You might be familiar with the experience of opening your freezer and finding it full of ice. This needs a good old clean-up, especially because too much of this ice can end up harming your food.
JUMP TO:
How To Get Rid Of Ice In The Freezer
Take a look at some steps and methods you can use to get rid of ice in the freezer.
Empty Out The Freezer
You should first remove all the contents from the freezer. Make sure nothing is stuck between the accumulated ice. You can then place these either in an ice box or cooler or in the fridge for the time being. This can then help you access every corner in a better way.
Turn It Off
The next step here is to turn the freezer off before you move forward with the cleaning process. Whether the freezer is a complete unit of its own or is a part of the refrigerator, make sure you turn its power off. This can help you avoid any shocks or injuries while cleaning.
How To Get Rid Of Ice In The Freezer:
1. Use A Fan
Using a fan can be a highly convenient and more or less effortless way for you to get rid of the ice. However, you should note that this process can take up quite some time, so you will need to spare a few hours for the ice to melt completely.
To carry this method out, you should bring a standalone fan in front of your freezer, prop and keep open the door and turn the fan on. This air circulation can add some warmth inside the freezer and can work on the ice to melt it.
This process can only be effective and relatively quick if the temperatures outside are warm enough.
2. Use A Hairdryer
Another method that works on similar principles as the fan method is to use a hairdryer. Open the door of the freezer and connect your hairdryer to a nearby socket. Turn its power on and aim it at the insides of the freezer so that the warm air can circulate and start melting the ice.
You should be cautious while carrying out this process. Make sure the hairdryer never touches the freezer as this can end up causing damage to both, not to mention that it can leave you with a serious injury as well.
Give this process some time to melt the ice fully.
3. Use Hot Water (This Is My Favourite!)
There’s nothing like some hot water to melt ice. There are two ways in which you can use hot water to melt the ice in the freezer.
- You can pour some hot water into a spray bottle and spray the ice and icicles with it. Make sure you cover all of it properly.
- Alternatively, you can pour the hot water into large pots and place these pots inside the freezer, although make sure you place some kind of cloth on the shelf beforehand so that the direct contact does not end up causing harm. You can then shut the door and leave the freezer like that for a while until the ice melts sufficiently.
The latter might take a bit longer so make sure you account for this.
4. Use A Scraper
A scraper is a good way to get rid of the ice. Once you turn the power off, simply start scraping out the ice and shovelling it out of the freezer. This can be particularly easy if there is not a lot of ice in the freezer.
However, if there is more ice, you can use the scraper after using any of the other methods mentioned on this list. Once the ice has sufficiently melted, you can then take the scraper and get rid of the remaining ice.
Make sure you do not scrape too hard otherwise, this might damage the walls and shelves.
5. Use Rubbing Alcohol
For this method, you should first take a pot full of water and bring it to a boil. Then, take a clean piece of cloth and place it inside this boiling water. Give it a few seconds and remove it from the water but make sure you do this with a pair of tongs or any other utensil that can protect your hands from scalding.
Take some rubbing alcohol and pour it over this cloth. Place the cloth inside the freezer on top of the ice and see the ice melting immediately.
You should note that this method might not be as effective or quick if there is too much ice in the freezer.
6. Use A Heated Metal Spatula
A heated metal spatula can be another extremely quick way of melting the ice in the freezer and can work well even with thick layers of ice. Here, you should take a metal spatula and hold it over your stove for a few seconds to heat it up. Make sure you wear gloves throughout this process.
Once this is done, press the heated spatula over the ice in the freezer and watch it melt immediately. Make sure you are extremely careful with this process and try it out only if the others do not work since it can end up harming your hands as well as the freezer.
7. Use A Vacuum
You can use your vacuum cleaner and turn it to the lowest setting possible and then blow it inside your freezer until the ice starts to melt. This can be a pretty quick process and can cover a fair bit of the ice, although you will need to be careful while trying this out.
8. Leave It Open And Defrost
Another highly simple and effortless process is to simply leave the freezer door open after you turn the power off. Let the ice defrost on its own, although the external temperatures will need to be sufficiently warm for this. It might also take a bit of time.
Now Clean The Freezer
After you use any of the above methods and manage to completely melt the ice, you should clean the freezer with some dish soap and warm water or vinegar/baking soda and warm water. Take a sponge soaked with this solution and clean the fridge and then dry it thoroughly with a clean, dry cloth.
It is only once this is done that you can turn the power of the freezer back on. Now that this is done, you can go ahead and place the racks and food back into the freezer.
Try to maintain a proper freezer temperature at all times.
Sick & Tired Of Ice Build-Up In Your Freezer? Then Check These Out…
How To Get Rid Of Ice In The Freezer: Parting Remarks
Those were some effective ways that you can try out to get rid of ice in the freezer. Make sure you carry out this process safely while also taking all the necessary measures to prevent this kind of accumulation in the first place.
