Defrosting the fridge - instructions and tips for the duration

• What to pay attention to
  • Store food properly
  • time
  • Duration during defrosting
• Defrost the refrigerator: a guide
• Prevent ice in the fridge

The refrigerator is one of the indispensable household appliances and ensures that food can be stored for a long time without spoiling. However, due to the cooling performance of the unit, possible freezing within the refrigerator will occur during use. Especially in the freezer can form thick ice, which provide for a lower cooling capacity and higher energy consumption.

If the fridge is iced, your purse suffers most of all. Ice formation causes the device to expend more energy to cool the interior, which negatively impacts your energy balance. If this is the case, you must defrost the device to make up for it and use it to the normal extent. Above all, the preparations and the correct procedure of this activity are important, so that the thawing ice does not put everything under water and the kitchen stays clean. Nobody wants to additionally clean up water.

What to pay attention to

Before you start defrosting the refrigerator, it is important to have a few things handy to make the process a lot easier. These help, above all, to keep the kitchen from the condensation that arises during this unpleasant procedure, to store food and to make the ice melt faster.

You need this:

• absorbent towels, for example made of terry cloth
• a baking tray for catching water
• hairdryer
• fan
• Cool box or insulated pockets
• cold packs
• Spatula made of wood or plastic

After you have prepared these utensils, you can start with the necessary preparations for the defrosting process. These consist of the following points:

1. Dismantling: before you can defrost the device, you must clear it out first, especially the freezer. Here are perishable foods that thaw after only a few hours at room temperature and then can no longer be frozen. You should clear out the following s from the fridge:

• foods
• beverages
• packaged ice cubes
• subjects
• glass surfaces
• Grid, for example for wine bottles

Food such as fruits, vegetables or sauces can be stored in the kitchen for several hours. It is best to choose a cool corner or dark cabinet that is not heated by the oven. The s of the freezer compartment must either be stored in a separate freezer, a cool box or insulated bags. If you can not use powered replacement equipment, you should provide the coolers and bags with sufficient rechargeable batteries and keep the food away from sources of heat or light.

2. Unfold the fridge: this step is self-explanatory, but there is another important aspect to it. The thermostat would overheat during the defrost process, as long as the cooling unit is still connected to the electricity, as it tries to cool the ever warmer interior. With a defrost duration of several hours, this would inevitably lead to damage to the thermostat, which in turn results in a rather expensive repair or the purchase of a completely new device.

Store food properly

If you have no icebox, store perishable food in the freezer compartment in the following way if the existing ice is extremely thin. The thinner the ice, the shorter the defrost process:

• Place the food in the bath, a sturdy cardboard box or the laundry basket
• put enough cooling batteries in it
• Position these between the foods to allow for greater cooling performance
• Cover the food thoroughly with a blanket of wool or down
• This saves the cold and keeps the food fresh for a longer period of time

Tip: Alternatively, you could simply ask your neighbor if you could store your food in their freezer. Of course, this requires good relationships.

time

When and how often you should defrost the device is important so that you do not make it too rare and thus cause high electricity costs. The best time to defrost is in winter, when there are freezing temperatures and you can easily store the food in the open air. How often the procedure should be carried out depends on the age and type of the refrigerator:

• how many old models "> Duration during defrosting

  An important aspect of this process is, of course, the duration of the defrost. The duration depends on the respective amount and thickness of the ice that has formed within the freezer compartment. Thus, refrigerators with a thick layer of ice, which barely allows the closing of the door, have to be defrosted much longer than a modern refrigerator, which has only formed a thin layer. On average, this takes six to eight hours, sometimes the device has to be defrosted the entire night, when only the heat in the room is available. Freezers require a longer defrost time than refrigerators.

  Tip: If you want to speed up the process, you should use tools such as a hair dryer or fan to melt the ice faster. The application of both devices is explained in the defrost instructions.

  Defrost the refrigerator: a guide

  Now that you've taken care of the food and electricity, it's time for the actual defrosting of the fridge or freezer. Depending on the amount of ice, you should have enough towels and paper towels. This is especially important if your kitchen has a wood floor instead of a floor. The instructions as follows:

  1. Open all the doors of the appliance, from the freezer to individual, small compartments made for special foods. To reduce the risk that there is still ice somewhere that you would otherwise have overlooked. This is important because closed compartments take much longer to defrost than open ones.

  2. Place enough cloths directly underneath the refrigerator so that the melted water can be absorbed by them. It's best to push it as close as possible to the device.

  3. If there is a lot of ice in the appliance, place a baking tray directly under the opening of the door. The baking tray can collect the water that would be too much for the towels. Under the baking sheet should also be a towel.

  4. After that, there are three options that allow you to thaw the ice faster, so you do not have to wait all night:

  • fan
  • hairdryer
  • hot water

  

  5. If you have a refrigerator with built-in freezer that is not partitioned, the ice should never be heated with a hair dryer. The direct action of heat would inevitably lead to overheating of the freezer, which could damage this. The inner walls are simply not designed for it.

  6. Use a fan to do this, because you are in the immediate vicinity of the refrigerator and turn it on. The heat in the room is then channeled by the fan into the unit, helping to turn the ice faster. Take care not to use the gift function of the fan.

  7. If there is no freezer, you can use the hairdryer. The more power this has, the better, but can be exhausting for you. Simply point the hair dryer over the ice and thaw it. Depending on the thickness, this can take longer. Never hold the hair dryer in the appliance, as even the smallest drops of water could be dangerous.

  8. Alternatively, place a pot of boiling water on a metal grid inside the appliance. The resulting heat is effective to make the one.

  9. After you have thawed the ice, you can use a spatula and gently remove the ice. An advantage of this method is the speed, because it can easily solve even larger chunks. But please be careful not to break the ice by force.

  10. Once all the ice has defrosted, you should remove the electrical appliances, such as the fan, hang the towels and empty the tray. Subsequently, a cleaning of the device is on.

  Tip: Never use metal objects, such as butter knives, inside the fridge or freezer compartment to remove the ice. Even small cracks could cause damage to the cooling lines, which in turn can damage the entire unit.

  Prevent ice in the fridge

  You can keep your fridge and freezer from icing as soon as you follow the instructions below:

  • Do not leave the device open too long
  • This stimulates the thermometer to cool, which promotes the formation of ice
  • do without high ambient temperatures
  • the consequences are an increased energy expenditure and possible ice formation
  • Do not put a damp freezer bag or container in the fridge
  • set the unit correctly, the temperature setting should not be too low
  • Check regularly for damaged door elements