How to Clean Mildew from Your Refrigerator Safely

Mildew is a nasty substance. It is bad to look at and bad to smell. The musty odor given off by mildew is hard to get out of your house, and out of your refrigerator. Using baking soda just covers up the smell. The odor will still be there, and it will make your other food items smell and taste musty. You really must clean it well to remove not just what you see, but what you don’t see.

Many people use bleach to clean mildew. Bleach kills the bacteria spores that sprout into the nasty black stuff that grows in moist places. Mildew starts out with just a couple of small black spots, and before you know it, there it is, creeping all over your refrigerator. Mildew spreads rapidly, like wild fires my grandmother would tell me.

To clean with bleach, you will want to make sure that you have on rubber gloves. Bleach will eat through your skin if you leave it on long enough. Also you may need a good stiff scrub brush. Sponges are not a good idea. Sponges will only smear the mess, and if you use the sponge on something else later, even if you don’t see anything, you could be spreading the spoors. Use paper towels to clean up the mess when you are done.

To clean mildew out of your refrigerator, be sure to remove all food. You don’t want to get the bleach or its smell or taste, in your food. And you don’t want to contaminate anything you have that is open. For really bad mildew, you can either clean it twice, using the bleach mixed one cup to 2 quarts of water, or use less water, using 1 cup bleach to 2 cups water. Be sure to have a window open, and if possible, use a fan to keep fumes from getting too bad.

Using the scrub brush, dip in the water, and scrub the effected area thoroughly. You may need to remove drawers and anything else that could be hiding more mildew. Wipe frequently with dry paper towels. This will keep from causing a pool of bleach water in your refrigerator. Be sure to clean the underside of the drawers. After you have thoroughly cleaned the refrigerator, and wiped out all the mess with paper towels, you will want to clean it again.

Using a wash cloth or other cloth, dip into clean bleach water and wash every inch of the inside of your refrigerator. Remember to clean around the rubber gasket and the bottom sides of the shelves on the door as well. This will help keep the mildew from spreading. Be sure to clean after with plain water to remove any chemicals left behind that could contaminate the food.

Another good cleaner to use in the refrigerator is my mother’s favorite cleaner. Dow Scrubbing Bubbles is her cleaner of choice and she uses it on everything. I have seen her cleaning stuck on food in a crock pot once, without even having to scrub. The scrubbing bubbles does the scrubbing for you. But to clean out mildew, you still want to use a scrub brush to clean the mildew, as it is a growth that needs to be scrubbed out, not just wiped off.

Simply remove everything first, then shake the can and completely coat the entire insides, and remove the drawers and coat them also, inside and underneath. Let this set for a few minutes and take your scrub brush and scrub the entire area. Again, wipe out the scrubbed areas with dry paper towels to remove the nasty stuff. After using this, you can repeat if you wish, but always rinse after you use scrubbing bubbles.

You can also clean once a month to keep the problem from happening again, with either the bleach, or with the scrubbing bubbles.