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Defrosting a freezer |
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#1 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 17,110
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Defrosting a freezer
I'm ashamed to admit that I've never defrosted a freezer in my life - I have a fantastic housekeeper/treasure - call her what you will - who does that for me. Sadly, due to a family bereavement, she's taken extended leave of absence and the tasks she accomplishes with ease are building up - one of which is the freezer.
I know that when I switch off the electricity any accumulated ice will defrost and I can catch the water in bowls or buckets etc. but what do I do with the food whilst the defrosting process takes place? This is not a task I'm anticipating with any pleasure. |
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#2 |
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Inactive Member
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: BUDDIETOWN
Posts: 20,385
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eat the food first? that's what i did, made sure there wasn't food in it
or if you can put some in the fridge ..... |
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#3 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: My Own Little World
Posts: 1,102
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forgot about the food
This could take a few hours - Get a hair dryer and boil the kettle. Bowls, pots or trays will be needed along with towels.
Open the door and get the bowls and towels sorted out. Switch the bugger off, take the food from the freezer and get ready. If the freezer isn't too bad it wont take long. If it's my mum's freezer (yak yak "it's self defrosting" yak yak = not been defrosted in 8 years) it could take all night. Take a bowl of boiling water and place it in the empty switched off freezer. Have towels up near the door and a bowl underneath to catch what you can. Let the steam do it's work. Mop up and get to with more bowls of boiling water and the hairdryer- I find starting on low heat works better than on high straight away.Go low then middle then high if your hairdryer has the options. Now you MUST empty out the bowls of water. Prod, DO NOT POKE OR STAB, gently at the built up ice. If bits of ice fall off toss them in the sink. Wring out and replace the towels round the door at the floor. As I said this can take a good bit of time and you could find new uses for towels and spatulas. It may seem a faff but if you have to do this once with a freezer it's more than enough. It means you know to defrost at regular time intervals. I apologise if my How to defrost a freezer offends or comes across as patronising but this is how I instructed my niece. She's a very intelligent and very well educated woman in a very demanding job and she didn't have a clue. She was a student at the time and moved into a new flat. The freezer was all ice. The flat was gorgeous and in a really great part of Glasgow but the ancient freezer hadn't been defrosted since it was new in 1963 Good luck with your defrosting. My "self defrosting" freezer needs done again soon. The door opening thing buggers up the no ice thing on freezers FOOD - if it's chicken or fish cook and eat ASAP. Most other things like chips will be okay if just a bit cold to bung back in the freezer again. |
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#4 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 1,653
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Usually try to make sure the freezer is as empty as possible before doing it so that you aren't wasting anything. Or if you have a coolbox etc put the food in there with ice packs.
My other naughty thing that I do to speed up defrosting my freezer is I tackle it with a hairdryer I know I'm completely naughty doing that and I should do it properly but if I'm in a hurry and I need it defrosted thats what I do (obviously taking food out and switching it off first) now going to wait on the lectures on not defrosting your freezer with a hairdryer.Also make sure you put towels etc down as well as bowls it's amazing just where the water can get. |
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#5 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Essex
Posts: 16,223
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What I do is to run the supply of frozen goods. Then switch off the freezer with everything still inside. I freezer will safely keep food frozen for at least a couple of hours when empty, much longer if full if the door is not opening. TBH, I have done this the night before on a fairly full fridge without problems..
If you have a cooler box/bag then get that, else a cardboard box with a couple of towels with suffice. Empty the freezer and food should be fine for an hour or two while you tackle the freezer which should be pretty easy as all the ice will have been loosened. Once lose you should just be able to that ice out in chunks. GENTLE tapping with a rolling pin or similar object should help. Once emptied, make sure switch the freezer back on for an hour or so before you put your food back in. |
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#6 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: UK
Posts: 17,858
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try to put the food in boxes. It will be OK for an hour or so.you might lose a bit, but most will be OK.
put saucepans of hot water in the freezer, until you get the ice off. keep changing them. don;t hack at the ice with a wallpaper scraper, but you can gently prise it off. slow process, but once it starts coming off, its quite quick after that. |
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#7 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: My Own Little World
Posts: 1,102
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Quote:
If you have a cooler box/bag then get that, else a cardboard box with a couple of towels with suffice. Empty the freezer which should be pretty easy as all the ice will have been loosened. Once loose you should just be able to that ice out in chunks. GENTLE tapping with a rolling pin or similar object should help. Once emptied, make sure switch the freezer back on for an hour or so before you put your food back in. |
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#8 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 17,110
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Quote:
This could take a few hours - Get a hair dryer and boil the kettle. Bowls, pots or trays will be needed along with towels.
