How To Defrost A Freezer Without Getting Water Everywhere
Freezer ownership saw tremendous growth in 2020, as homebound consumers looked for extra appliances to shop food during lockdowns at home. At that fourth dimension at that place was also a fear of shortages and an increasing interest in cooking at home as restaurants and takeaways remained airtight.
Freestanding freezers were specially popular with consumers looking for extra space for food storage. According to Euromonitor, over 98% of Britain homes take a refrigerator or fridge-freezer.
The Frozen Food Written report 2021, issued by the British Frozen Food Federation (BFFF), states that:
- Frozen food has attracted over 400,000 more shoppers in the last 2 years.
- The retail frozen food market is now worth £7.i billion and has added about £850 million worth of sales since 2019, that'due south value growth of +13.5% and book growth of +9.two%.
- A xix.8% growth rate has been recorded in sales of savoury frozen foods since 2019, with plant-based products up 16.8%.
- Shopping patterns continue to flex in response to changes to government guidance on working from home, social distancing and the reopening of pubs and restaurants.
- Frozen fish purchases accept increased by £141.2 million in just two years.
With the full grocery market place broadly apartment, frozen sales have significantly outperformed the market. The figures, according to BFFF Chief Executive Richard Harrow, show that "consumers have truly fallen dorsum in love with their freezers."
How ofttimes should a freezer be defrosted?
How often you should defrost your freezer volition depend on what type of freezer you have. Some guidelines recommend that you should defrost your freezer only once a twelvemonth, others suggest twice a yr, or on an "equally needed" ground, when a frost layer of around 7 mm (one/4") has formed, whichever is soonest.
Many freezer models volition have a red plastic tag – the defrosting guide – sticking out of the within wall of the freezer. If this ruby-red plastic tag is covered with a layer of frost, so the freezer needs defrosting. Notwithstanding, private models of freezers and fridge-freezers may accept different components, and so the manufacturer guidelines volition set out when they recommend that you should defrost your freezer.
Why should y'all defrost a freezer?
Refrigerators and freezers work by continuously evaporating and condensing a refrigerant gas along the pipes embedded inside them. Every bit this gas evaporates, information technology absorbs the estrus from the refrigerator's or freezer's compartments, making a cold environment.
Frost germination will have agin furnishings on your freezer's cooling performance. Whilst a thin layer of frost in your freezer may seem harmless, it can reduce the performance level of your freezer past hampering the evaporator's task of rut transfer. The thick frost will forbid the evaporator from arresting oestrus in the freezer properly.
The food stored in the freezer must exist kept below a certain temperature. Over fourth dimension the ice build-up in a freezer, fifty-fifty those that accept auto-defrost functions, will get in harder for the freezer to maintain the right temperature, potentially affecting how long yous can store individual items.
Defrosting your freezer will assist your freezer to last longer, toll you less in free energy, provide more storage space and also your nutrient volition gustatory modality improve, as it can actually go freezer burn down in a frosted icy freezer.
Although it is not essential, it is a skillful thought to make clean your fridge-freezer or freezer while it is defrosted and empty, equally it is much easier to make clean.
Some other benefit that y'all tin can gain from defrosting your freezer is that information technology gives y'all the chance to check the contents. Employ this opportunity to characterization and date your frozen food and to bin anything that is out of date. Whilst freezing food allows y'all to go on it for much longer, over time, the colour, season and texture will start to deteriorate, making it less pleasant to eat, even though the food may well even so exist prophylactic to eat.
Your freezer's manufacturer's guidelines will provide recommended nutrient storage times for your freezer'due south make and model, only if y'all can't locate it, then click here for a comprehensive guide to how long you can continue food in the freezer.
How to defrost a freezer
It is a really proficient idea to plan your freezer defrosting well in advance so that you can ensure you have used up and non replaced as many of the contents as you can. Emptying a less than one-half total freezer is much easier.
