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| Meta Title | How to Clean a Fridge: Can I Use Bleach or Lysol on Refrigerator? |
| Meta Description | Bleach and other cleaners like Lysol can scratch and crack your refrigerator. Hereās what to use to clean your fridge, instead. |
| Meta Canonical | null |
| Boilerpipe Text | Wait, I Canāt Use Cleaning Products on My Fridge?
Apparently I've been cleaning my delicate refrigerator wrong my whole life
Not surprisingly, Iāve been hitting all my highly touched surfaces with
frequent doses of bleach and disinfectant
. Considering I open it several times a day simply to stare at its contents,
my fridge
is among the affected. Iām learning, though, that Iām not actually supposed to do that if I want my fridge to look nice?Ā
My fridge is already a hunk of trash garbage that belongs to my landlord, so whatever. But had I actually spent real dollar bills on my refrigerator, I would care about this kind of thing.Ā
As my colleague
Cooper Fleishman
recently shared with me, some refrigerators actually feature a warning sticker stating not to wash the fridge exterior with any kind of cleaner besides dish soap, warm water and a gentle cloth. The websites for several refrigerator brands offer similar advice. For example,
the GE Appliance site
says, āAll refrigerators can be cleaned with a mild solution of soap and warm water with a clean, soft cloth or microfiber cloth.ā The site lists specific items to avoid cleaning the fridge with, including stainless steel cleaners, scouring pads and any product containing bleach, ammonia or
vinegar
. It even says you should avoid paper towels.Ā
You mean to tell me fucking
steel
canāt handle a paper towel? Okay, fine, whatever.Ā
Anyhoo, all of this is because most cleaners are ultra abrasive ā even just breathing in bleach vapor can
scratch up your lungs
. Some materials can handle the abrasiveness, some canāt. With your fridge, the consequence of using an abrasive cleaner is mostly just scratch marks ā though, on white, plastic-y fridge exteriors, repeated use of bleach cleaners like
Lysol
could lead to cracks.Ā
In other words, the fridge will probably still be functional, itāll just be ugly.Ā
Regardless of color, most refrigerators are
primarily made of steel or other metals, and then painted or coated in some form of plastic
. All of these materials can be scratched by bleach. The interior of your fridge could similarly become scratched, but most shelves and drawers are replaceable. Personally, Iād rather have a clean, ugly fridge than an unscratched one coated in old lettuce juice.Ā
In any case, both the interior and exterior of the fridge can be properly cleaned with
soap and water
. Soap will still remove germs, so long as youāre able to rinse or wipe the soap away. Bleach-based sprays like
Lysol
are certainly an easier solution, but soap is similarly effective and, again, wonāt fuck up your fridge.
Despite everything Iāve said here,
most of the writing
on fridge cleaning still recommends using bleach, vinegar and/or stainless steel cleaners along with paper towels. Itās even what the
Home Depot
site
says to do
. Who are you gonna listen to, a gal who technically doesnāt even own a fridge, or the store trying to sell you one?
Magdalene Taylor
Magdalene Taylor is a staff writer at MEL. She covers internet culture, sex and the online adult industry. She lives in Brooklyn but is from God's Country, Western Massachusetts. |
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[Health](https://melmagazine.com/en-us/section/health) [Magdalene Taylor](https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/author/magdalene-taylor "Posts by Magdalene Taylor")
July 12, 2020
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# Wait, I Canāt Use Cleaning Products on My Fridge?
Apparently I've been cleaning my delicate refrigerator wrong my whole life
Not surprisingly, Iāve been hitting all my highly touched surfaces with [frequent doses of bleach and disinfectant](https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/how-dirty-is-my-computer-how-to-clean). Considering I open it several times a day simply to stare at its contents, [my fridge](https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/crisper-drawer-fridge-humidity-organization) is among the affected. Iām learning, though, that Iām not actually supposed to do that if I want my fridge to look nice?
My fridge is already a hunk of trash garbage that belongs to my landlord, so whatever. But had I actually spent real dollar bills on my refrigerator, I would care about this kind of thing.

As my colleague [Cooper Fleishman](https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/author/cooper-fleishman) recently shared with me, some refrigerators actually feature a warning sticker stating not to wash the fridge exterior with any kind of cleaner besides dish soap, warm water and a gentle cloth. The websites for several refrigerator brands offer similar advice. For example, [the GE Appliance site](https://products.geappliances.com/appliance/gea-support-search-content?contentId=17447) says, āAll refrigerators can be cleaned with a mild solution of soap and warm water with a clean, soft cloth or microfiber cloth.ā The site lists specific items to avoid cleaning the fridge with, including stainless steel cleaners, scouring pads and any product containing bleach, ammonia or [vinegar](https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/diy-cleaning-homemade-cleaners). It even says you should avoid paper towels.
You mean to tell me fucking *steel* canāt handle a paper towel? Okay, fine, whatever.
Anyhoo, all of this is because most cleaners are ultra abrasive ā even just breathing in bleach vapor can [scratch up your lungs](https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/covid-masks-bleach-lung-damage). Some materials can handle the abrasiveness, some canāt. With your fridge, the consequence of using an abrasive cleaner is mostly just scratch marks ā though, on white, plastic-y fridge exteriors, repeated use of bleach cleaners like [Lysol](https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/will-lysol-disinfectant-spray-kill-coronavirus) could lead to cracks.
In other words, the fridge will probably still be functional, itāll just be ugly.
