and a non-toxic disinfectant.
When you use nature-friendly cleaning ingredients, you also keep the environment cleaner.
Harsh unnatural chemicals harm the planet and those on it. Using non-toxic cleaning products make the home safer for the whole family, especially if you have children or pets.
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Cleaning The Fridge Naturally
Lemon juice, vinegar, water, and baking soda have antibacterial and mold-killing properties.
Some essential oils have these properties as well. Below is a list of some of the most powerful essential oils which contain antibacterial, antifungal, or antiseptic properties.
Many store-sold nature-friendly household cleaning products with naturally sourced ingredients have essential oils. A few drops of essential oil to a solution will do the trick to disinfect, deodorize, and keep your fridge clean and fresh-smelling.
Vinegar, baking soda, and water are the base cleaners and deodorizers, removing debris, gunk, germs, mold, and odor.
Toothpaste is an extremely mild abrasive with fresh minty scents. Toothpaste with naturally sourced ingredients can be found in most stores. Baking soda is also a mild abrasive.
A vinegar and water solution make the main cleaning foundation.
How To Clean The Fridge Without Chemicals
The first thing you should do is prepare your selected materials such as natural cleaning substances, a spray bottle, and a cloth or two.
There are also soft sponges made from natural fibers (like these ones) you can use instead of cloths. Soft sponges are preferred over abrasive sponges since they do not usually leave swirl marks on surfaces.
Remove Food From the Fridge
Remove all food and liquids and anything else from the inside of the refrigerator.
Discard anything rotten or unwanted.
Store fresh food or food that’s still in good condition in an igloo or closed containers (I like these glass containers).
Wipe off messes from the rims and sides of jars and other containers. Jam, peanut butter, and condiments, for example, have rims commonly encrusted with their contents.
Then wipe away obvious spills and splats of food or liquids from the surfaces.
Cleaning Hard Messes Inside Fridge
1. Baking Soda
Sometimes, you’ll see stuck-on sticky substances or dried liquid spots on the surfaces. This requires the help of natural abrasives.
Combining 3 parts baking soda to 1 part water to make a paste is usually successful in removing those tough stains or debris. It is very gentle too.
You can also add an optional few drops of your favorite germ-killing essential oil to the paste for a one-step cleaning-deodorizing technique.
Minty toothpaste is a milder abrasive which may remove these stains. Apply the baking soda paste or toothpaste onto the stains. Take a sponge or cloth and wipe away.
2. Lemon Juice
You can add lemon juice to the baking soda paste for another germ-fighting technique.
Spread some of the lemon juice and paste the mixture onto the stains. Let it sit for several minutes. Then wipe. The idea is to let the acidic lemon soak into the stains. Vinegar has a similar effect.
3. Toothpaste
Rubbing toothpaste onto gum or sticky stains is another way to clean the refrigerator. Just rub toothpaste on and around the surfaces of the gum or stain.
This paste removes the stickiness making it easier to scrub or lift it off. Baking soda has a similar effect.
How to Clean Refrigerator With Vinegar
Vinegar, like lemon juice, disinfects and cleans. The pH of both substances is acidic, destroying any odor, germs, mold, and mildew.
Put a 1-to-1 ratio of vinegar to water into a spray bottle. Then spray all surfaces and wipe them with a sponge or cloth.
You may also add a few drops of essential oil for a more powerful germ buster and odor eliminator.
Instead of a spray, the solution can be placed into a bowl. Then the sponge or cloth can be dipped and squeezed before wiping the surfaces.
It is usually better to use a vinegar or lemon juice solution to wipe glass refrigerator shelves since swirl marks are more noticeable in these areas.
Gaskets and Rubber Seals: Mold and Mildew
The rubber parts of a fridge can be regularly maintained. It is best to use a solution of 1 quart of water to 1 tablespoon of baking soda ratio to remove and disinfect mold or mildew from the rubber seals and gaskets.
Another method is to use vinegar to wipe away the mold or mildew. In hard-to-reach areas under the rubber seals and gaskets, use a toothbrush or a cotton swab dipped in vinegar or the water-baking soda solution.
Want to keep your home devices in tip-top condition? Read these tips to make your appliances last longer.
10 Ingredients to Deodorize the Fridge Naturally
After cleaning, it is wise to prevent or remove unwanted odors in the fridge.
1- Baking soda is one of the best substances which absorbs odor.
Some people put baking soda in an open glass jar mixed with a few drops of essential oil. Others just put baking soda.
2. Coffee grounds scattered onto a plate also work and produces a coffee scent, if you like coffee. The more practical thing about coffee grounds is they can be mixed in with soil to promote healthy plant growth.
3. Lemon slices strategically placed throughout the inside of the fridge helps make the air fresh and fresh-smelling.
4. Cloves have a licorice scent and can be mixed with lemon zest or orange zest to use as a freshener.
5. Sprigs of fresh rosemary or any fragrant herb or even pine leaves make pleasant scents.
6. Cotton balls can be soaked with vanilla extract or essential oil and kept in the fridge.
7. Placing a piece of charcoal in the fridge works to eliminate bad odors.
8. Soak a slice of bread (white part) in vinegar and place it in an open container inside the fridge.
9. Place a peeled potato on a plate inside the fridge. Change it every 2 days.
10. Another way to eliminate bad odor in the fridge is to use almond extract diluted in warm water.
Be innovative and mix essential oils of varying scents to make special fresh scents. There are lots of ways to make the fridge smell nice.
✅ Other tips to help you keep your home clean
- how to clean your house from top to bottom
- how to clean an oven with or without baking soda
- 10 easy shower cleaning hacks
- how to clean a smelly mattress
- natural ways to clean the inside of the microwave
- 10 home spring cleaning tips to help deep clean your home
Finally
Learning how to clean the fridge without chemicals is simple and environmentally friendly. You may already have many of the ingredients to naturally clean it. With regular maintenance, your fridge will remain clean and free of nasty odors.