Before you outset, bank check the freezer transmission for any dos and don'ts recommended past the manufacturer. Some appliances have defrosting settings and all kinds of other handy features to assist you out. If yous can't find your transmission, endeavour googling the make and model of your freezer; most manufacturers publish a downloadable version online.
Adjacent, training. You need to fix the area effectually the freezer as in that location will be excess water.
You will as well need the following:
- Towels.
- A sponge.
- A spatula.
- Washing-up gloves.
- Baking trays or washing-upwardly bowls to catch the water.
- A bowl of hot water.
- A cool box big enough to fit in all your food from the fridge and freezer.
- Ice packs/blocks.
Before taking anything out of the freezer, put on your washing-up gloves to prevent getting an ice burn. Ice burns can exist simply equally serious and as painful as any other type of burn. If you do get an water ice fire, immediately run the afflicted area nether cold water for 20 minutes so pat it dry out and wrap the injured area with cling moving picture to go on the fire clean.
Remove all items from the freezer, including food, any shelving and ice trays. If you have a fridge-freezer, remove all items from the fridge department too. Pile the towels inside and beneath the freezer. If your appliance has bleed holes, brand certain that these are not obstructed and you can identify blistering trays or washing-upward bowls by these to catch the h2o.
Unplug the appliance and simply wait for the ice to melt. If the freezer is so frozen that the removable parts such every bit shelving, drawers etc. are frozen in place, remove these as they loosen up during the defrosting process.
To speed up the process even more than, you can identify a bowl of humid water inside the freezer while it is defrosting and supersede it every bit it cools. Place each bowl onto a thick towel, every bit backlog heat from the bowl might crusade serious damage to the inner surfaces of your freezer. The heat from the steaming water will get the water ice melting.
You can as well accept off chunks of ice as it defrosts with the assist of a plastic or silicone spatula. For the best results, make sure you heat the spatula first in hot h2o.
Exercise NOT utilise a knife, as this might impairment the freezer walls and yous could injure yourself if the pocketknife slips. Never pour hot water into an ice-covered freezer compartment, as this could crusade damage to the unit and the risk of scolding is loftier.
There are also a diverseness of proprietary freezer de-icer products on the market; simply spray the de-icer, leave for v‒10 minutes and then scrape away with your spatula to remove the water ice.
Exercise NOT, all the same, utilize automobile windscreen de-icer to defrost your freezer, as the contents are not prophylactic for use with food.
Defrosting mats, usually used to help meat defrost quicker, placed in the freezer can besides aid to speed upward the defrosting process. These mats are made of a metal such as aluminium that is a good oestrus usher, which means it heats up and cools downward quickly. If you don't have defrosting mats, you could rut damp tea towels in the microwave and place these on the ice to melt it.
Some other business firm favourite to help speed up the defrosting procedure is using a hairdryer; you must, however, move the hairdryer effectually so that no 1 area gets likewise hot. Blow hot air at the side of ice accumulations, as the quickest way to movement the ice is to get the air behind it.
You must too brand sure that you take rubber into consideration when using an electrical appliance virtually water. Try to proceed the flooring as dry as possible, take intendance not to drop the hairdryer anywhere near water and keep the flex dry out.
One time you lot have totally defrosted your freezer and before you supersede your frozen foods, thoroughly clean the freezer and any shelves or drawers.
You can do this by using a proprietary freezer cleaner, or merely every bit like shooting fish in a barrel wipe over with a solution of water and bicarbonate of soda – 1 tablespoon of bicarb to 1 litre of h2o. And so ensure that the freezer and shelves or drawers are completely dry before putting them back into the freezer.
Plug your freezer back in and allow it to run for at least an hour with the door closed to bring information technology dorsum to the correct temperature before filling it over again.
How to proceed the food frozen
If you don't have a spare freezer or a kind friend or neighbour with infinite in their freezer to shop your food whilst you defrost your freezer and then y'all will need to ensure that your food is kept at the optimum temperatures to guarantee its prophylactic.
Most harmful bacteria will grow at temperatures above 8°C and below 63°C; this is known as the "Danger Zone" for microbial growth. The priority should exist to go along frozen foods frozen at or below 0°C whilst you are defrosting the freezer.
