I like to clean my freezer right after Purim. I have a
fifteen-year-old- fashioned model, the kind that makes tons
of ice. It should be defrosted every month or two, but the
truth is, it's such a time consuming job and it makes such a
watery mess that I keep pushing it off. I was wondering if
you have any shortcuts here.
Sure do! I have a freezer like that too, and believe it or
not, defrosting it is one of my favorite jobs. Here's
a method that can get an average size freezer defrosted in
less than an hour, from start to finish, and with minimum
mess.
The trick is to defrost the ice using heat from steam,
instead of hot water. Here's how.
* First boil up a kettle of water. While you're waiting for
it to boil, unplug the freezer (very important) and unload
everything inside.
* Place your food directly into large clean boxes or shallow
laundry baskets. (You can line them with disposable
tablecloths or bags first.) Baskets keep the confusion
contained in one place. In addition, if all the foods are
crowded together, they'll stay frozen longer.
* On a very hot day, you can cover the boxes with a towel to
insulate the food even better. If you have foods that defrost
quickly and will become useless, like ice cream or a month's
supply of ice cubes, and you don't have easy access to
another freezer, you can put these items into your
refrigerator. They'll stay more or less frozen for the time
it takes to defrost the freezer and to put everything back.
If you want to be really sure they'll stay frozen, insulate
them by wrapping them in a towel or several loosely layered
plastic bags.
Now comes the fun part.
* Gently scrape off as much loose frost and snow from the
walls as you can. Use a smooth, flexile spatula (not metal)
for this purpose so you don't nick the lining of the freezer.
You can scrape off whole areas at one time. The kind without
the rubber blade is the cheapest and works the best. Remove
the blade if that's the only kind of dustpan you could
find.
* Using your dustpan as a snow shovel, deposit all this frost
in a pail or the nearest sink. ((This is a project that's
especially enjoyable on a hot summer day. You might even find
yourself negotiating for the privilege, when the kids
discover they can shovel snow in Israel.) If your hands are
particularly sensitive to cold, wear gloves. Rubber gloves or
even your regular winter ones are perfect. That white stuff
in the freezer is snow, after all.
By this time, the water in the kettle should be boiling.
* You'll need two large shallow containers for the next step.
Baking pans are just right. Place one of them upside down on
the freezer floor. Place the second one on top of the first
and carefully empty the kettle of steaming hot water into it.
Close the freezer door.
* Wait a few minutes, while the steam warms and loosens the
ice from the walls of the freezer. When the water cools off
somewhat and isn't effective any more, empty it out into the
sink.
* Using your scraper/dustpan as a chisel, now, carefully pry
away any ice that sticks to the walls and ceiling. Challenge
yourself and see if you can remove the ice in large chunks.
Shovel all these into the sink, too.
If there was a very big ice buildup before you started, you
might need to go over all these steps a second time. Fill a
pan with steaming water, wait till it softens the ice etc. If
only a few small stubborn spots of ice remain, you can melt
them off with the direct heat of a blow dryer. (Just take
care: electricity and water don't mix! Wear shoes as a safety
precaution. [Note: You could remove one shelf and insert the
entire electric kettle into the freezer, without the cover,
and let it steam away. THIS IS NOT SAFE, but is extremely
effective. You don't need more than 3 minutes of steaming, or
a second try after you've finished the first scraping.])
* A certain amount of ice will probably have dissolved into
water by now and is sitting on the floor of the freeer. You
naturally shovel most of this water into the sink, too. If
you have the kind of refrigerator that comes with a special
drawer under the freeer to catch the melting ice and water,
you can empty that out now. You'll be delighted to see that
there's not much water sloshing around in there.
You're nearing the end now.
* Using an old, thick towel, dry off the ceiling and walls of
the freezer so they don't get frosty as soon as the freezer
is turned on again. Then mop up the little bit of water
that's left on the bottom of the freezer. A small towel
should do it all.
* While you're into the cleaning mode, do one more thing, it
only takes a minute. If you have a combination freezer-
refrigerator with the freezer on top, check the rubber frame
(gasket) on the refrigerator door. Often, bread and cake
crumbs collect here. Give a quick swipe with an old
toothbrush and brush them out. You don't have to do a Pesach-
perfect job all year round. Just removing the visible crumbs
goes a long way to giving your refrigerator a very clean,
baalebusta look.
Put everything back into the freezer. It shouldn't take much
time if most of the food is already grouped into baskets (see
back issue).
You're all done! You have to admit it was fun. With
practice, you'll be able to clean the freezer and put
everything back so quickly, it'll take almost less time to do
it than to read about it.
One more thing, remember to plug the freezer back in.
Chaya Roizy Vorhand will be glad to answer your questions
at 02-6510025 between 9-10 p.m.
