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Time to clean the fridge

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Photo: rustycanuck/iStockphoto

Are your refrigerator shelves getting a little sticky? Or maybe you’ve just thrown away an item that spoiled or is part of a safety recall. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lays out the steps for cleaning and sanitizing the inside of your fridge.

  1. Empty your refrigerator. Take out shelving, drawers and any other removable parts and wash them by hand with hot, soapy water. (Dish detergent is fine.) Don’t run cold glass shelves or drawers under hot water – the glass could crack. Let them warm up to room temperature first.
  2. Wipe the inside of the empty refrigerator with hot, soapy water, then wipe with clean water and dry with a clean towel.
  3. Now it’s time to sanitize. Use a solution of 1 tablespoon of liquid bleach in 1 gallon of water to wipe down the in-sides of the fridge.
  4. Before returning food and beverage containers to your clean refrigerator, wipe them down.
  5. Wash your hands when you’re done cleaning. Use hot, soapy water to wipe kitchen counters or tables that held food, beverages, refrigerator parts and cleaning materials. When you’re finished, wash any towels you used.

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