Regardless of color, most refrigerators are [primarily made of steel or other metals, and then painted or coated in some form of plastic](http://www.madehow.com/Volume-1/Refrigerator.html). All of these materials can be scratched by bleach. The interior of your fridge could similarly become scratched, but most shelves and drawers are replaceable. Personally, Iād rather have a clean, ugly fridge than an unscratched one coated in old lettuce juice.
In any case, both the interior and exterior of the fridge can be properly cleaned with [soap and water](https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/how-does-soap-work-bubbles-clean). Soap will still remove germs, so long as youāre able to rinse or wipe the soap away. Bleach-based sprays like [Lysol](https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/will-lysol-disinfectant-spray-kill-coronavirus) are certainly an easier solution, but soap is similarly effective and, again, wonāt fuck up your fridge.
Despite everything Iāve said here, [most of the writing](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/15/smarter-living/how-to-clean-your-fridge.html) on fridge cleaning still recommends using bleach, vinegar and/or stainless steel cleaners along with paper towels. Itās even what the [Home Depot](https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/home-depot-theme-song-memes-tiktok) site [says to do](https://www.homedepot.com/c/ah/how-to-clean-a-refrigerator/9ba683603be9fa5395fab90121f10fb9). Who are you gonna listen to, a gal who technically doesnāt even own a fridge, or the store trying to sell you one?
***
[![]()](https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/author/magdalene-taylor)
### [Magdalene Taylor](https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/author/magdalene-taylor)
Magdalene Taylor is a staff writer at MEL. She covers internet culture, sex and the online adult industry. She lives in Brooklyn but is from God's Country, Western Massachusetts.
## Recommended Reading
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### [Tickle Me Kaczynski: How the Inventor of the Ultimate Elmo Toy Became a Unabomber Suspect](https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/unabomber-suspect-tickle-me-elmo-inventor)
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| Readable Markdown | ## Wait, I Canāt Use Cleaning Products on My Fridge?
Apparently I've been cleaning my delicate refrigerator wrong my whole life
Not surprisingly, Iāve been hitting all my highly touched surfaces with [frequent doses of bleach and disinfectant](https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/how-dirty-is-my-computer-how-to-clean). Considering I open it several times a day simply to stare at its contents, [my fridge](https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/crisper-drawer-fridge-humidity-organization) is among the affected. Iām learning, though, that Iām not actually supposed to do that if I want my fridge to look nice?
My fridge is already a hunk of trash garbage that belongs to my landlord, so whatever. But had I actually spent real dollar bills on my refrigerator, I would care about this kind of thing.

As my colleague [Cooper Fleishman](https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/author/cooper-fleishman) recently shared with me, some refrigerators actually feature a warning sticker stating not to wash the fridge exterior with any kind of cleaner besides dish soap, warm water and a gentle cloth. The websites for several refrigerator brands offer similar advice. For example, [the GE Appliance site](https://products.geappliances.com/appliance/gea-support-search-content?contentId=17447) says, āAll refrigerators can be cleaned with a mild solution of soap and warm water with a clean, soft cloth or microfiber cloth.ā The site lists specific items to avoid cleaning the fridge with, including stainless steel cleaners, scouring pads and any product containing bleach, ammonia or [vinegar](https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/diy-cleaning-homemade-cleaners). It even says you should avoid paper towels.
You mean to tell me fucking *steel* canāt handle a paper towel? Okay, fine, whatever.
Anyhoo, all of this is because most cleaners are ultra abrasive ā even just breathing in bleach vapor can [scratch up your lungs](https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/covid-masks-bleach-lung-damage). Some materials can handle the abrasiveness, some canāt. With your fridge, the consequence of using an abrasive cleaner is mostly just scratch marks ā though, on white, plastic-y fridge exteriors, repeated use of bleach cleaners like [Lysol](https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/will-lysol-disinfectant-spray-kill-coronavirus) could lead to cracks.
In other words, the fridge will probably still be functional, itāll just be ugly.
Regardless of color, most refrigerators are [primarily made of steel or other metals, and then painted or coated in some form of plastic](http://www.madehow.com/Volume-1/Refrigerator.html). All of these materials can be scratched by bleach. The interior of your fridge could similarly become scratched, but most shelves and drawers are replaceable. Personally, Iād rather have a clean, ugly fridge than an unscratched one coated in old lettuce juice.
In any case, both the interior and exterior of the fridge can be properly cleaned with [soap and water](https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/how-does-soap-work-bubbles-clean). Soap will still remove germs, so long as youāre able to rinse or wipe the soap away. Bleach-based sprays like [Lysol](https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/will-lysol-disinfectant-spray-kill-coronavirus) are certainly an easier solution, but soap is similarly effective and, again, wonāt fuck up your fridge.
Despite everything Iāve said here, [most of the writing](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/15/smarter-living/how-to-clean-your-fridge.html) on fridge cleaning still recommends using bleach, vinegar and/or stainless steel cleaners along with paper towels. Itās even what the [Home Depot](https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/home-depot-theme-song-memes-tiktok) site [says to do](https://www.homedepot.com/c/ah/how-to-clean-a-refrigerator/9ba683603be9fa5395fab90121f10fb9). Who are you gonna listen to, a gal who technically doesnāt even own a fridge, or the store trying to sell you one?
***
[![]()](https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/author/magdalene-taylor)
### [Magdalene Taylor](https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/author/magdalene-taylor)
Magdalene Taylor is a staff writer at MEL. She covers internet culture, sex and the online adult industry. She lives in Brooklyn but is from God's Country, Western Massachusetts. |
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| Publish Time | 2020-07-12 23:00:57 (5 years ago) |
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