How to wash the inside of a new refrigerator before turning it on: do you need to clean it before the first start, how to remove the smell with home remedies?

The natural desire, after a brand new refrigerator has taken its place in the kitchen, is to turn it on and fill it with food.
But there's no need to rush. Before starting the refrigerator, it must be washed. This simple rule will help get rid of the unpleasant odor that fills the interior of a household appliance, as well as the rapid spoilage of food.

We will tell you in this article whether and how best to wash the inside of a new refrigerator before turning it on for the first time.

Do I need to wipe it down before using it for the first time?

When it comes to whether you need to wash a new refrigerator before turning it on for the first time, you should understand that the household appliance requires disinfection rather than cleaning.

There are several reasons for mandatory cleaning of a new refrigerator:

After assembly, tiny particles of plastic or metal remain on the internal and external surfaces, invisible to the human eye.
Most of the dust settles on the joints of the case and the rubber seal (when cleaning for the first time, special attention must be paid to these elements).
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During the transportation of a household appliance from production to a warehouse, and then to a store, a large amount of road dust and other harmful particles floating in the air settle on the walls of the unit.
Until it is delivered to the buyer’s home, the refrigerator passes through many people (loaders, sellers), whose hands leave their mark on the surfaces of the household appliance.
The first cleaning helps get rid of the unpleasant plastic smell that is felt after removing the packaging from a new refrigerator.

If after cleaning the unpleasant odor does not disappear or any other defects are discovered, this is a reason to contact the store with a request to replace the product.

How and why should you wash a new refrigerator?

There are many reasons why a refrigerator requires pre-cleaning before starting work:

Some refrigerator manufacturers do not refuse to use the cheapest and most harmful materials. Of these, plastic seems to be the most dangerous. Before use, problematic devices are allowed to be returned to the store. In other cases, regular cleaning helps get rid of odors.
Any goods displayed on display for sale are susceptible to contamination. Moreover, if they are in this state for quite a long time.
The conditions in which equipment is transported and stored in a warehouse can be called far from ideal.
The refrigerator production process itself does not require sterile frequency.

As for the cleaning products themselves, any options are suitable - this also applies to chemically active preparations from stores, they have official instructions on how to wash a new refrigerator before using it, and what you can do at home with your own hands.

How to remove the smell?

One little secret will help you quickly get rid of the characteristic smell of new household appliances: just lay out pieces of black bread on the shelves of the refrigerator (it’s better to close the door afterward so that the bread absorbs odors better).

The following items placed inside the refrigerator will also help get rid of foreign odors:

tea bags (uncertified);
gauze bags with sugar or rice;
small saucer with soda.

Natural odor absorbents are left out for at least eight to ten hours before being thrown away.

How to care for your refrigerator?

Compliance with additional simple rules helps to reduce the intervals between repair work. They also extend the overall service life.

Coffee grounds, ammonia, vinegar and citric acid are folk remedies that help fight unpleasant odors. They are diluted with warm water or added to a gauze cloth. All that remains is to periodically wipe the shelves inside the equipment.
It is important to periodically check the internal contents. If a product sits on the shelf long enough, it is disposed of without regret.
Only containers with a deep bottom are used when defrosting fish or meat. In this case, blood and water do not get on the shelves.
Paper or polyethylene is placed at the bottom of boxes that are used for storage, so that stains do not appear inside.
The internal compartment will not get dirty if you use bags and containers to store food.
It is recommended to wash the shelves and drawers in the refrigerator at least once a week.
Any stains should be immediately wiped and treated with disinfectants, especially if they remain after the soup. Then the frequency of washing internal surfaces is completely reduced.
Those products that have a short shelf life are consumed most quickly.
Different shelves are used for storing cooked and raw foods.
In the freezer, fish and meat are placed at the bottom.

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What not to do and why?

