When frost gathers up on the surfaces on the inside of your fridge freezer it starts to reduce its efficiency and increase your electricity bills. Although many modern fridge freezers self-defrost nowadays, if you have an older model, you will have faced the issue of defrosting it at least once a year or when there is a layer of ice that becomes thicker than ¼ of an inch. The best way to defrost a fridge freezer is obviously by unplugging it and opening the door to let the ice melt. However, if you need to do it quicker than that, there are a few simple methods you can use with everyday objects found around your home.
Before You Start
Before you begin you need to take all the food out of your fridge freezer and store it in a cooler or a bag with some bags of ice to keep it frozen. You then need to unplug the. Now you can open the door or the lid, placing towels at the bottom to help soak up the water. You should also line the floor around the freezer section with towels to absorb any dripping water.
Below we have put together a guide with 2 of the most common methods of defrosting your fridge freezer quickly if you need to using just things found in your home.
The Hot Water Method
As with anything of this nature, before you begin defrosting you should take a look at the instruction manual provided by the manufacturer. If the manual says it is safe to use pans of hot water, proceed to fill either a pot or pan water warmed on the stove or from a kettle. Then take the pans/pot and place it inside the freezer section, closing the door and the heat and steam should soften the ice within 5 minutes.
Now take the pan out and put it back onto the stove to reheat the water. While you wait for the water to heat, use the flat edge on a wooden spoon to scrap at the softened ice in the freezer. Do your best to avoid actually damaging the sides or back of the freezer and collect all frozen ice in a towel to melt in the sink.
Once the water in the pan has warmed back up again, put it back inside the freezer for another 5 minutes with the door closed, and just repeat this method until the last of the ice has melted away.
The Hairdryer Method
If you don’t have the manual or are unsure about using the pot of water method, use a hairdryer to aim at the ice to melt it. Remembering of course, never to hold the hairdryer upside down in the freezer section where water could drip into or onto it and never place it on any wet surfaces. Simply hold the hairdryer close enough to soften the ice.
Start scraping the ice as it softens using a wooden spoon, similar to the hot water method. Collect all the shards at the bottom of the cabinet with a towel and remove them. Continue this method until all the ice has melted away.
The above methods are the best ways to defrost your fridge freezer if time is a factor. If you have a near to empty fridge freezer or have the space and a cooler to do it naturally, you can. Adk.co.uk are always happy to help with suggestions if you need them regarding your fridge freezer and live in London or the South East, and can help with repairs or other issues too.