How to Defrost your Freezer Quickly: Steps and Tips for Fast Defrosting

In this article we are going to take a look at how to defrost your freezer quickly, something that you should do at least once a year, or when layers of ice more than a quarter of an inch thick appear on the walls.

By Kitchen Gadget Box

In this article we are going to take a look at how to defrost your freezer quickly, something that you should do at least once a year, or when layers of ice more than a quarter of an inch thick appear on the walls.

Nowadays, almost every household has a freezer. A freezer with frost on the walls however is less energy-efficient, and unlike modern no-frost appliances, will not work as efficiently at keeping frozen food fresh and in optimum condition.

Steps and Tips for Fast Freezer Defrosting

The speed with which frost appears depends mostly on how often you open and close your freezer, adding new foods to be frozen. So, for a busy restaurant kitchen, you would have to defrost your freezer far more frequently than once a year.

Defrosting your Freezer: Step by Step

  • Preparation. Before defrosting your freezer, you need to turn it off and empty it, finding somewhere to store the frozen food where it won’t defrost. This could be in a bath tub, with all the food in tied bags, ensuring that the different packages stay frozen for longer, or it could be in the fridge, or another freezer. After removing the food from your freezer, lay down some old towels on the floor. These are essential for soaking up excess water and will stop trips and falls from happening g.
  • Remove Shelves. If your freezer has shelves or baskets, remove them and give them a good wash and scrub whilst your freezer is defrosting.
  • Use a Hairdryer on the Ice. To ensure that the freezer defrosts quickly and your food doesn’t spoil, use a hairdryer to speed up the process. Blasting the ice blocks with a hairdryer will ensure they soften up more quickly and can be easily chipped off.
  • Chip Away Ice. When chipping away at the ice, try to gently unstick whole chunks and blocks of ice, as opposed to chipping away at small pieces. Make sure you use a plastic or wooden spatula to do so, avoiding using a knife that could damage your freezer at all costs.
  • Wipe and Dry. Once you have got rid of all the chunks and blocks of ice that were on the walls of your freezer, dry the freezer with a clean cloth, and replace the shelves or baskets.

Hacks for Fast Defrosting

As well as following the step-by-step guide above, there are a few more hacks that you may like to try when trying to defrost your freezer in record time. Waiting for the ice to melt is probably the worst way to defrost a freezer, a blow dryer being a very handy tool when it comes to getting rid of ice from the walls of your freezer. Be careful however how you use your hairdryer, and never allow it to get too close to the coils of your freezer. If you hold it too close to the plastic of your freezer, it could also cause damage, or indeed damage your hairdryer.

Use a Fan

If you don’t have a hairdryer to hand, or are looking for a safer way to speed up the defrosting process that can’t harm your freezer, you may like to use a fan. Simply set the fan up so the air blows into the freezer, this method ensuring better airflow and quicker defrosting.

Use Pans of Hot Water

If your freezer is the type that has shelves, sitting pans of piping hot water on the shelves is another way to get rid of the buildup of ice in your freezer. When choosing this method, place pans of hot water on the shelves and then close the door of the freezer. Make sure that the freezer is unplugged, and simply wait fifteen minutes. Be careful however to not place hot pans directly on plastic shelves; placing a towel underneath each towel will protect your shelves from damage.

Loosen Ice with Rubbing Alcohol

This least hack works great for loosening thin layers of frost from your freezer as opposed to large chunks of ice. Dip a tag or cloth into boiling water, and then pour some rubbing alcohol onto it. Place the cloth on the ice or frost and watch as the ice loosens and becomes easy to rub away.

All these tips and hacks will ensure your freezer defrosts in quick time. For defrosting that is quick and safe, remember never to chip away at ice with metal knives or spatulas, no matter how tempting it may be. This could cause you to puncture the wall of your freezer, an expensive mistake that would render your freezer useless as gas would be lost from the compressor system, causing failure and burnout.