How to Keep Mold Out of a Refrigerator Defrost Pan
When your freezer goes into defrost mode, the excess water drains through a tube into a defrost pan under the refrigerator. Because of heat and ventilation, the water in the pan evaporates quickly --- most of the time. When the ventilation under the refrigerator is obstructed, the pan will fill with water over time because it does not evaporate quickly enough. This sometimes causes mold and mildew to develop. Keeping mold out of a refrigerator defrost pan is a matter of cleaning and minor preventative maintenance. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Nut driver
- Socket wrench
- Liquid dish soap
- Household bleach
- Rubber kitchen cleaning gloves
- Paper towel
- Dryer lint brush
Instructions
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1
Open the refrigerator door to have full access to the lower grille. If you have a side-by-side refrigerator, open both the refrigerator and the freezer door.
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2
Grab each end of the bottom grille with your fingers. Squeeze the top and bottom of the grille, and pull it away from the unit. Some grilles have a retaining screw on each end. If yours uses a retaining screw, remove the screw with a nut driver to remove the grille.
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3
Pull the defrost pan out of the refrigerator with your fingers. If it does not move, look for a hex head screw securing the defrost pan to the refrigerator frame. Loosen and remove the screw with a socket wrench, and pull the defrost pan out of the refrigerator. If you do not see a screw and the defrost pan does not slide, your defrost pan is not removable.
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4
Empty any water in the defrost pan into the kitchen sink. Fill the sink with hot water and 1 tbsp. of liquid dish soap. Scrub the defrost pan in the sink water, cleaning the entire pan. Rinse the pan well in warm water.
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5
Add 2 tbsp. of household bleach to the inside of the pan. Put on rubber kitchen cleaning gloves, and rub the bleach into the pan with a paper towel. The bleach helps to kill and prevent mold. You want to spread the bleach evenly without having any puddles in the pan.
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6
Clean dust, lint and debris away from the grille and the condenser coils under the refrigerator. Maintaining good airflow helps to evaporate water in the defrost pan quickly. Brush the grille and condenser coils with a dryer lint brush.
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7
Reinstall the defrost pan under the refrigerator. Secure the pan with the retaining screw, if your unit uses a retaining screw. Push the grille back in place, lining up the spring clips on the back of the grille with the slots in the refrigerator frame. If your grille uses retaining screws, secure the grille with the screws. Close the refrigerator doors.
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Tips & Warnings
If you have a nonremovable drain pan and it is full of water, call a service professional to come clean the pan and rectify the problem that's causing the water not to evaporate. Do not attempt disassembly of a nonremovable pan, as it might void your warranty and cause unnecessary damage to the unit.
