Defrosting the freezer

Bitsy_Beans

I'd ring. I don't think 8am is too early for a minor emergency! After all you can apologise for ringing so early.
My fridge has a freezer compartment and it's a pain as it ices over. I just turn the fridge down to lower temp and then start hacking at it with a metal implement LOL! That way it comes off in large chuncks I can defrost in the sink than loads of water that I have to mop up.

foreversomeday

Bitsybeans I am doing that, sort of - hacking away at it with a spoon The boiling water just isn't cutting it!

raphanius

hacking away at it with a spoon

noooooo!

I once burst the gas cylinder in a fridge doing that.

Now i play safe and use a bowl of hot water.

whatatwit

I too have damaged the pipes by using a metal implement.
Use a plastic spatula if you need to dislodge anything.

I've also found using a hairdryer to blast away very useful, combined with a washing up bowl of boiling water.

Serena51

Please be careful with your hairdryer as it can melt the interior plastic too. Once had to deal with a frantic man whose wife was coming out of hospital with new baby and he had used the hairdryer to hurry up defrosting the freezer!

Also hot water in a bowl is okay but wouldn't use it boiling - again 'cos of plastic interior.

Nikkifran

Hi everyone,

I'm sure this is a daft question, but I have a small icerberg growing in the back of my fridge and really need to defrost the fridge freezer. However, I've never done it before - do you just empty it and turn it off? :rolleyes: Should you leave the doors open and, once my mini icerberg has disappeared, can I just turn it back on again or should I wait until the freezer has completely defrosted?

Thank you so much for reading and, hopefully, helping!!! xx

tanith

You need to empty and turn off.. leave the doors open and of course something to catch the defrosted water , I always also put an old towel underneath just in case as well... you will of been given defrosting instructions for your particular fridge when you bought it... when its completely defrosted you need to clean it out , I use some bicarb or white vinegar in water to clean and then completely wipe dry before I switch on again

Nikkifran

Thank you so much, Tanith. I thought that was probably about it, but just wanted to check as the fridge was a second hand one which came out of someone's garage and unfortunately didn't have any instructions with it. Right, just a mountain of frozen peas to eat up now!

Thanks again xx

tanith

If you have lots in the freezer you can insulate it and keep it till the freezer is ready to use again... I do have a insulated bag for shopping and I pack everything (except ice-cream) in there and then wrap the whole thing up in an old quilt.. if its not too hot a day it will keep like that for several hours.. and you don't lose everthing... any ice-cream of course you just have to eat it...:D

Nikkifran

Can I just ask another one - how long do you think it'll take? Is it an overnight job, or would it maybe only take a couple of hours?