To select the best products for cleaning both the outside and inside of the refrigerator, as well as the freezer, we rounded up products recommended by cleaning experts, including Kadi Dulude, owner of cleaning company Wizard of Homes and William Cotter, founder and COO of cleaning services companies DeluxeMaid and HappyCleans, based in Indianapolis, IN and Oklahoma City, OK, respectively. We also included products that are highly rated on Amazon and have at least a 4.5-star average rating from at least 500 reviews. Some things we considered:
To find the best products for cleaning every part of your refrigerator, we consulted with cleaning experts and business owners for their guidance and recommendations. We also included cleaning products with at least a 4.5-star average rating from at least 500 reviews on Amazon.
Dawn’s Platinum Powerwash Dish Spray is popular and loved for its unique foaming properties. Dulude recommends this particular product from Dawn because of its versatility and because you can use it for more than just dishes. “Sometimes when there’s grease splatters, [I use] dish soap,” she says. “So anything that you use for washing the dishes in the sink is fine in the fridge, too.” Aside from dishes, Dulude recommends using this product to clean the surfaces inside your refrigerator, including the crisper drawers, shelves, racks, sides and any other surfaces. All you have to do to use the product for your fridge is spray it on the desired surface, wipe it using a paper towel or microfiber cloth, and then do a rinse wash, similar to how you would your dishes.
This set of plastic food bins from Utopia is recommended by Dulude, who says they’re good for keeping everything organized. Use these bins for different grocery items like bottled and canned beverages, refrigerated snacks, produce, dairy products, and bottled sauce. Additionally, the bins have handles on the sides, making them easy to transfer to and from the sink for cleaning.
Dulude also recommends this refrigerator deodorizer from Purriko for eliminating foul smells from the fridge. The deodorizing capsule decomposes gasses from strong-smelling foods in the fridge and freezer and keeps food in the fridge fresh for longer, according to the brand. The product lasts up to 10 years and eliminates odors in different areas aside from the fridge, including drawers and closets, according to the brand.
Weiman makes many cleaning products, each designed to address different surfaces and appliances, including stainless steel. This Stainless Steel Cleaner Kit, which has a 4.7-star average rating from more than 19,000 reviews on Amazon, comes with a spray, wipes and a microfiber cloth. To use the spray or the wipes, you simply wipe the product outside of a stainless steel fridge to erase any fingerprints or smudges and then buffer the surface to leave a shine.
In addition to sprays and wipes, you should consider using these Cyrico Refrigerator Liners to keep your fridge clean. These clear liners act as a barrier between food and food containers and the actual surface of your fridge, which makes cleaning easier. That’s because you can install and remove the liners as needed for cleaning by hand instead of having to crouch or kneel to wipe or spray the inside of your fridge. Remove the liners from the fridge and clean them in the sink with dish soap as you would your dishes. Rinse the liners and dry them completely before putting them back in the fridge and restocking them with groceries.
In addition to baking soda, ingredients like activated charcoal are commonly used as odor eliminators. Cotter places a bowl of activated charcoal in the fridge as he cleans it to help absorb and rid of any off-putting smells. This Activated Charcoal Odor Absorber from Vergali USA comes with individual bags of activated charcoal pieces, each with hooks installed so you can hang them in different areas around the house, including the fridge. Activated charcoal is porous in texture — meaning it has many absorbent pores on its surface — which gives it odor-eliminating properties, according to the brand.
You’ll need to clean the outside of your fridge in addition to the inside. If you have a stainless steel fridge on the outside, consider using a cleaner and polish such as this one from Therapy Clean. When it comes to stainless steel fridges, you’ll often run into visible streaks, scratches and fingerprints on the outside, especially if your fridge has handles. According to the brand, this cleaner and the included microfiber cloth will help eliminate these imperfections and achieve a more sleek and shiny finish to the outside. The plant-based cleaner, made with a coconut oil-based formula and has a lavender scent, has a 4.5-star average rating from over 18,000 reviews on Amazon.
While you can use rolls of paper towels to clean your fridge, opt for a more reusable option, such as these microfiber cloths from Homexcel. Microfiber cloths are popular for cleaning with different cleaning products like multi-purpose sprays because they’re extremely absorbent, more durable than paper towels and machine washable. This means you can cut down on your paper towel usage (which could save you some money in the long run) and still get a thorough cleaning of your refrigerator. These cloths, which come in a range of different colorways, are made of a blender of polyester and polyamide, which makes for a texture that is sturdy enough to rid of stains, spills and grime but gentle to not scratch the surfaces of what you’re cleaning, according to the brand. Additionally, these clothes have a 4.6-star average rating from over 21,000 reviews on Amazon.