If you are using a cool box or cool pocketbook, then pack the frozen foods as tightly equally possible and use ice packs/ice blocks to help proceed the temperature low. Absurd boxes are generally more than effective than cool bags when it comes to insulation.
Some electronic absurd boxes can be effective for as long as 24–48hrs; over again, you volition need to cheque the manufacturer'due south instructions for your particular cool box, equally every make differs. You also need to make certain that y'all keep your filled-up cool box away from sunlight and radiators.
If you don't have a cool box or accept more frozen nutrient than fits into your cool box, there are other alternatives to help slow the thawing process. Choosing a freezing common cold winter twenty-four hours for your defrost is ideal every bit you lot can place the food into a cool box, cool bag or fifty-fifty a big plastic lidded container and leave it outside until you are finished. You lot actually demand the temperature outside to exist below 5°C and keep information technology away from any direct sunlight.
If yous are unable to safely proceed food frozen during your defrost, you could batch melt meals to freeze once the freezer is defrosted. Whilst you should not refreeze thawed nutrient, you can cook it and so refreeze it. If you tin't keep your food sufficiently cold for the duration of your defrost, and so yous either demand to melt it or throw it away.
During a very quick defrost you can wrap frozen foods in several layers of newspaper and proceed them in a absurd place; however, the inevitable rise in temperature will shorten their storage life.
How long does it take to defrost a freezer?
Depending on the freezer y'all accept, and how much frost/ice build-up there is, defrosting your freezer can take anything between 2 hours and 24 hours to defrost naturally. That time tin be cut if yous utilize any of the methods mentioned in a higher place to assistance thaw the ice. All the same, you will too need to factor in the time it takes to empty, clean and reload the freezer.
What is the quickest mode to defrost a freezer?
The quickest way to defrost a freezer is to use a steamer. A handheld steam cleaner is agile, lightweight and powerful. It delivers a stream of superheated steam exactly where it's needed, making information technology perfect for defrosting and cleaning a freezer. Some other benefit of using a steamer is that information technology is also a great style of cleaning every bit you defrost. Steam doesn't merely remove ice, dirt and nutrient, it also kills leaner. The social media cleaning star Mrs Hinch recommends this method.
Some other actually quick fashion to defrost your freezer if you have a wet-dry vacuum cleaner, is to use the accident function to directly warm air at the ice and the suck function to remove meltwater.
What is the easiest way to defrost a freezer?
The easiest manner of defrosting your freezer is past only unplugging it, propping open the door and letting the ice melt naturally. You tin can exercise this overnight, catching water on the blistering trays or washing-up bowls and letting the towels soak upwards the residue.
How to defrost a freezer compartment in a fridge?
If your fridge has a freezer compartment rather than a separate freezer department, you volition need to empty the entire fridge including shelving before defrosting. Leaving the icebox to defrost naturally tin can accept up to 2 hours so it may be preferable to utilize any of the defrosting methods outlined above to quicken the procedure.
How to defrost a freezer without unplugging it
If you tin't easily attain the plug to unplug the freezer, or if you accept a refrigerator-freezer model, y'all tin can decline the freezer section'due south adjustable thermostats, if it has them, and leave the freezer section door open, and so apply whatsoever of the defrosting methods outlined above. One time defrosted, don't forget to reset the thermostat.
Last thoughts
Defrosting the freezer is one of those jobs that we all tend to put off as long as possible considering of all the disruption it can crusade. However, not defrosting your freezer is costing y'all more than in energy; the more than ice in your freezer, the more energy it uses.
Frost build-up in freezers tin besides cause its doors to jam, which tin can damage the appliance and affect the temperature y'all are supposed to keep your food at for hygiene and prophylactic reasons. The more than oft you defrost the freezer, the less fourth dimension-consuming the process will be.
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Source: https://cpdonline.co.uk/knowledge-base/food-hygiene/defrost-a-freezer/
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