Before the first cleaning, it would be a good idea to remember some restrictions , ignoring which may affect the performance and appearance of the new household appliance:

Do not use cleaning products that contain chlorine (most often they are intended for cleaning toilets and bathtubs). Chlorine destroys the structure of rubber door seals and dulls the plastic of the body.
Do not use abrasive dry powders or hard brushes for cleaning. The scratches that remain on the body of a new household appliance will forever ruin its appearance.

It is prohibited to turn on and load the refrigerator with food immediately after wet cleaning, without waiting for all surfaces to dry. It is allowed to use the unit for its intended purpose half an hour after the end of cleaning.

Choosing the right cleaning and care products

Using dish soap in the bath, wash removable shelves and racks. It is not recommended to use ordinary basins for the same purposes; they are simply not suitable for completely cleansing these elements. Special products with an antibacterial effect are purchased for those situations when conventional varieties no longer cope. It is good to choose formulations designed specifically for refrigeration chambers.

Stores and supermarkets offer a large selection of compounds that are used to solve this problem.

We can list several cleaning products that work effectively in domestic conditions when cleaning new refrigerators.

Unicum remedy

A gel capable of eliminating unpleasant odors with maximum speed. It is enough to spray the product on the surface, then wipe everything with a soft cloth. No additional processing is required. The natural composition makes Unicum safe for the health of others. Suitable for any surfaces, including plastic and stainless steel.

Clean Home product

Disinfects surfaces and eliminates unpleasant odors. Suitable for use with different brands of refrigerators. Helps maintain whiteness on plastic surfaces and does not require rinsing. Sold in many stores at a price of approximately 210 rubles.

Luxus Professional

An effective product that helps to achieve several effects at once - disinfecting the surface of a new household appliance, eliminating unpleasant odors and degreasing. It is available in several different scents, which already distinguishes this product from its closest analogues.

Electrolux Frigo Care

From an Italian manufacturer of household products for treating refrigerators and other types of devices. Sprays on any type of surface, guaranteeing cleanliness and freshness. It is characterized by high efficiency and economical consumption at the same time.

Topper

The company produces entire refrigerator care kits, which include several components: special microfiber cloths, odor absorbers, and the cleaning products themselves.

Adviсe

Little secrets will help you quickly prepare a new refrigerator before turning it on for the first time:

Before you start wet cleaning the refrigerator, you need to wipe away dust and dirt from the surfaces with a dry cloth.
Lemon slices placed on the shelves of a new household appliance will fill it with a pleasant citrus aroma.
A chlordexine solution will help disinfect surfaces. It is enough to dilute in 1l. water 1 tbsp. pharmaceutical product and, moistening a rag in the resulting solution, thoroughly wipe all surfaces.

If there are any doubts about the correctness of the actions or the choice of detergent, you can always look at the manufacturer’s instructions, which clearly state how to care for the household appliance.

You will find useful tips and tricks for cleaning your refrigerator in this section.

Soda and vinegar

In inexpensive models, the smell inside is so persistent that it is not so easy to overcome it. In such cases, baking soda and vinegar will come to the rescue. These products have long been loved by housewives who try to avoid the use of aggressive chemical compounds.

To use 9% vinegar, you need to mix 1 tsp. funds in 3 l. water, and wipe all necessary areas with the resulting solution. There is no need to wash off the composition; just leave the chamber door open for several hours to ventilate.

Before turning on the refrigerator, you can wipe it with a baking soda solution. This product is safe both for the health of family members and for the device itself. Necessary:

Take 3 liters of warm water into a container and dilute 2 tbsp in it. baking soda.
Remove all shelves and drawers from the appliance, if possible, soak a sponge well in the solution and thoroughly wash the refrigerator. Don't forget about the recesses, trays, racks and freezer compartment. Treat drawers and shelves with the solution as well.
After treating the entire surface with soda, you need to rinse it with clean water and wipe dry.

These methods have proven themselves well, so you can use them without fear.

But manufacturers of some expensive models still do not recommend the use of vinegar for such refrigerators.

