How To Easily Defrost Your Chest Freezer

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Whether you call it a Chest Freezer or a Deep Freezer, they are awesome!

I love to buy food in bulk at Costco and I need a lot of room for all that excess food to be frozen. I love to buy the giant bags of shredded cheese, but we usually don’t use it fast enough to use it before it molds, so we freeze half of it. Sometimes I even use the shredded cheese right from the freezer if I’m melting it onto or into something like a quesadilla.

The only thing I don’t like about a chest freezer is that it builds up ice on the walls.

This ice needs to be removed about every year from our deep freezer. Today I’m going to help you learn the easiest way to defrost your chest freezer.

1. Read the instruction manual for your chest freezer. It’s always better to be safe than sorry, right? Look for any warnings that you may not have thought of and be aware of those as we move forward.

2. Remove the food from the freezer and if possible put it into another freezer or coolers to keep it from thawing.

3. Unplug your chest freezer and open the lid.

4. Place towels on the freezer floor and the floor under the freezer to help soak up the water that will be dripping down. This makes it easier to remove the water from the freezer. Replace the towels once they get soaked.

5. Use a Windshield Ice Scraper (from your car) or a plastic or wood spatula to help scrape down the ice once it’s loosened up. DO NOT use metal because you could ruin the freezer walls.

6. When the thawing has finished empty the drip trays and dry the interior of the freezer.

7. Clean the inside of the freezer with a mild detergent, like liquid dish washing soap, or a baking soda water mixture. Wipe the freezer with a clean sponge and dry with a clean towel.

8. Apply a light coating of a non stick spray to the walls of the freezer to make thawing next time easier.

9. Clean the outside of the freezer with a cleaning spray and wipe clean.

10. Keep an open container of baking soda in your freezer to keep icky smells from developing.