Open the door and get the bowls and towels sorted out. Switch the bugger off, take the food from the freezer and get ready. If the freezer isn't too bad it wont take long. If it's my mum's freezer (yak yak "it's self defrosting" yak yak = not been defrosted in 8 years) it could take all night. Take a bowl of boiling water and place it in the empty switched off freezer. Have towels up near the door and a bowl underneath to catch what you can. Let the steam do it's work. Mop up and get to with more bowls of boiling water and the hairdryer- I find starting on low heat works better than on high straight away.Go low then middle then high if your hairdryer has the options. Now you MUST empty out the bowls of water. Prod, DO NOT POKE OR STAB, gently at the built up ice. If bits of ice fall off toss them in the sink. Wring out and replace the towels round the door at the floor. As I said this can take a good bit of time and you could find new uses for towels and spatulas. It may seem a faff but if you have to do this once with a freezer it's more than enough. It means you know to defrost at regular time intervals. I apologise if my How to defrost a freezer offends or comes across as patronising but this is how I instructed my niece. She's a very intelligent and very well educated woman in a very demanding job and she didn't have a clue. She was a student at the time and moved into a new flat. The freezer was all ice. The flat was gorgeous and in a really great part of Glasgow but the ancient freezer hadn't been defrosted since it was new in 1963 Good luck with your defrosting. My "self defrosting" freezer needs done again soon. The door opening thing buggers up the no ice thing on freezers FOOD - if it's chicken or fish cook and eat ASAP. Most other things like chips will be okay if just a bit cold to bung back in the freezer again. Not feeling exactly confident but a little less apprehensive. |
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#9 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Oct 2008
Posts: 745
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When I defrosted my freezer, I took it outside and let it defrost in the summer sunshine. That meant I could clean it all too, and underneath it.
Is that ok taking it outside though, being a beginner too at this stuff? |
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#10 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Leicestershire
Posts: 1,141
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I remove the plastic boxes and move to one side and then turn off the freezer, use a hairdryer to melt the ice. Our fridge has a plastic tube which slots into the base and I put a box at the bottom and as it fills I empty it until it's all defrosted. The one without the tube slot I put a towel on the floor and use a tool to remove ice. It comes off easy after a good hair dryer applied to the ice.
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#11 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Leicestershire
Posts: 1,141
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Quote:
When I defrosted my freezer, I took it outside and let it defrost in the summer sunshine. That meant I could clean it all too, and underneath it.
Is that ok taking it outside though, being a beginner too at this stuff? |
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#12 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Essex
Posts: 16,223
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Quote:
When I defrosted my freezer, I took it outside and let it defrost in the summer sunshine. That meant I could clean it all too, and underneath it.
Is that ok taking it outside though, being a beginner too at this stuff? |
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#13 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Oct 2008
Posts: 745
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Thanks both - I keep it upright outside, but will make sure I leave some time when it's back in position before switching on
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#14 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Sat at computer with heatin on
Posts: 45,573
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i defrosted my freezer last week end..Took the boxes out and sorted what i had..put the food into one box to clean out, the did another box, etc..Unplugged freezer whilst it was defrosting and stuck a pan of hot water inside to help melt the ice..Also put towels out for all the falling ice , melted water, hate doing it, but has to be done lol
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#15 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Jasons yard
Posts: 6,862
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Ive put off defrosting my freezer for yonks, but might give it a go having seen the tips on here!
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#16 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Norwich, Tacolneston tx
Posts: 21,898
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I use a steam cleaner and it never takes more than about half an hour.
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#17 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Buckinghamshire
Posts: 501
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Before I got a frost free freezer I used to empty it, take it outside and hose it out using a hosepipe connected to the hot tap, took no time at all!
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#18 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Sat at computer with heatin on
Posts: 45,573
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Quote:
Before I got a frost free freezer I used to empty it, take it outside and hose it out using a hosepipe connected to the hot tap, took no time at all!
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#19 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: West London
Posts: 14,776
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Quote:
I use a steam cleaner and it never takes more than about half an hour.
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#20 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: My Own Little World
Posts: 1,102
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Quote:
you sound like my nxt door neighbour..The daughter is always using the hose to clean eveything..numpty
![]() I've wondered if they ever have kids he'll blast them rather than bath them. |
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#21 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,005
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Always use a hairdryer so not on your own Pixie Queen.
I have got a couple of sponge type sheets that absorb lots of water so put them in the bottom and then keep wring them out. |
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#22 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 715
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Put frozen food in cool bags, use hairdryer to thaw ice be carefull it doesnt get wet, frozen food should still be ok by the time freezer is ready.
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#23 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 6,522
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I try to pick a cold day for the job, and just put the drawers outside with the food still in them.
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#24 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 17,110
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Quote:
I try to pick a cold day for the job, and just put the drawers outside with the food still in them.
![]() Taking your tip just a little further I could wait until the garden pond freezes over and rest the drawers on the ice. I hope my lovely housekeeper/treasure is not reading this thread - she might fear redundancy. Message to Anne (if you're reading) come back soon - the freezer still needs defrosting and the ironing is piling up. |
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#25 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 30,072
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Quote:
I try to pick a cold day for the job, and just put the drawers outside with the food still in them.
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I know I'm completely naughty doing that and I should do it properly but if I'm in a hurry and I need it defrosted thats what I do (obviously taking food out and switching it off first) now going to wait on the lectures on not defrosting your freezer with a hairdryer.
