Joan Wilen and Lydia Wilen
Joan Wilen and Lydia Wilen are folk-remedy experts and home tipsters based in New York City. They have spent decades collecting “cures from the cupboard” and are authors of several books, including Secret Food Cures.
We’ve all had the experience of opening the fridge and realizing that things don’t smell quite right. It could be last week’s forgotten Chinese takeout that has been left alone a little too long. It might be that packing in that extra box of food kept the door from closing properly overnight. However it happened the fridge has a smell that is distinctly off and there may be a mysterious puddle waiting to be discovered underneath the crisper. You need to clean the refrigerator and sooner is better than later.
In this excerpt from the book Household Magic by Joan and Lydia Wilen the authors how to clean a refrigerator and freezer to get rid of odors, and keep your food safe.
◆ To get your refrigerator clean and shiny inside and out, use (what else?) baking soda on a damp sponge or cloth.
◆ You can also wipe down the exterior surfaces of the fridge with a solution made from one part distilled white vinegar to five parts water—this will make everything extra-shiny.
Want to clean behind the refrigerator? If you want to move something big and heavy, smear butter or other shortening on the floor right in front of the appliance. Then, with someone helping you, you should be able to slide the heavy appliance forward. Be sure to clean the floor when you’re done!
Be aware that butter should NOT be used on marble floors—it can stain.
If food spills are common in your refrigerator, spread a dishtowel on the bottom shelf to catch any drips. Instead of having to clean the bottom shelf every time there’s a mess, you can just toss the towel in the wash.
◆ For easy cleanup (and to prevent messes), line the fruit/vegetable and meat drawers with old plastic place mats. You may have to cut them to fit, but considering how easy they are to wipe clean, it will be worth the effort.
◆ If you do not want to bother with cleaning place mats, line the drawers with some plastic wrap. Or use a few paper towels in the fruit drawer. They will help absorb moisture, which means the fruit will last longer.
Relieve yourself of the very unpleasant chore of cleaning the top of the refrigerator—just line it with plastic wrap. But—unless you keep things on top of the fridge to hold down the plastic wrap—you may want to tape the sides of the plastic wrap to the refrigerator, to keep the plastic in place.
After a reasonable amount of dust-accumulation time, throw away the dirty plastic and rewrap the top of the fridge with fresh wrap.
Put Jelly on the Racks
If the slide-out racks or trays in your refrigerator are not gliding as smoothly as they should, simply apply a thin layer of petroleum jelly to the edges—they’ll whiz in and out.
◆ The rubber piping (gasket) inside the door that seals the door should be clean, in good shape and attached properly. If it’s dirty or not attached right, it will allow cold air to escape, which wastes electricity and could make your food spoil. Wash it regularly with soapy water, and dry thoroughly.
◆ If a refrigerator is level, it will use less electricity and run more efficiently than if it’s a little off kilter. Test out your refrigerator by placing an almost-full-to-the-rim glass of water on a shelf. Look at it while it’s in the fridge—is the water level parallel to the rim, just as when you filled it? If the water is uneven—meaning, it swoops to one side of the glass and is not near the rim on the other side—you should adjust your refrigerator. It may only need a small piece of cardboard or a wooden shim to put the fridge on an even footing, but it could make a difference in your next electricity bill.
Easy Refrigerator Deodorizers
Everyone knows about baking soda (we hope!). But do you know that you should keep the open box on the middle shelf in the back of the fridge for it to be most effective?
And when you put a new box in the fridge every other month or so, pour the contents of the old box down the drain while the hot tap water is running. The baking soda will help clean and deodorize the drain pipes.
Here are a few more suggestions for keeping your refrigerator odor-free…
◆ Dab a few drops of vanilla or lemon extract on a cotton ball and put it in a shot glass inside the fridge. Any unpleasant odor will be replaced with an appetizing scent.
◆ Cut a peeled, raw potato in half and place each half—cut side up—on a refrigerator shelf. When the surface of the potato turns black, cut off the top layer and use the clean sections to keep absorbing odors.
