Defrosting the freezer

Gingernutmeg

Not much help for the actual defrosting but I've been told that if you wipe the inside of the freezer with some glycerine (from the baking section of the supermarket) then it stops it frosting up so much. I gave it a go last time I did mine and it does seem to have made a bit of a difference.

Pink.

Hi npsmama,

There's an older thread on defrosting the freezer which should help too so I've merged your thread with it to keep all the suggestions together.

Pink

npsmama

Sorry Pink, somehow I missed it...thanks for merging though.

The idea of using a steamer seems good...I haven't got a steamer but I have a Bissell carpet cleaner. I'm sure that would work so long as I don't put in the soap...that way it would suirt hot water at the ice.

What do you guys think?

Or is it worth getting a steamer?

beemuzed

I just take everything out, putting as much as possible into my two cool bags and the rest into boxes, covered with towels/blankets. I then spread a large bathsheet on the floor of the freezer (large chest sort) and put in a bowl of fairly hot water, which I keep replacing every ten minutes or so. After about half an hour I help things along with a plastic spatula. By then the ice usually falls off onto the towel in large chunks. I shake the towel onto the front lawn several times - looks like snow! Once done I wipe over all the inside surfaces with a bicarb. solution and then close and turn on fast freeze switch for a few minutes before replacing all food. Whole process complete in less than 45 minutes and no food thawed out. (It can take me that long to get frozen food home on a shopping trip so I never worry on that score.) My freezer owes me nothing - bought 24 years ago when we moved in. I do hate defrosting though!

MRSMCAWBER

Hello..
Once you have it defrosted....wipe the insides over with neat fabric softener-comfort or what ever you use...give it a couple of minutes for the smell to evaporate and then the next time you come to defrost it the ice just drops off..
this one works....it only takes minutes so my freezer gets re-jigged as i call it every month now, so i dont end up getting a build up and so i know what i need to use up.

sticher

Have to say that now I have a steamer I can do my freezer very quickly. Otherwise I would wait until my freezer food was low and defrost on a cool day.

katie_jane_2

hi all recently became a sahm again and want to go back to cooking os after semi falling off the wagon. to make room in my freezer for all the delish food im gonna make i need to defrost it.........thing is i dont know how!i know it sounds daft but i just chop the snowy ice off and keep going but i need to address this.
do i turn off fridge freezer wait for all the ice to melt and turn it back on?
how do i catch the water?
feel v pathetic for not knowing this please help

Pink.

Hi katie Jane,

There's an older thread on defrosting freezers which should help so I've merged your thread with it to keep all the suggestions together.

Pink

katie_jane_2

thanks pink gonna tackle it now !
cheers katie jane

blackangeluk

My freezer is jam packed and so I have emptied it and deposited the food at the neighbours.

But I have put hot water in there, left the door open and it is still hard frozen ice. Save for my normal method of attacking it with a knife :eek: what can I do to speed it up (it is a fridge/freezer so I can't turn it off).

Also, it does tend to freeze up a lot, is there anything I can use to stop this?

Thanks in advance