It isn’t much fun to have to think about cleaning your refrigerator. Most people feel like it’s a bit of a pain to clean out the fridge, but it’s necessary to do it from time to time.
If you don’t clean out the fridge, then it’s likely going to get a bit nasty over time. Thankfully, it doesn’t have to be incredibly difficult to get the job done.
You might be wondering if there is a way to make cleaning your glass refrigerator shelves easier. There are actually many ways that you can go about doing this.
Read on to learn about the best way to clean your glass refrigerator shelves. Once you’ve figured out how to do this, it shouldn’t seem like such a big chore to clean out the refrigerator any longer.
Find a Safe Spot for the Food
The first step is going to be finding a safe spot where you can place all of the food that is in the refrigerator. Most people are never going to have a time when there’s absolutely nothing in the fridge, and this means that you’ll need to put the food in a spot where it’ll stay safe and out of the way.
One good idea is to place the food from the fridge on your kitchen table for the time being. It’s likely that the table isn’t that far from your refrigerator, and it’ll be easy enough to transfer the food items back to the fridge once you’re done cleaning it out.
Another idea is to just put your food items on the counters. If you have enough counter space, then this could work out nicely, but it depends on what you’re working with.
Simply do your best so that you can get the food out of your way. Once the fridge is empty, you’ll be able to begin.
Remove the Glass Refrigerator Shelves If Possible
Some refrigerators will be designed so that you can remove the glass refrigerator shelves. Being able to take the shelves out of the fridge so that you can clean them is nice.
It would make it easier to thoroughly scrub the shelves if you don’t have to keep them in the fridge. Try to determine whether the glass shelves are designed to be removed or not.
If you can’t take the refrigerator shelves off, then you’ll still be able to get the job done. You just might have to reach a little more and get into some uncomfortable positions to scrub some spots.
Scrub the Shelves Down with Vinegar and Hot Water
Next, you’re going to want to start cleaning the shelves. To get good results, it’s going to be wise to use a vinegar and hot water mixture.
Vinegar is perfect for this job because it will do a good job of breaking down any grease or grimy spots that might be on the glass shelves. You can pour vinegar directly on the shelves and then wipe it down with hot water and a rag.
You could also mix up hot water and vinegar together in a spray bottle and then spray the shelves. Sometimes it might be beneficial to let the shelves soak for a few minutes before you start scrubbing them down.
This really might depend on just how much gunk is present on the glass refrigerator shelves. If you’ve spilled things on the shelves, then it’d make sense to soak the shelves for a bit before moving forward.
Doing so makes it that much easier to wipe the grimy bits away, and you’ll be able to enjoy spotless shelves soon enough. Just make sure that you’re using a good microfiber towel so that you can get things dry without making the glass streak.
Do One Shelf at a Time
Doing one shelf at a time is really the way to go when you’re doing a job like this. Just start at the top of the refrigerator and work your way to the bottom.
If you can remove the glass refrigerator shelves, then this will be pretty easy to do. When you can’t remove the shelves, it’s still best to focus on one shelf at a time.
It’s also going to be wise to wash the brackets or the frame that holds the glass shelving in place. Be sure to wipe everything down inside of the fridge before you decide to place the shelves back.
Failing to do so would mean that you aren’t truly completing your cleaning job. Once all of the shelves are good, you’ll be ready to place them back into the fridge safely.
Don’t Forget the Drawers and the Door
The drawers and the door also need to be thoroughly cleaned. The crisper section of your fridge can often get messy due to being a spot where you store certain types of fruit.
If you can remove the drawer, then you can do that and clean it using the same methods that you used for the glass refrigerator shelves. Just try to be thorough and wipe things down as well as you can.
Clean Food Jars Before Putting Them Back Into the Fridge
Cleaning your food jars and containers before putting them back in the fridge will be sensible as well. You don’t want to put things in the fridge if they’re sticky, and wiping them down won’t take too long overall.
Just take a bit of time to wipe your condiment jars and food containers off with a rag. Use a bit of cleaner on the rag and you’ll have things ready in no time at all.
Once you’ve finished, you’ll be able to transfer the food items back into the fridge one shelf at a time. Afterward, you’ll be able to stand back and admire how nice your clean fridge looks.
Final Thoughts
Knowing the best way to go about cleaning glass refrigerator shelves should help you out. Cleaning the fridge is something you should try to do every few months to keep it looking and smelling nice.
It’s not as much of a pain as you’d think when you approach things from the right perspective. You’ll be a lot happier when you look inside the fridge and see that it’s clean every single time.
I have a bachelor’s degree in Film/Video/Media Studies, as well as an associates degree in Communications. I began producing videos and musical recordings nearly 15 years ago. I am a guitarist and bassist in Southwest MI and have been in a few different bands since 2009, and in 2012 I began building custom guitars and basses in my home workshop as well. When I’m home, I love spending time with my three pets (a dog, cat, and snake) and gardening in my backyard.