March 13, 2014

Spring Green Cleaning: Scrubbing the Fridge Condenser Coils

For this installment of our Spring Green Cleaning series, we're going to tackle a messy and oft-forgot job--those condenser coils on your refrigerator. Cleaning your refrigerator coils is actually important for keeping your fridge running at peak performance, and most experts recommend doing it annually.

I'm going to give you two different methods of cleaning the coils: the low tech way and the high tech way.

Low Tech Green Cleaning for Refrigerator Coils:

1. Unplug your refrigerator.

2. Locate the coils. They are usually in the back or at the front of the fridge.

3. Remove the grille or any covering that stands between you and the coils. The owner's manual for your fridge should have directions if you're unsure how to do this.

4. Use an eco-friendly dish brush with an extra long handle and simply give the coils a good scrub.The Full Circle Laid Back Dish Brush is perfect for this. Keep cleaning until you don't see any dust or debris on the fridge.

5. Clean up the floor where you worked with a green floor scrubber like the e-cloth Deep Clean Mop,

or use a Bambooee Sweeper Sheet with your static cling sweeper to clean.

6. Replace the grille as needed and plug the fridge back in.

High Tech Green Cleaning for Refrigerator Coils:

1. Follow steps 1 to 3 in the Low Tech section above.

2. Vacuum the coils with a hand-held vacuum like the Vapamore MR-50 or a canister vacuum with a hose attachment.

3. If dirt remains, you can use a microfiber cleaning cloth the the e-Cloth Stainless Steel Cloth to wipe it down. Just make sure the coils aren't hot to the touch before you start to wipe.