by Eleonora Vaiana

Clean the refrigerator: yes, but how?

Ah, the refrigerator: a cave of wonders that we open many times a day, faces full of hope and minds full of anticipation, expecting feats of prestidigitation worthy of any famous stage magician. Every time its light flickers on, we hope against hope to find it full of full of tasty treats despite knowing full exactly what its shelves are stocked with. However, at the end of the week as grocery shopping day draws near, supplies run thin. Save a very sad-looking lemon, a few cans of coca cola, an almost empty bottle of wine, a geriatric salad and perhaps some vegetables hidden in a corner, the fridge is truly barren.
But the worst part? It is only then that the unfortunate state of the refrigerator is noticed.
The fact that the lemon -sporting withered skin and heavily discolored- could be reasonably mistaken for a potato is a clear warning sign: how long has the refrigerator sat uncleaned?
Panic ensues. The mind staggers, struggling to bring forth the last time you used water, vinegar, baking soda and good old-fashioned elbow grease to freshen it up, but nothing obliges.
Well, if you too find yourself in this situation, the only thing for it is to roll up your sleeves and get busy, because cleaning the refrigerator, besides being a household necessity, encourages and inspires you to fill it with delicacies. But how might one go about such a seemingly daunting task?

Cleaning the refrigerator has never been easier

The first thing to do is to completely empty the refrigerator and prepare a basin with water and vinegar or water and baking soda. It is advisable to dismantle all the shelves and remove any accessories supplied, in order to easily reach even the deepest recesses. You will also need a towel- to put on the bottom of the refrigerator and collect the water that will inevitably drip- and some talcum powder to dry the seals when done. Simple, isn’t it?
At this point, however, if you can’t even remember the last time you cleaned the fridge, the billion dollar question becomes: when was the last time you defrosted it? This is also an equally important procedure to keep your refrigerator clean, fresh, and hygienic. You could easily devote an entire day to the care of the most popular appliance in the kitchen: empty it, unplug it, remove all the shelves and, before washing it with your baking soda or vinegar solution, place a basin full of hot water inside it. This will help the refrigerator to defrost faster. You can then continue with normal cleaning and if necessary remove the frost from the walls using a spatula.
If you have the foresight to repeat the cleaning process with consistency until it becomes a habit, you can guarantee the appliance a long, problem-free life, and guarantee yourself a life free from the tyranny of stale-fridge smell!!