Freezer defrosting - the easy way!

We have a large chest freezer in our outhouse, and once in a while we work our way to empty it, defrost it and clean it; the last time I decided to do this it took the best part of an afternoon using our steam cleaner.

Today, I decided it was time it was cleaned out, not least as I wanted to place an order with our butcher ahead of a family gathering next weekend, but there was actually quite a lot of stuff in the freezer, so the faster I could get the job done the better......

My hope was that I could empty everything out into a couple of laundry baskets to huddle together and stay as cold as possible while I got all the ice off the inside of the freezer, cleaned it, and then everything could go back in.

Then I had an idea - I dug out my 5 litre garden pressure sprayer, and filled it with warm salty water (my theory was that salt thaws ice, and the spray would give it the most surface area), and then plugged the carpet shampoo cleaner in and got started; I sprayed the ice which rapidly thawed and melted into the bottom of the freezer, and then sucked it out with the good old Bissel - - once all the ice and water was gone, it was a quick clean and a rinse, and then whack the freezer back on and fill it up. Less than an hour to do the whole job!

Once caveat if you decide to try this method - unplug your freezer before you start. Adding salt to water massively increases its conductivity, and in the (admittedly unlikely) event that there was a fault with the freezer, the salt water could potentially increase the possibility of a nasty shock.

 

I was actually about to attack it with a brand new, stainless steel trowel - one of the pointy ones for planting out - when I thought about the potential for punching a hole through the freezer walls, and had the idea; It was SO quick, I was only cheesed off that I had spent so long doing the job on previous occasions.

 

We have put a lot of fruit in ours - mainly rasps and loganberries - I wonder if that has at least partly had a bearing on it frosting up? Part of the problem is definitely our own fault as we often end up insulting the freezer with too much stuff, and then have to put heavy stuff on the lid to hold it shut, so it probably isn't sealing too well at those times.

 

Aye, definitely been over filled a few times - of course, once that frosts it up and forms a ridge up top, the ice itself causes problems, which is where ours was this morning; not a smidgen of ice now though

 

Well, maybe at some point in the future @Sheal, you will be able to get yourself a chest freezer once again.

 

I used the steam cleaner the last time @"M" and it was bloomin' useless - clouds of steam filled the room, but very little of it seemed to get to the ice; I spent the thick end of a day doing it, and it was hard work - partly why I was dreading doing it this time. The sprayer was absolute child's play by comparison.