How to de-ice your freezer without killing your budget, your energy or your frozen food.
Now, a lot of people will already know this trick, and a lot of you will already have frost-free fridges. Going to a more modern, frost-free appliance is one of those things that always comes up on those lists of ways to cut your power bill, or save the environment. And it's true; more modern refrigerators and freezers are better.
But what if you don't have the hundreds or thousands of dollars to buy a machine that hugs the planet and keeps things nice and ice-free?
What if you're disabled, living on a pension, with limited energy and very limited funds? Well, if you're like us, and don't have well-off relatives who pass on their out-of-fashion whitegoods after only a couple of years use, then you end up with a ten/twenty/thirty-year-old refurbished appliance that does its job, but grows ice in a steady, inescapable fashion, until you wind up with six inches of ice, a freezer door that won't shut, and everything inside either falling out whenever you delve into it, or frozen solid to the shelf, the roof or the sides.
But how to clean it out? Sure, you could turn it off for a day, but where do you put all the frozen stuff in the mean time? Sure, some of it will be fine in the fridge but a lot of it will end up going soggy or melting, leaving you with a bunch of things only fit for throwing away or eating immediately. And that's a lot of emergency eating, when there's only the two of you.
You could chip all the ice off, but that's a lot of physical work when you're low on spoons. Also, you're risking puncturing the lining of your freezer with every strike, and if you do that, you've not only ruined your appliance, but you're releasing harmful gasses into your home. My cats live in my kitchen; I don't want to gas them.
The easy way is this: you need a hairdryer and a spatula, at least two large towels and a bucket, large bowl, or a sink. The hairdryer can be as cheap as you like, the spatula needs to be fairly stiff but NOT have a sharp edge.
Step One: Turn off your freezer.
If your freezer doesn't have an on/off switch, just turn it off at the wall.
Step Two: Take everything out.
If you've got stuff that really needs to be kept cold and can't be left out for a short period of time, then put it in the fridge, a cooler bag, or just pile all your other frozen stuff around it and put something insulative over it. This is a really good opportunity to find out exactly what the hell you have; there were a lot of things shoved up the back of our freezer that had been inaccessible or we'd plain forgotten we had. Unless you're in a really hot climate, your stuff should be fine sitting out for a little while. It took me about half an hour to do this, and everything was still frosty and pretty much solid when I'd finished.
Step Three: Start up your hairdryer.
Start at the TOP of your freezer. I did this on the freezer section at the top of a fridge, but the principle remains the same even if your freezer is a chest freezer. You're melting the ice at the top, and the water that runs down will soften the stuff at the bottom. It'll probably take a while to see much going on if your freezer is really iced up, but it will start to work, and if you can't stand for more than a few minutes at a time doing it, then take breaks or switch out with someone. Be careful to keep the dryer itself out of drip range; you don't want to risk killing it or giving yourself an electric shock. The air stays warm for quite a distance past the nozzle. You shouldn't need to be closer than about four inches to make a difference.
Step Four: When the ice starts looking softer around the edge of the freezer, try poking it with a fingertip.
You're feeling to see if the ice is loose, or if there's a gap between the ice and the surface. If not, then keep melting. If there is, then take your spatula and see if the edge will fit in the gap. If the ice is still hard and resistant, then don't force it. Just melt it some more and try again. If it is melted enough, then the spatula will loosen the ice, and often whole slabs or chunks of ice will come free if you've been melting for a while. Chuck any pieces that come off into your bucket, bowl or sink so that they're out of the way. Check the things that are frozen into the freezer wall or shelves now and again so that you remove them ASAP when they come free, rather than blowing hot air at them for way too long and defrosting them. When you've done the top of the freezer, move to the sides (or further down, if you've got a chest freezer). Empty as many of the chunks of ice out as possible as they come off; if you don't, then that's just more water you have to sop up at the end.
Step Five: Soak up the water.
Don't just let it lie - that water will refreeze the moment you turn your appliance back on, and probably stick all your food fast, and then you'll have to start all over again. You'll need towels for this; something big and absorbent, anyway. If you've got older towels you use for pets or floors, use those. If you've only got bath towels, use ones you're about to launder then put them straight in the machine, that way you're not washing twice the amount of towels. Squeeze them out then hang them over a rail or line to dry them if you're not going to wash them. Unless you've spilled something in your freezer, then it's just water you're sopping up. If the freezer IS dirty, this is the opportunity to clean it. As mild a cleaner as you can is best; something that isn't going to permeate your food with the smell/taste of chemicals when you put it back. Clean it, dry it, and admire the empty space.
Step Six: Put your stuff back in.
We itemised what we had prior to replacing it, making a list of exactly we had, then put it in roughly delineated areas so that we could find things. If you use snaplock bags or containers to store leftovers or portioned out serves of meat, vegetables or fruit, A SHARPIE IS YOUR FRIEND. Write the contents and the date on each bag or container, and you'll never squint at a bag of indeterminate frozen stuff through frost again, wondering if it's apple sauce or chicken soup. With permanent containers, a bit of spirits or window cleaner and a rub with a cloth or paper towel will remove old writing, leaving you free to write new contents on to avoid confusion of multiple labels or crossing out.
Step Seven: Don't forget to turn your appliance back on!
A footnote for the water-wise: I live in Australia, in a rural/remote area prone to dry spells. I'm aware of water, and its importance. I also have a garden. And while the freezer ice might not be nice to drink for me, or my pets, as far as I know, it's garden safe. Just leave it in a bowl or bucket somewhere out of the way (and out of reach of pets or children!) to melt and return to ambient temperature, and then water your plants with your salvaged ice. :)
This entry was originally posted at http://iamshadow.dreamwidth.org/386559.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
But what if you don't have the hundreds or thousands of dollars to buy a machine that hugs the planet and keeps things nice and ice-free?