Preventing odors in the refrigerator

“How to wash a new refrigerator and is it necessary to do this before turning it on for the first time?” - a question that every housewife asks at least once. The fact is that after being manufactured at the factory, household appliances are almost immediately packaged in tight boxes without normal access to fresh air. During its stay in the box, the refrigerator acquires a rather unpleasant plastic smell mixed with a manufacturing aroma.

Many people ask whether they need to wash a new refrigerator inside and out before turning it on for the first time, and the answer is definitely yes. Household appliances don’t just need to be washed, they need to be disinfected. During the washing process, the unpleasant aroma will go away.

Reasons to clean your new refrigerator:

pollution that appeared during the transportation of household appliances;
specific smell of a new product;
technical dust and dirt resulting from production.

In this article we will look at how and what you can use to clean a new refrigerator at home using household chemicals and improvised means.

If you decide to buy a refrigerator for your home, you should know how to clean your new refrigerator before you start using it. You may think that you don't need to do this because it's new. But it’s just the opposite: it should be thoroughly washed to remove any dirt and dust that has accumulated there during your stay in the hardware store.

In the cool season, you may need about four hours to wash a new refrigerator, but if it’s summer outside, you can do it in an hour and a half.

Do not connect your new refrigerator to electrical power until it is completely dry.

Buying household appliances is a family event. Finally, the long-awaited refrigeration unit is in its place in the kitchen. We open the door and a logical question: is it possible to immediately put food there and how to wash the new refrigerator before first use? Experts undertake to answer such questions.

To disinfect work surfaces from unpleasant odors, detergents offered by modern manufacturers are sufficient. It is still relevant to use traditional methods: for example, baking soda, lemon, vinegar.

Sometimes residents of houses and apartments do not provide proper care to their refrigerators. As a result, an unpleasant odor begins to emanate from the equipment, and people are forced to look for ways and means to clean the refrigerator. For this purpose, you can use both specialized and folk remedies.

Before cleaning the inside of the refrigerator to remove odors, it is necessary to determine the causes of the stench. The most common of them:

The new equipment has a specific smell. The operating instructions for the unit say that you should wash the inside of the refrigerator before starting it, and the outside needs to be cleaned with a soap solution and removed from moisture.
Long-term storage of products. These could be garlic cloves, onions, cabbage, open canned food, etc.
Liquids. Grease stains from frying pans and spilled liquids are often a source of stench.
Open vessels. If food is stored open, it will begin to emit odor into the surrounding area. This is especially true for fish and meat.
Failure in the equipment cooling system. In this case, food may deteriorate faster, and equipment may need repair.
The drain or drain tube is clogged. In this situation, you will have to not only clean the refrigerator, but also repair it.
Maintenance is not performed quite correctly. Equipment without the No Frost function will have to be defrosted periodically. If this is not done, an unpleasant odor will appear in its compartments.

Having figured out the cause of the stench, you can begin to eliminate it.

Method 1: Vinegar

To clean the walls of the freezer and refrigerator compartments, you can use a solution of equal amounts of water and table vinegar. After treatment, the equipment should be wiped dry and left for a couple of hours to air. The procedure must be performed wearing protective equipment (gauze bandage, gloves). This homemade recipe removes not only stench, but also rot and mold.

Soda powder is diluted with water. Add 4-5 tbsp per 1000 ml of liquid. substances. You need to moisten a rag in the prepared mixture and wash the refrigerator.

When solving the problem of how to clean the refrigerator, you should pay attention to lemon juice. To do this, the component must be mixed with clean water. The working composition is used in the same way as in the case of baking soda.

Using ammonia you can eliminate any odors in the refrigerator. To do this, 1 ml of alcohol must be mixed with 100 ml of water. A rag is soaked in the prepared mixture, which needs to be used to treat all surfaces of the unit. At the final stage of cleaning, the equipment must be ventilated.

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Soap perfectly fights both dirt and unpleasant odors. You need to wipe the refrigeration unit with a pre-soaped sponge, rinse with water and dry.