Cotter often uses a toothbrush to clean small spaces and crevices in and around the refrigerator, especially for areas such as the rubber gasket that lines the door of both the fridge and freezer. This set of toothbrushes from AmazonBasics, which has a 4.5-star average rating from more than 10,000 reviews, comes with ten brushes, which you can keep solely for cleaning your fridge and other appliances around the home, such as window sills, toilets and microwaves. Use the dish soap spray to coat the fridge’s surface and then scrub with the toothbrush. Do a rinse-wash and then dry thoroughly.
A tip: Consider taking on this project right before you plan on restocking on groceries, such as on a Sunday. This way, you can empty out your fridge, clean it and add your new groceries, without having to remove any newly bought foods from the fridge that would otherwise sit out at room temperature while you clean and potentially spoil.
Install clear refrigerator shelf liners and add plastic or acrylic food storage containers. When you go to restock your cleaned fridge, you don’t want to reverse the work you just did. That’s why Dulude recommends using the Cyrico Refrigerator Liners and the Utopia Home Fridge Organizer Bins. You can apply the liners on the glass or plastic shelving in the fridge after you clean and dry them (if you have a fridge with wire racks, skip this part). They aren’t adhesive but stay in place on the shelf and you can trim them to fit with scissors, which means you can use them for fridges of different sizes. Then, rinse the plastic food storage bins and use them to hold common grocery items like canned soda, eggs, string cheese, fruits, vegetables and bottled beverages. These will reduce spills and prevent debris from falling on the shelves.
Use a stainless steel cleaning spray and a microfiber cloth. Once you’ve finished cleaning the inside of the fridge and restocked it, start on the outside. A stainless steel cleaning spray or wipe will eliminate fingerprints, water stains and smudges and give your stainless steel fridge and other appliances a shiny and polished appearance. To use the Weiman Stainless Steel Cleaner, you first wipe the surface of the fridge doors and handles and the buffer in a back-and-forth motion to polish, according to the brand.
Use foaming dish soap spray to clean the outside of a white or other non-stainless steel fridge. You can use a mild dish soap, such as the one you’d use to clean the inside of the fridge to clean the outside as well. As directed on the product, spray the outside of the fridge doors and the handles, including handles built into the sides of the doors. Wipe the spray with a paper towel or cloth to remove any residue or grease, rinse and dry with a wet towel. For tough stains, use an all-purpose cleaner that’s food-safe, doesn’t contain bleach or ammonia, rinse-wash and dry.
Tip: If you want to clean your freezer, but have food in it that you don’t want to waste, Cotter recommends keeping these items in a separate cooler with ice while you clean. Foods like ice cream, frozen dinners and frozen meat or poultry shouldn’t be left out for any extended amount of time to avoid the growth of bacteria.
Both Cotter and Dulude recommend cleaning your fridge every three to six months. That said, many factors contribute to how often you may have to clean your fridge. In summer months, when it's warmer, it may be necessary to clean your fridge more frequently to prevent the potential bacterial growth of certain foods, according to Cotter.
It depends. As Cotter mentioned above, if you only plan on doing a light cleaning of the inside of the fridge, it isn't necessary to turn it off before you clean it. Also, if you have perishable foods in the fridge, you shouldn’t turn it off and let them stay at room temperature, as this poses a food safety risk. That said, if you want a more thorough clean and only have room temperature-safe items in your fridge, such as bottled water or seltzer, you can unplug the fridge before cleaning.
According to Cotter, you should wear gloves while you clean, especially if you’re using bacterial wipes that would otherwise come in contact with your hands. Even if you’re using mild products or ingredients, like baking soda, you can still use gloves to clean the fridge to protect your hands.
At NBC Select, we work with experts with specialized knowledge and authority based on relevant training and/or experience. We also ensure all expert advice and recommendations are made independently and without undisclosed financial conflicts of interest.
Cory Fernandez is a commerce editor at NBC Select, covering topics such as food, kitchen, home, cleaning and wellness. He spoke with cleaning experts who own and help oversee cleaning companies.
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