Have an old refrigerator you would like to bring back to life? Last year my wife wanted to pull out our old refrigerator from storage to store some excess food. With 14 years of cleaning experience under my cleaning apron, that old refrigerator was like new in half an hour. Score 1 for hubby!
Recently saw this question by a fellow maid service owner in Houston, Texas:
“What’s the best way to clean this fridge. The customer has it in their garage and it’s been sitting in there for a while turned off. As you can see there’s mold on the shelves and at the bottom of the fridge. …And YES they want to keep the fridge.”
After seeing this question and picture (above), thought I’d share how to easily and effectively renew an old moldy, smelly refrigerator. Just follow these 4 easy steps:
- Prepare – Pull that old refrigerator to a spot where gunk can drop off without dirtying anything else. Pull out all shelves and drawers. You may also want a face mask to deal with toxic moldy smells.
- Spray it – First, spray it down with a hose. Then using an all-purpose cleaner of your choice, provide a liberal spraying of inside and outside of refrigerator along with the shelves and drawers.
- Soak it – Allow the cleaning solution to soak in the mold and grime for 15 to 20 minutes. During this time our maids will focus on other cleaning tasks. So if you have other To-Do’s around the house,
- Wipe off – Having soaked in, the grime will be easy to wipe away with a sponge or rag. Still have some stubborn spots? Repeat step 2.
- Turn on – Once clean, turn on the refrigerator and add a dish of baking soda. The refrigerator fan and the baking soda will soak up the odors over a 24 hour period.
Viola! More space for all those leftovers from the party you hosted or that deer shoulder your friend gifted you after a successful hunting trip.