You can get rid of persistent stench using a combination of chemicals and ordinary products. For example, you can divide a lemon into 2 parts, extract the pulp from them and add 2-3 tsp instead. baking soda. The prepared product is placed inside the refrigerator and left overnight.

Cleaning a new refrigerator before first use does not require much effort, since newly purchased appliances are not yet as dirty as older equipment.

To clean brand new units, you can use household chemicals. They are processed according to the following instructions:

First, you need to place the refrigerator and carefully wipe its surface with a dry cloth.
After this, you need to dilute the cleaning agent with water.
Using a piece of soft cloth (sponge) soaked in the prepared mixture, you need to thoroughly wipe all the internal surfaces of the unit. Particular attention should be paid to shelves and pallets.
The refrigerator should be additionally cleaned with water and stains removed.
At the final stage of the procedure, all shelves and walls must be wiped with a dry cloth so that no moisture remains on them.

To clean a new device, you can use paste, gel or liquid cleaning mixtures. Do not use abrasive or acid-containing products.

You can also process a brand new unit using available folk methods. The most effective and simplest option is to use soda powder. Processing is carried out according to the following instructions:

First, you need to remove all dust and dirt from the refrigerator.
Pour warm water into a basin and add 100 g of soda powder to it. The mixture should be stirred thoroughly.
If there are shelves, they must be removed. All elements of the unit must be washed separately. It is recommended to wash shelves and walls with a flannel cloth or soft sponge.
At the final stage, wipe the entire interior of the equipment with a dry cloth.

After the procedure, the refrigerator must be ventilated, and then plugged in and used for its intended purpose.

To prevent the appearance of stench, refrigeration equipment must be properly and timely maintained. For this purpose, it needs to be defrosted, wet cleaned, and drain holes cleaned. Before cleaning the refrigeration unit, it should be unplugged from the outlet, because... In operating mode, the equipment must not be left open for a long time. After cleaning, the surfaces must be thoroughly wiped.

To prevent the occurrence of stench, you can use special odor absorbent preparations. The modern market offers the following options for such funds:

Silica gel beads. They are sold in packs of 3. 1-2 packs are enough for 12 months.
Helium absorber. When storing these devices in the refrigerator, helium evaporates, which not only absorbs odors, but also saturates the air with a pleasant aroma, because... it contains special additives.
Mineral absorber. Every 2-3 weeks this product must be washed, removing the surface layer.
Activated carbon in granules. This drug not only prevents the appearance of stench, but also extends the shelf life of vegetables and fruits.

If you are unable or unwilling to purchase a special air freshener, you can use home remedies that help prevent problems associated with unpleasant odors. The most popular of them:

Orange or lemon peel. They are simply laid out in the compartments of the refrigerator.
Salt or soda powder. It is advisable to store these products in packaging.
Black bread. It can be cut into pieces and placed inside the refrigerator.
Coffee or tea bags. They effectively absorb not only odors, but also moisture.
Activated carbon. It must be ground to a powdery state, placed in a compact container and placed on a shelf in a refrigeration unit.

Using these products, you can prevent the occurrence of stench in refrigeration equipment.

The range of chemicals for cleaning refrigerators is quite wide. You can find it in any store or household chemicals department.

Now we’ll tell you how to use refrigerator cleaning products:

It is necessary to dilute the detergent with water and apply it to all surfaces inside the refrigerator;
after chemical treatment, thoroughly rinse all shelves and trays with clean water;
Now you can wipe the inside of the refrigerator with a dry towel;
Leave the door open for several hours to thoroughly ventilate your new refrigerator from chemical and plastic odors.

Recently, all kinds of cleaning pastes for refrigerators have become popular, the peculiarity of which is that they have a creamy texture and do not contain abrasive particles.

We proceed with pastes as follows:

apply any of them to all surfaces inside the refrigerator;
after applying the cleaning cream, thoroughly wipe all shelves, trays and walls of the refrigerator compartment;
rinse with plenty of water and wipe dry;
It is advisable to do this procedure in the evening so that the refrigerator is thoroughly ventilated overnight.