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Is It Time You Cleaned Out Your Fridge?... The Beginner's Guide

Is your fridge starting to look a bit of a mess due to a clutter of unused and out of date food or spillages? Are you starting to realise bad smells every time you open your fridge door? It might be time you gave your fridge a good cleaning out. This article will guide you through the process of cleaning your fridge, repairing any cosmetic damage and maintaining a clean and odour free fridge, along with providing some handy hints and tips along the way.

Cleaning:

Giving your fridge a good clean not only removes and stains and spillages but will make a distant memory of those bad odours that escape into the kitchen every time you open the fridge door.

First of all you want to remove all food and drinks from your fridge and throw away anything that is:

Passed it's "used by" date, or...
Is open but unlikely to be used again before the recommended date.

The next step is to remove any shelves, crisper drawers, door trays etc.. so that they can all be cleaned by hand.

Tip: There are many specialist cleansers available but if you do not have any and would prefer to save a bit of cash you can use a combination of water and vinegar to clean your refrigerator. Simply mix 3 parts water (warm to hot) with 1 part vinegar.

Once you have cleaned all shelves, drawers, trays etc... using a specialist cleaner or your own home made concoction, and dried them off using a dry cloth or kitchen roll, it is time to turn your attention to the main body of the fridge. Clean all of the inside of the fridge including roof, walls, bottom and inner door ensuring when you have done so that any excess water it thoroughly dried up to prevent a build up of mould and odour. Finally give the outside of the fridge a quick wipe down, removing any marks or stains.

Tip: Whilst cleaning the outside of the fridge it may be beneficial to run the vacuum cleaner over the compressor coils to remove any dust, bits of food etc.. that may be clogging it up. This will help increase the life of your appliance. For more info on making your appliances last longer click here.

Once the refrigerator is clean, reinstall all shelves, drawers, trays etc.. and reintroduce any food you have not thrown away making sure to clean any dirty jars and containers before they are put back in.

Repair:

During the cleaning process it may have come to your attention that parts of you refrigerator are damaged or are no longer functional. For example you may notice that the bulb no longer works or that there is a crack, chip or split in one of the shelves, drawers or door trays. Although this may not affect the functionality of your fridge it may decrease it's aesthetic appeal, and can be fixed cheaply and easily.

Tip: If you do come across a part that needs replacing, we have a huge selection of reasonably priced parts for many different refrigerator models and manufacturers at www.sparepartsonline.co.uk or alternatively you can call our customer helpline on 0345 2577276.

Aftercare:

Now that you have a nice, clean and odour free refrigerator, you will undoubtedly want to keep it that way, these tips will help keep it looking clean and smelling fresh for as long as possible.

Firstly, with regards to the food in your fridge, make sure any opened food is wrapped up with cling film or tin foil. This will help it keep for longer and prevent bad odours. Also rotating the food in your fridge ensuring older food is at the front will reduce food wastage and prevent old food "hiding" in the back of the fridge from going off and creating bacteria and unpleasant odours.

Tip: There are many products on the market that can help fight unpleasant odours in your fridge and keep it smelling fresh, although, if you prefer to save a bit of money this can also be achieved by placing an open box of baking soda in your fridge.This will absorb and bad odours.

Finally, to maintain a clean and odour free refrigerator, ensure that all future spillages are cleaned up as they happen and try to go through it on a weekly basis disposing of any out of date food or drink.

Easy tips to help reduce your Energy Consumption

Our household appliances use a lot of energy. The chart below shows the average UK household energy use and how it is split amongst different appliances, showing exactly which of our appliances use the most energy.

Source: Department of Energy & Climate Change

There are many ways in which you can reduce your energy consumption. By following these simple tips you can save a lot of money on your electricity and gas bills as well as do your bit to help reduce air pollution and global warming.

The Basics

1. Turn It Off!

Many people will leave their computers and laptops on 24/7, this not only uses up a lot of a lot of unnecessary energy, contributing a great deal to electricity bills, but is also not good for the computer/laptop itself. Charging a laptop constantly whilst it is switched on and already full of charge will dramatically reduce the batteries life.
This does not just work with computers and laptops, any appliance/electrical equipment that does not need to be left on constantly (i.e Fridges, Freezers etc...) should be switched off properly when not in use, this will save a lot of energy and ultimately will save you money.

2. Unplug It!

Many electrical appliances consume electricity even when they are not in use.
To save energy and money, unplug all unused items, such as a televisions, microwaves, digi boxes, computers etc... or plug them into a power strip that can be turned off, this will cut all power to any devices plugged into it.
If you have an extra refrigerator that holds a small amount of items, consolidate those items into your main refrigerator and unplug the unused refrigerator.

3. Turn Lights Off When Not In Use!

Pretty self explanatory. Don't unnecessarily have lights on during the day and switch lights off when you leave an empty room.

4. Use Appliances As Efficiently As Possible!

Ensuring you use your appliances as efficiently as possible will save you a lot of money on your energy bill and will also make your appliances last longer. For more information on how to do this click here.

5. Monitor Your Usage!

One of the most useful ways to assess how much energy you use in your home is to purchase an energy monitor. These will tell you how much you spend on electricity for particular items in a room on a daily basis and highlight areas where you can save money. Alternatively, apps are available for computers, smartphones and tablets that can telly you where you are using the most energy and give you tips on ways to reduce your energy consumption with specific appliances.

Some More Handy Tips On Reducing Your Energy Consumption

Draught proof your home
Insulate your walls and roof space
Install energy efficient appliances and heating system
Use reflective panels behind radiators
Use energy efficient light bulbs
Reduce hot water thermostat to 60 degrees
Reduce space heating thermostat to below 21 degrees if you are fit and healthy
Only switch heating and lighting when at home
Only boil the water you need in the kettle
Keep fridge and freezer doors shut as much as possible
Dry clothes outside

For more information on living a greener lifestyle and the benefits it could have on your life please click here.

Making Sense Of Laundry Labels

Doing laundry can be stressful at the best of times, but misunderstanding laundry labels can not only add to the stress, but can also aid in ruining your clothes. The last thing you want to do is ruin an expensive wool sweater by boil washing it or burn a hole in your favourite silk dress with the iron. Here we will go through common logos and symbols you may come across on the laundry labels on your clothes, and fabric household items, and explain what they mean.

There are many different things you must take into consideration whilst doing laundry including wash type and temperature, bleaching instructions, drying type and temperature, ironing temperature and dry cleaning instructions.