◆ Put an open container of natural clay kitty li]ter in the fridge. (But NEVER put kitty litter down the drain—it will clog.)
◆ A few plain charcoal briquettes will keep the refrigerator smell-free. And they’re recyclable —after about one month, use a heavy stainless steel pot to heat them. In the heating process, the briquettes release the absorbed odors. When they’ve cooled off, put them in a container or on a plate and back on the job inside the refrigerator.
◆ When there is a particularly foul odor throughout the refrigerator, stuff a crumpled brown paper grocery bag on each shelf. The paper will absorb any and all nasty odors. When each bag starts to smell bad, replace it with another until the awful smell is completely gone. (Of course, make sure that whatever caused the nasty smell is gone, too.)
◆ Put fresh coffee grounds in little bowls or in foil-laminated baking cups on each refrigerator shelf. The coffee will deodorize even the worst of smells within one or two days. Once the bad smell goes, so should the coffee grounds.
◆ For a refrigerator to operate at its best, don’t overload the shelves—especially the top shelf. It is ideal for air to be able to circulate around each item in the fridge. (Yeah, right! Ideal, but not always very practical.)
◆ Keep leftovers in glass or plastic see-through containers so that you are reminded that they’re there. Better yet, set aside a section of a refrigerator shelf for leftovers and eliminate soon-forgotten/long-hidden “UFOs”… unidentifiable food organisms.
◆ Putting uncovered food in the refrigerator uses extra energy—the refrigerator has to keep up with the moisture the uncovered food emits. So, when you put food in the fridge, put a lid on it!
Power Outage Guidelines
During a power outage, keep the refrigerator and freezer doors shut. If you can determine when the power outage began (check a clock that runs on electricity), you can figure out how long the food will be good. As a general rule…
◆ Food kept cold in an unopened refrigerator will last about four hours.
◆ Food in a full, unopened freezer will stay frozen for about 48 hours.
◆ Food in a semi-full, unopened freezer will stay frozen for up to 24 hours.
◆ To get the inside of your freezer clean, wipe it with a sponge that has been dampened with rubbing alcohol.
◆ If your freezer needs to be defrosted regularly, try this before turning the freezer back on—wipe the interior surfaces with a light layer of glycerin (available at most drugstores), or give it a light spritz of nonstick vegetable spray. The next time you defrost, the excess ice will slide off easily.
◆ If your ice cube trays stick to the surface they’re on, let them sit on pieces of waxed paper, and they will glide in and out smoothly.
◆ If there’s a really bad food smell coming from your freezer, put ½ cup of freshly ground coffee on a plate, and place the plate in the freezer. In a day or so, the coffee will absorb the smell completely.
An open box of baking soda may do the same thing and cost less than coffee.
◆ Your freezer will work best if it’s at least 2 ⁄3 full. But don’t run out to the grocery store just to fill your freezer. Instead, put water in plastic bottles, bags or food containers, and use them to occupy the empty space.
Keep in mind that water expands as it freezes, so leave a little expansion space in the containers.
◆ Put a label with the date and the contents on each food container you freeze. Do not delude yourself into thinking that you’ll remember what you’ve frozen and when. We speak from experience.
◆ When you freeze food in a resealable plastic bag—the less air, the better. The trick to getting the air out is to insert a straw in the bag with the food. Close the bag as much as you can, except for the straw. Using the straw, suck out the air from the bag. Now this is the tricky part—quickly remove the straw and close the bag completely before air gets back in. Be sure to label the bag with the date and contents before you suck the air out of it.
◆ Do not wrap food that’s headed for the freezer with reused aluminum foil. Crinkled foil can create little holes. Those holes will let air get at the frozen food and may cause freezer burn or spoilage. Splurge with a new piece of foil each time you wrap food for the freezer.
NOTE: We take safe storage a step further by first wrapping the food in plastic wrap and then in aluminum foil.
If you’re wrapping single-serving items like burgers or hot dogs, wrap them individually for easier future separation
To learn more household tips for better living every day purchase your own copy of Household Magic from Bottomlineinc.com.
