Cleaning Dirty Dusty Refrigerator Coils

Cleaning your refrigerator not one of the most fun cleaning jobs. But, it is a necessary one if you want to keep your refrigerator running at peak performance.

And this is important!

A refrigerator that is not running at its best is dangerous and costly.

If your refrigerator does not maintain the proper temperature, then you run the risk of contaminating your food with bacteria and other nasty stuff that can make you and your family very sick.

Also, a refrigerator with dirty coils will use more electricity. And, who wants to pay a higher electricity bill? Well…. Not me for sure!

Now that we have established that cleaning your refrigerator coils is a necessary evil, the good news is that it’s not such an evil process after all.

In fact, you only have to do it twice a year to be most effective and it doesn’t take as long as you may think. Okay, it does involve getting down and dirty, but it’s over quickly.

And it’s so easy even a girl could do it, yes it’s me! (Mrs Clean) I’m not much of a girl any longer and before a few to many more years I could even be a grandmother- But I still do clean the condenser coils, it’s not a big deal and it only takes a few minutes.

So were you going to give my instructions to your husband (which is fine) or are you going to give it a go yourself. It really isn’t hard at all, as long as you have the ability to bend down and reach. The coils are on the bottom of the refrigerator, so if you have back or neck problems, then let’s get the younger ones to help you out with this..

I just wanted to point out just how nicely we talked you all into doing all that. Don’t get me wrong, it’s really great, because the coils need cleaned. We’re just used to having to cajole our readers, but you all look like a very sensible bunch. Congratulations for being so sensible!

Power Off Your Refrigerator:

You need to turn off your refrigerator. You don’t want to get electrocuted while cleaning those coils.

This can be done by pulling it out away from the wall and unplugging it, or, if you have a model that is built in, then you can simply turn off the circuit breaker to the refrigerator.

If you have to turn off the circuit breaker, just be sure the refrigerator is off before you begin. You don’t need any fancy equipment to check the circuit–just open the door of the fridge and make sure the light is out (that is if the light wasn’t out to begin with).

Remove The Kick Plate:

You will need to expose the coils under your fridge to clean them. This means you will have to remove the kick plate at the front bottom of your frig.

You may find this easier to do with the door open. On some model refrigerators, the kick plate is held on with two little screws and on other models it is held on with clips.

If you don’t know or can’t tell, consult your owner’s manual. By the way, this is the down part. 🙂 You pretty much have to get on your hands and knees to have access to the refrigerator coils.

Vacuum Up All Loose Dirt:

Okay, now for the dirty part. You should start by vacuuming out any loose dust and dirt. The crevice tool, the long skinny one that you never really use on your vacuum, this is where it comes in real handy.

Go Over The Coils With The Refrigerator Brush Tool:

You are now going to want to clean the coils off. The best tool for this job is a refrigerator brush.

It is like a bottle brush, but made specifically for this job. You will want to brush the coils lightly so you don’t damage them, but with enough effort to dislodge any built up dirt and grime.

Clean out the Crevices:

Use that crevice tool again to vacuum up any dirt you dislodged from the coils.

Replace Kick Plate:

Finally, the dirty part is over and you can replace the kick plate.

Power It Up:

The last, and most important step, don’t forget to turn the circuit breaker back on or plug the refrigerator back in before you push in back into place.

Congratulations To You!

Awesome Job. A well done job always gives a good feeling.

So, mark your calendar and schedule this put for the future too (Spring and Fall — when you usually do all your major cleaning projects) and follow these steps and you will be done in no time.

Now, your refrigerator has clean coils, your food is safe, and your electric bill won’t be unnecessarily expensive. You can put this down & dirty job out of your mind for the next six months.