What if you're disabled, living on a pension, with limited energy and very limited funds? Well, if you're like us, and don't have well-off relatives who pass on their out-of-fashion whitegoods after only a couple of years use, then you end up with a ten/twenty/thirty-year-old refurbished appliance that does its job, but grows ice in a steady, inescapable fashion, until you wind up with six inches of ice, a freezer door that won't shut, and everything inside either falling out whenever you delve into it, or frozen solid to the shelf, the roof or the sides.
But how to clean it out? Sure, you could turn it off for a day, but where do you put all the frozen stuff in the mean time? Sure, some of it will be fine in the fridge but a lot of it will end up going soggy or melting, leaving you with a bunch of things only fit for throwing away or eating immediately. And that's a lot of emergency eating, when there's only the two of you.
You could chip all the ice off, but that's a lot of physical work when you're low on spoons. Also, you're risking puncturing the lining of your freezer with every strike, and if you do that, you've not only ruined your appliance, but you're releasing harmful gasses into your home. My cats live in my kitchen; I don't want to gas them.
The easy way is this: you need a hairdryer and a spatula, at least two large towels and a bucket, large bowl, or a sink. The hairdryer can be as cheap as you like, the spatula needs to be fairly stiff but NOT have a sharp edge.
Step One: Turn off your freezer.
If your freezer doesn't have an on/off switch, just turn it off at the wall.
Step Two: Take everything out.
If you've got stuff that really needs to be kept cold and can't be left out for a short period of time, then put it in the fridge, a cooler bag, or just pile all your other frozen stuff around it and put something insulative over it. This is a really good opportunity to find out exactly what the hell you have; there were a lot of things shoved up the back of our freezer that had been inaccessible or we'd plain forgotten we had. Unless you're in a really hot climate, your stuff should be fine sitting out for a little while. It took me about half an hour to do this, and everything was still frosty and pretty much solid when I'd finished.
Step Three: Start up your hairdryer.
Start at the TOP of your freezer. I did this on the freezer section at the top of a fridge, but the principle remains the same even if your freezer is a chest freezer. You're melting the ice at the top, and the water that runs down will soften the stuff at the bottom. It'll probably take a while to see much going on if your freezer is really iced up, but it will start to work, and if you can't stand for more than a few minutes at a time doing it, then take breaks or switch out with someone. Be careful to keep the dryer itself out of drip range; you don't want to risk killing it or giving yourself an electric shock. The air stays warm for quite a distance past the nozzle. You shouldn't need to be closer than about four inches to make a difference.
Step Four: When the ice starts looking softer around the edge of the freezer, try poking it with a fingertip.
You're feeling to see if the ice is loose, or if there's a gap between the ice and the surface. If not, then keep melting. If there is, then take your spatula and see if the edge will fit in the gap. If the ice is still hard and resistant, then don't force it. Just melt it some more and try again. If it is melted enough, then the spatula will loosen the ice, and often whole slabs or chunks of ice will come free if you've been melting for a while. Chuck any pieces that come off into your bucket, bowl or sink so that they're out of the way. Check the things that are frozen into the freezer wall or shelves now and again so that you remove them ASAP when they come free, rather than blowing hot air at them for way too long and defrosting them. When you've done the top of the freezer, move to the sides (or further down, if you've got a chest freezer). Empty as many of the chunks of ice out as possible as they come off; if you don't, then that's just more water you have to sop up at the end.
Step Five: Soak up the water.
Don't just let it lie - that water will refreeze the moment you turn your appliance back on, and probably stick all your food fast, and then you'll have to start all over again. You'll need towels for this; something big and absorbent, anyway. If you've got older towels you use for pets or floors, use those. If you've only got bath towels, use ones you're about to launder then put them straight in the machine, that way you're not washing twice the amount of towels. Squeeze them out then hang them over a rail or line to dry them if you're not going to wash them. Unless you've spilled something in your freezer, then it's just water you're sopping up. If the freezer IS dirty, this is the opportunity to clean it. As mild a cleaner as you can is best; something that isn't going to permeate your food with the smell/taste of chemicals when you put it back. Clean it, dry it, and admire the empty space.
Step Six: Put your stuff back in.
We itemised what we had prior to replacing it, making a list of exactly we had, then put it in roughly delineated areas so that we could find things. If you use snaplock bags or containers to store leftovers or portioned out serves of meat, vegetables or fruit, A SHARPIE IS YOUR FRIEND. Write the contents and the date on each bag or container, and you'll never squint at a bag of indeterminate frozen stuff through frost again, wondering if it's apple sauce or chicken soup. With permanent containers, a bit of spirits or window cleaner and a rub with a cloth or paper towel will remove old writing, leaving you free to write new contents on to avoid confusion of multiple labels or crossing out.
Step Seven: Don't forget to turn your appliance back on!
A footnote for the water-wise: I live in Australia, in a rural/remote area prone to dry spells. I'm aware of water, and its importance. I also have a garden. And while the freezer ice might not be nice to drink for me, or my pets, as far as I know, it's garden safe. Just leave it in a bowl or bucket somewhere out of the way (and out of reach of pets or children!) to melt and return to ambient temperature, and then water your plants with your salvaged ice. :)
This entry was originally posted at http://iamshadow.dreamwidth.org/386559.html. Please comment there using OpenID.