How to Clean a Communal Fridge and Freezer

Most offices around Maple Grove, Minnesota and the rest of the metro area have communal refrigerators and freezers for employees to store lunches, drinks, etc. in throughout the day. One thing you might be questioning as a business owner is how often to clean these appliances and what the best way to clean them is.

Typically a communal fridge and freezer will need to be cleaned more often that the ones in your home since they are used by multiple people throughout the day to store a variety of foods. We recommend cleaning out leftover/expired products on a weekly basis and doing a deep clean at least once a month. Most commercial cleaning companies can take care of this cleanup for you. As a courtesy to employees, it is a good idea to hang a sign, or communicate in some other way, that anything left in the fridge without a name and date label on in will be thrown out on Friday evening (or whatever day works best for your business/your janitorial service comes in). Then, as part of their cleaning routine, your office cleaning company will take care of throwing out anything that isn’t labeled, or is past the expiration date. Talk to your cleaning crew to have this established as part of the weekly cleaning routine.

Your commercial janitorial service should also check for spills inside the fridge and wipe these up as part of the regular cleaning routine. The outside surfaces, especially the handles on both the fridge and freezer should also be cleaned with disinfectant on a daily or weekly basis, depending on how often your cleaning crew services your office. Make sure that non-toxic cleaners are being used for this and that the handles are being wiped down with how water after disinfecting and dried.

Since most products stored in the freezer take longer to expire and can be kept frozen for an extended period of time, this weekly cleaning usually isn’t necessary there. However, it should be cleaned as part of your regular fridge deep cleaning process. Again, the days these cleanings are scheduled for, you will want to let your employees know and ask that they remove everything (labeled or not) from both the fridge and freezer before leaving for the evening or it will be thrown away.

To deep clean the refrigerator and freezer, your local commercial cleaning company will empty and unplug the fridge and freezer and spray and wipe all surfaces with a mild cleaner. Typically something like a vinegar and water mixture will work well, or another kind of non-toxic cleaner to keep these spaces food safe. After disinfecting all the surfaces and taking extra time to scrub up any spills or stains, they will want to wipe down the entire area with hot water to ensure all the cleaner is removed. The final step is wiping everything dry to prevent from frost or slippery surfaces forming and plugging the appliances back in.